The Globe and Mail

• Reviewed on:

  Playstation 2

• Also available for:

  Sony PSP

• Publisher:

  THQ

• Developer:

  Yuke's Media Creations
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• The Good:

  General Manager mode is an excellent addition. Wide assortment of gimmick matches. Create-a-Wrestler is wonderfully deep. Great Legend wrestlers to unlock. Excellent visuals and gameplay mechanics. AI stands up much better than prior games in the genre.

• The Bad:

  Online multiplayer isn't without its problems. Clipping will sometimes occur with the graphics. Divas gimmick matches still don't cause any excitement.

• The Verdict:

  THQ finally comes out with a great wrestling game.
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REVIEW:

WWE fans have had to endure one disappointment after the other in gaming circles seeing as how some titles were just off the mark, while others lacked more than just polish. But this time, WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2006 may be the saving grace those fans have been waiting for.

With each year, new features and tweaks have been added, but at the expense of existing ones that were always solid. In this case, Yuke's has developed a wrestling game that is deep and intuitive, yet sacrifices little in the process.

Visually speaking, the improvements made with this version are noticeable. Where wrestlers were a little bit clunky and stiff before (particularly during ring entrances), there's more flow to the way they move here. If you watch Shawn Michaels' entrance, or even that of Booker T, you can see the obvious differences in their actions. The faces, especially, have been improved to the point where none of the WWE wrestlers in the game can complain about how they look - although the guys and girls with long hair may still cringe at how their locks don't flow at all, which has always been an issue.

In the ring, there's more of a rag-doll-physics aspect to the graphics engine. This is amplified in the brawling venues you get to fight in, such as the parking lot or local bar. Actually, some of the visual elements in those out-of-the-ring matches can be hilarious, like the one in the bar where Rob Van Dam clocked me behind the head with a wine bottle after asking the bartender for it.

From a gameplay standpoint, the new General Manager mode has to be the best new addition to this franchise. The premise is pretty simple: You're the boss of either Smackdown! or RAW and your job is to draft a roster and set up a successful show that can beat the other in ratings, profits and wrestler morale.

It's not as easy as it sounds. You have to watch your budget, keep your roster happy and push the envelope with some intriguing matches and storylines. So as an example, if you're setting up a pay-per-view, you can't attach a gimmick to every match because of the costs involved, not to mention that you have to decide if a wrestler whose been begging for a title shot deserves it. But if you feel they don't, you run the risk of making him or her unhappy thus affecting performance.

Jim Ross will offer you a tip here and there in support of your managing efforts, but the ultimate winner in this mode is the attention to detail I mentioned.

There are a bevy of gimmick matches to choose from here with Buried Alive being one of the newest. If playing with a friend, expect this match to take a while because getting either one of you into the casket will take a heavy beating and plenty of button-mashing once one is poised to close the top. A Fulfill Your Fantasy match has been added for the divas, but it's no bra and panties affair (which is not in the game either, by the way). There's only so much you can take of hitting each other with pillows amid a bed and love seats in the ring.