Great wrestling game

In this game, you take on the role of a WWE wrestler and must climb the ranks and win the WWE or World title to win story mode. Story mode features various storylines in between matches, with some choices you can make to change the storylines. While it's not completely linear, it gets repetitive. There is only a few storylines, and once you've played a few times, you've probably seen them all. Overall, story mode isn't that hard to complete. You can't play story mode with everyone though, which is a disappointment.

The graphics of the game look very realistic. The sound however is just average. The commentators for matches repeat things too much, and the crowd chants are sometimes for wrestlers not even in the match.

The controls are easy to learn. Just like in WWE on television, you must perform moves on your opponent. When your opponent is worn out enough, you pin him or her to win the match. You can also win by DQ, count out and submission. Some match types such as ladder have special win situations.


Besides the story mode, there is exhibition and GM (General Manager) modes.

In exhibition mode, you can pick any wrestler to face any other wrestler in any match in the game. There is 100 match types to choose from: but the 100 total is misleading. There is actually 24 different types, with variations on each (which makes it 100 overall). You can choose to play in 20 different arenas from WWE television and pay per view events. Using different arenas doesn't change the match itself. It changes the look of the ring and outside of it, but that's it.


In General Manager mode, you are the GM of a brand and must make it better than the other. You pick either Raw or Smackdown for the brand you are in charge of. You buy and sell wrestlers, and try to have the best roster at the end of a given time. You make matches for television and pay per views as well. Injuries happen to only you, and never the computer controlling the other brand. This is a major flaw and certainly is a disadvantage to you. You can either simulate matches for your events, or play them. This mode is loosely based on a popular computer game, except that the computer game is much better.

In the game you have a locker room where you can view your records and what you've earned in the game. There is unlockable wrestlers, locker room items and other things that you need to buy or unlock in other ways. You earn money for each match you are in, so unlocking things isn't a problem if you just play matches.

As for the roster in the game: it's pretty decent. It's outdated (as always), but that doesn't hurt the game much. Legends return, but Hulk Hogan appears as 3 legends (one for each of his different personas: 80s, Hollywood and regular). This was just plain stupid, and a waste of space. Well known stars: John Cena, JBL, Triple H, Edge, Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, along with many other wrestlers. In my opinion, they could've had more of an updated roster if they would've left out the legends.

The matches are pretty fun, with a few exceptions. The women's match: fulfill your fantasy is a bit lame and too easy. The buried alive match is simply a casket match with bad controls. Other than those, it's the typical match types in wrestling games: cage, ladder, tag, singles, hardcore and so on.

There is also online mode for the game, which is alright if you like that type of thing. Most offline features are in online play.