Wrestling fans who want to see their dream match-ups in action can do so with this week's release of WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 for the PSP. Despite a few flaws carried over from last year's release, fans will clamor for ringside seats at this portable wrestling showdown.

From the start, the game offers a nice variety of game modes, which includes a comprehensive career mode called Road To Wrestlemania. Players choose a wrestler and take them from amateur rope jumpers to World Champion. This road is paved with speed bumps in the form of rival opponents and special Pay-Per-View show challenges, including free-for-all backstage fights. To characterize this, players can design their own wrestlers, customize their moves and create a "clique" to for them, such as the Four Horsemen or Degeneration X. They can also kick off their own pay-per-view events. Both of these features add refreshing value to the game.

Impatient players can instantly jump into an Exhibition Match, with a number of tweakable rules and options. . Players can choose from 67 wrestlers over the course of the game, including current faves such as John Cena, Triple H and Kennedy; classic wrestlers such as Dusty Rhodes, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan; late wrestling legends such as Mr. Perfect and Eddie Guerrero; and a couple of faces no longer with the company, like the Rock and Kurt Angle. As a player progresses through the game and attains certain goals, they can purchase legendary wrestlers from the WWE shop using money they've earned by winning matches. WWE Divas are also present, although only seven show up here. As far as locations, THQ has thrown in settings from each of the WWE programs and Pay-Per-View events 20 of which must be unlocked throughout the game.

Players can also go head-to-head to see who's got the best grudge strength. THQ has once again skipped out on online play, meaning that it's Ad Hoc only. This is a bummer, since it would have been cool to take on wrestlers across the globe. The option to connect the PSP version of Smackdown vs. Raw to the PS2 version of the game also went missing, which is confusing since it was an option last year. It's a sorely missed feature, as that means no data sharing and career continuance between the two versions.

The gameplay in the portable version works surprisingly well. Instead of trying to confuse gamers with a wonky analog system, THQ has wisely positioned wrestling control on the D-pad. Players can move around quite easily, and can pull off a number of multi-hit punches and power moves. Holding the 'R' button down during a grapple will actually give the player an option to use one of several moves, which helps mix up the execution.

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