WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008

Each wrestler now has two fighting style categories, one primary and one secondary. Each fighting style has its advantages and disadvantages in each particular match type.[5] There are eight styles altogether: high-flyer, hardcore, submission art, powerhouse, showman, brawler, dirty and technical.[5][6] In addition, creative manager of THQ Cory Ledesma stated early in production that he planned on having numerous wrestler animations redone.[5]

A new "struggle submission system" has been introduced, incorporating more analog control into the game. The player executing the submission can now decide how much pressure is applied by moving the analog stick in a particular direction. Similarly, the player locked in a submission hold will have to power out also by using the analog stick.[5]

The game features the revived ECW brand, and it takes its place alongside the established Raw and SmackDown! brands. The official box art features the ECW logo prominently. The game's ECW branding has expanded the number of weapons available under the ring during gameplay. New weapons such as guitars are available and tables and barbed wire bats can be set on fire.[7] Despite the inclusion of the brand, the video game franchise will keep its SmackDown! vs. Raw name, although an early logo included "ECW Invasion" in the title. It has been changed, however, to "Featuring ECW".[5]

The game features several arenas that WWE held events at in 2006 and 2007. There are also arenas based on each WWE television show.

Modes

Elijah Burke making his ring entrance.

The game allows several different game modes to be played, each with different goals and options. The Season and General Manager Modes of previous games have been merged into the new "WWE 24/7" mode, which takes its name from WWE's video on demand service. Players can choose to play one of the game's included superstars or create a superstar, or as a general manager of one of the brand. Playing as a wrestler, the goal is to take that wrestler and achieve "legend" status. In order to do so, the player has to win matches, team with and feud with other wrestlers, and gain popularity. At the same time, they must choose whether to train, exercise, relax, or take part in other activities when not wrestling, all with their own positive and negative effects. (The player could only choose to be either on the Smackdown brand or the Raw brand, as the ECW brand was excluded).

Playing as a general manager is similar to the previous General Manager modes in the series, in which one has to choose a brand and act as its General Manager (Jonathan Coachman for Raw, Theodore Long for SmackDown!, Tommy Dreamer for ECW), draft a roster and make decisions to make it the most popular brand of the three. The General Manager is allowed to make staffing decisions, schedule workouts and events.[8] This was also the last game in the Smackdown vs Raw series to have a General Manager mode. There is also an all-new Tournament Mode, which allows the player to control a superstar through the various stages of the WWE tournament, such as Beat The Clock Sprint and King of the Ring, as well as Money in the Bank tournament. The game also allows you to create your own tournament. (This feature is excluded from the Nintendo DS and mobile versions.) Like previous games in the series, the game also allows players to challenge for and defend championships.[9] The game includes championships used by the WWE in 2007, bringing back the branded championships from the previous game and for the first time, the ECW Championship.

The game featured the Fighting Style System which would not appear in later games until the release of WWE 2K18, where the system has returned. With each style, the character would adopt a series of preset abilities. And, depending on primary ability, they would also be able to perform a unique move that can only be activated if the player has a stored finisher icon.

The fighting styles were Powerhouse, Showman, Hardcore, Dirty, Brawler, High-Flyer, Submission and Technical. This system was highly criticized as these pre-setting gave some wrestlers abilities which they cannot actually use, or stopped them from using common moves. For example, Carlito and Chavo Guerrero did not have the ability to perform any of their springboard attacks, and Mr. McMahon was as strong as some of the larger characters in the game. Also, the choice of fighting styles limited the variety of moves available in create-a-moveset.

Wrestlers with the powerhouse fighting style can break out of a pin attempt with just one button press, unless they had sustained a large amount of arm damage. They could also do a powerful Irish Whip (later named a 'Hammer Throw'), which could cause damage if the opponent hit the corner turnbuckles. A player (regardless of weight) could be sent reeling over the top rope with the force of this move. Their special ability was called 'Rampage', a temporary adrenaline rush in which their grapple moves could not be reversed or blocked.

Technical wrestlers automatically reversed all quick grapple moves until they had taken a good deal of arm damage. They also had the ability to perform diving attacks onto opponents outside of the ring. Their special ability was an adrenaline rush that allowed them to counter every attack for a limited time.

Showman is one of the more common kinds. Performing taunts or dives from higher positions cause a faster rise in momentum. They also have 2 special abilities. One allows them to perform one of their opponent's taunts, and if uninterrupted, the opponent is be unable to gain any momentum for a limited time. They can alternatively copy their opponent's finishing move if in the correct position to do so. However, the copied move is weaker than the original.

The most common kind is the Brawler. Brawlers can sit on a downed opponent and punch their opponent's head repeatedly. They also have a special combination of 3 to 5 strikes. If the first strike connects, the defending wrestler is not able to block, avoid or counter the remainder of the strikes in the combination. Their special ability is called 'Wreck Shop', a limited adrenaline rush in which all opponent strikes are countered and all strikes become unblockable.

High-flyers can perform springboard diving attacks to opponents inside or outside of the ring. Instead of countering or side-stepping attacks, they perform an evasive roll. Their special ability is a possum pin. After recovering from being knocked down, a high-flyer can remain on the ground. If the attacker attempts a grapple move, the defending wrestler will go for a pin attempt which is difficult to break out of. However, if the opponent attempts a strike, then the pin attempt is lost.

Submission wrestlers can break out of Struggle Submissions with ease. They can also force an opponent to submit to any Struggle Submission, even if it is not a finisher or signature move.

Dirty wrestlers, like Chavo Guerrero, can perform dirty moves, which boost their momentum faster. They can also remove turnbuckle covers and use weapons to build momentum. They can also use the referee as a human shield, making themselves immune to all attacks. When they release the referee, they shove him into the opponent. This is difficult to avoid and momentarily stuns the opponent and the referee. Their special move involves an eye-poke and a low blow which causes a lot of damage to the head and torso.

Hardcore wrestlers get momentum bonuses for using weapons. They can also perform grapple moves while holding a weapon. If they try to use a steel chair with full momentum, they automatically perform the Steel Chair DDT. If they are caused to bleed, they instantly get full momentum. Their special move can only be performed with a steel chair in hand. They strike themselves in the face repeated until they bleed. While this causes full momentum, it also causes critical head damage.

ECW made its first appearance in the series as a brand, Ashley, CM Punk, Elijah Burke, Kelly Kelly, JTG, Shad and MVP make their WWE video game debuts. While Sabu, Sandman, Marcus Cor Von and Kenny Dykstra make their only appearance in the franchise. It is the last WWE video game to feature Torrie Wilson.

This is the first game in the series not to feature Chris Benoit after his double murder and suicide in June 2007. All material related to Benoit were removed or made unavailable through normal means, including all versions of the crossface and diving headbutt.

Jillian Hall and The Boogeyman were omitted from the game even though they were a part of the current roster at the time and were featured in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007.

The soundtrack featured 12 songs of hard rock, nu-metal, and alternative rock genres.

Reception

Review scores Publication Score DS PS2 PS3 PSP Wii Xbox 360 EGM 6.83/10[12] Eurogamer 6/10[13] Game Informer 8/10[14] 8/10[14] GamePro [15] [16] GameRevolution C[17] C[17] C[17] GameSpot 6.5/10[18] 6.5/10[19] 6.5/10[19] 4.5/10[20] 6.5/10[19] GameSpy [21] [22] [22] GameTrailers 7.4/10[23] 7.4/10[23] GameZone 7/10[24] 7/10[25] 7.5/10[26] 6.5/10[27] 7.5/10[28] 7/10[29] IGN 7/10[30] 6.8/10[31] 7.5/10[32] 6.5/10[33] 7.5/10[34] 7.8/10[35] Nintendo Power 6.5/10[36] OXM (US) 8.5/10[37] PSM 8.5/10[38] 9/10[39] Aggregate scores GameRankings 61.64%[40] 73.60%[41] 71.72%[42] 66.20%[43] 59.14%[44] 70.47%[45] Metacritic 61/100[46] 71/100[47] 74/100[48] 68/100[49] 59/100[50] 71/100[51]

The game was met with average to mixed reception upon release. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 73.60% and 71 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;[41][47] 71.72% and 74 out of 100 for the PlayStation 3 version;[42][48] 70.47% and 71 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 version;[45][51] 66.20% and 68 out of 100 for the PSP version;[43][49] 61.64% and 61 out of 100 for the DS version;[40][46] 59.14% and 59 out of 100 for the Wii version;[44][50] and 55% for the Mobile version.[52]

GameZone gave the Mobile version 5.5 out of 10 and said, "Overall it does more than most, has decent visuals, and runs pretty smoothly. But it doesn’t have the proper mechanics to make it feel like a wrestling game – consequently, it comes off as an arcade button-masher."[53] However, IGN gave the same version four out of ten and said, "Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 can only be recommended for the hardcore wrestling fan. For anyone else looking to spice up their action gaming category I recommend Chess. At least every match will be different."[54]

The PlayStation 2 version of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[55] indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[56]

• List of licensed wrestling video games
• List of fighting games
• List of video games in the WWE 2K Games series
• WWE 2K

• WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 on IMDb
• WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 at MobyGames
• WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 (Nintendo DS) at MobyGames