Lay the smackdown
WWE Raw 2 features a heck of a lot more depth across the board when compared to last year's effort. Raw 2 features all of the popular WWE match types, ranging from your standard exhibition match, to gimmick matches such as the ladder match, Hell in a Cell and the TLC match as well as an all new career mode. Raw 2 also features a vastly expanded roster, with over 65 of your favourite WWE Superstars from Batista through to William Regal, as well as a few non playable characters, including 3 different referees.
The aforementioned career mode is the meat of Raw 2's single player experience. Up to four players can choose any wrestler they wish, and attempt to become the new WWE Heavyweight Champion. The season starts in April, and you have until March to earn a shot at the heavyweight title. The popularity of your wrestler has a huge effect on the types of matches and title shots you are offered. Popularity is altered by winning matches as well as your out of ring antics. You have one match for each Raw and Smackdown, as well as a Pay per View. Unfortunately, there's only one Raw and Smackdown each month, which results in the season ending a little quicker than the one in WWE Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth. Before each show starts, you get to decide what your wrestler will do during each match, whether it be nothing, resting or interfering with current match, or other things which could lead to a feud. Feuds are relatively dynamic in Raw 2, as they depend on the other wrestler's like or dislike for yours. Interfere with another wrestler too often, and he will start interfering in your matches, and various consequences will begin to arise both in and out of the ring. The main problem with these feuds is that there is no narrative to support them, whether it be written or spoken. Anchor must believe in the old adage that actions speak loud than words.
Arguably, one of the most popular features in wrestling games in the last 5 years has been the Create-a-Wrestler option, and Raw 2 provides what could be considered the most in depth wrestler creation facility to date. You can morph the shape of your wrestlers body, create both in ring and out ring costumes, including attire that is worn only during the entrance. You can create a move set for your wrestler out of one of the most diverse move lists we've seen. The most innovative aspect of Raw 2's Create-a-Wrestler feature is the fully customizable ring entrances. You get to set the signs the fans flash in the intro, the timing of the pyrotechnics, your wrestler's ring music (custom soundtracks ahoy!), the way the wrestler walks to the ring, the name that the announcer will call out, the video playing on the Titantron (create your own!) and much more. Finally, Raw 2 supplies 4 full pages of space for created wrestlers on the selection screen, which means you can create many more wrestlers than the one you could make in last year's game.
As important as the season, create a wrestler, match types and roster of Raw 2 are, they're all useless if the gameplay isn't much chop - which is still Raw's biggest issue. The engine has been tweaked, and there's a little extra speed over last years release, but the wrestlers still move at half the speed of a crippled old age pensioner. This becomes a problem when you note that the Raw engine is more grapple dependant than any of the other WWE games on the market. Control is also a major issue, both due to the speed of actions, and the clumsiness of some of the button presses required - for example, running is controlled by either the left analog stick or a double tap of the d-pad - this is highly inaccurate to begin with, but poor collision detection and clipping issues make it look rather silly. Essentially, the miserable gameplay components drag down what could have been a great wrestling experience.
The People's Eyebrow
One could say that Raw 2's very solid visuals provide a solid explanation for the lackluster gameplay. The level of presentation featured in matches in Raw 2 is unmatched - the game provides a very accurate recreation of a WWE show, with everything from pyrotechnics to picture in picture replays when a big move is executed. The wrestlers themselves look phenomenal, bearing astonishingly close resemblance to their real life counterparts, right down to the wrinkles on their faces. The animation is very fluid throughout the fights, though there is a considerable amount of clipping which subtracts some realism from the experience. The sets used in the various shows and Pay per Views are excellent, as are the crowds - who are fully polygonal rather than the flat sprite crap that we're been exposed to for years. Finally, the frame rate is solid, so your wrestling action never skips a beat.
Apart from music during the ring entrances and menus, WWE Raw 2 is rather malnourished in the sound department. The selection of themes for the wrestlers is quite vast, but the quality doesn't suffer at all. Should you not like any of the existing themes, you can use your own custom soundtracks to provide music. Lillian Garcia and Howard Finkel provide the announcements during the ring entrances. Finkel is completely natural in his announcing, while Garcia seems forced which is rather unfortunate. The sounds during the matches are quite generic, excusing the very satisfying snap that you'll hear upon the execution of a Superkick.
You tapped!
WWE Raw 2 provides an unrivaled level of presentation and features, but undermines itself by giving players a slow, dysfunctional gameplay engine. What good is an excellent Create-a-Wrestler mode and phenomenal TV-like presentation if the game engine they revolve around isn't much chop? WWE Raw 2 is an average effort which could have been so much more.
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