WWE Raw
follows on from
WWF Smackdown
on the Playstation in 2000 and it's clear that the only thing that has changed
is that we now have prettier graphics, a different moniker - since the wrestling
peeps lost out to the World Wildlife Fund over who could use "WWF", while the
the gameplay remains much the same.
All the usuals are here including The Rock, Steve Austin, Trish Stratus, Lita
and many more, each with their own intros as they walk into the arena before
a match.
There are scores of options, as usual, which include creating a character,
view the museum to check out superstars and their stats, then play a game.
There are Exhibition matches like a Single Match (1 on 1), Tag Team (2 vs 2)
and Fatal 4-Way (you against three others - defeat just one to win); Title
matches such as the big-name WWE Championship, the no-holds-barred Hardcore
and the spicy Women's match; plus a King of the Ring tournament where
you playoff to see who'll be the... king of the ring, obviously.
When it comes to creating your own player, choose a mask for a head - such as
one not dissimilar from the gimp's in Pulp Fiction - and the
breasts of Debra, if that's your desire.
Since the PSX game listed above, the graphics are definitely improved upon.
Each of the participants are well represented and the way they interact seems
more natural, although there is a tendancy sometimes for them to move sideways
unnaturally when falling because you can't have three people occupying the same
space at once.
The sound is a bit of slap 'n' tickle from the hunks of meat clambering about
the canvas, plus a very loud heavy metal soundtrack. On the downside, it can
all get very overpowering very quickly, but if you don't like your neighbours,
this is the game for you.
While some of the interactivity is improved, though, I do find I get more
success just banging away at the buttons because when I do try to position
myself and hit someone or make them go my way, it never works out the way I'd
like.
Definitely a case for a rental rather than a purchase, on first viewing,
since it doesn't offer a great deal of oomph over previous wrestling games.
Rent it for a night and if it completely grabs you, then go out and buy it.
The following is a list of all the The WWE/WWF DVDs and games review online to date :
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Since the PSX game listed above, the graphics are definitely improved upon.
Each of the participants are well represented and the way they interact seems
more natural, although there is a tendancy sometimes for them to move sideways
unnaturally when falling because you can't have three people occupying the same
space at once.
While some of the interactivity is improved, though, I do find I get more
success just banging away at the buttons because when I do try to position
myself and hit someone or make them go my way, it never works out the way I'd
like.
