More big men in small pants!
Ah another year, another WWE RAW vs. Smack down game. This year, however, I have decided to check out all of this WWE goodness on the Wii, a move I hope I will not regret!
Starting out all looks good. The music is heavy and loud and the graphics are pretty good for the humble Wii.
The start screen gives you plenty of options. There is the normal exhibition mode, a career mode, an online mode and a new Road to Wrestlemania mode. The latter is the most interesting addition to the mix.
From simple tag matches to full Hell in a Cell matches, every type you could want is catered for
In previous WWE games the story was a dynamic affair that you could take any character you fancied through. Road to Wrestlemania takes a different approach. You are given the choice of playing through 7 different stories, Undertaker, CM Punk, Triple H, Y2J, John Cena and a tag team story with Batista and Rey Mysterio.
At first I thought this was a huge mistake, as I loved taking my created character through the story, but what we have now is a very well scripted and voiced set of stories to play through. Each story line is different, from CM Punks attempt to take over ECW to Triple Hs efforts to reform DX. This gives the feeling of much greater depth than any previous story mode.
Other modes allow you to use any character you want, from Super Stars to your own creations. Create a Superstar is back and as detailed as ever, allowing you to set up every aspect of your new wrestling god! Stats for your characters are built up by playing the career mode.
The career mode is a simple affair that sees you taking on various challenges to ultimately win the WWE Championship. No story just a string of matches to fight though. But what a set of match types you have! From simple tag matches to full Hell in a Cell matches, every type you could want is catered for.
So that is the game, but how does it play. Well, strangely. For anyone used to WWE games on other formats, there is a bit of a feeling of disappointment playing on the Wii for the first time.
Basic movement is handled with the analog stick on the Nunchuck. Kicking and punching is a matter of waggling the WiiMote and moving the thumb stick in one of 4 directions. If you are too far from your opponent you will instantly do a running move with a well timed waggle. Pressing the A or B button and waggling will try to initiate a grapple. B grapples are interactive, so once you have grabbed you can alter the outcome of the move with more waggles. In theory it is a nice interactive way of playing, but in reality it is very hard to do what you actually want! The lack of being able to run on command (rather than as part of a strike) will also drive you a bit mad.
Speaking of being driven mad, the whole using motion for the sake of it in Wii games is beginning to do my nut. A good example of this is when you are trying to climb out of the cage. Rather than the usual joystick waggling, you have to flick the Nunchuck or the WiiMote upwards at the right time. This would be great, but as we all know, the motion sensors are not all that accurate at times and you find yourself missing perfectly timed swings because they did not get detected!
Generally speaking this is a well thought out game, which has a lot of depth. The controls are frustrating, but you will get used to them and once the new MotionPlus add on is released they should become much more accurate! The characters look good, but the crowd is just embarrassing! In parts it feels like a cut down PS2 game. There are no body parts indicators for damage, just a picture of your Mii, but again you will get used to this.
If you are a fan, or just fancy a little bit of fighting action then you should give this a go. With luck 2010 will be a great game, as this has laid down some solid foundations!
The Bad: Fluffy controls, feels a little bit cut down.
Silver Y Award