WWE SmackDown Vs Raw 2008 has two things going for it. First, the game almost perfectly captures the pageantry of WWE wrestling, right down to the motion captured and visually impressive ring entrances. Second, it includes a plethora of options that'll make wrestling fans swoon, including modes that let them create their own superstar and championship belts. But slick looking graphics and assorted bells and whistles mean nothing if the in ring slobber knockers don't play right. As we dropkicked opponents and bludgeoned them with punches to the forehead, one thing became clear: THQ is in danger of losing the fun factor associated with its storied franchise. It needs to return to its best SmackDown game for a little perspective, that being 2003's Here Comes the Pain.

It's not that 2008 plays poorly. It just suffers from the familiar trappings that plague THQ and Yuke's previous wrestling games, that being a simulation style of play that slows down what is a fast paced and brutal "sport". Even the high flying characters slowly lumber around, and much of their animations look more mechanical than human; a twisted mix between John Cena and Robocop. This runs in contrast to Here Comes the Pain, which explodes with an arcade style in which superstars zip across the ring and deliver punishing moves.

Take the Royal Rumble, for instance. In Here Comes the Pain, you can simply clothesline guys over the top rope and onto the arena floor, the way most eliminations in the actual event happen. In SmackDown Vs Raw 2008, THQ forces you to "push" your opponents out most of the time, knocking them to the outside of the ring apron and then button mashing until your fingers hurt. Occasionally, you'll Irish whip someone over the top and their momentum will carry their carcass onto the concrete, but that's a rare occurrence. Hell, you can't even interrupt a wrestler (or wrestlers-as two guys can team up against someone) to make a save, but that does hold true for wrestlers in a grapple maneuver. Once he or she initiates one, you must watch it unfold.

All of the ring entrances look spectacular, but THQ still hasn't figured out how to eliminate the load times between wrestlers, and what ensues is a series of awkward pauses where one person hits the ring, the game loads and then the other guy's music kicks in. This proves especially weird after matches, where someone gets pinned and then the game has to load the winning animations and music.
In addition, the bizarre camera angle that displays what the wrestlers see once they enter the ring looks strange, and during Hell in a Cell matches, the game purposely slows down whenever someone gets tossed off the top of the cage. We understand it's for dramatic effect, but it comes at the expense of the other wrestlers, who move just as slowly as the rest of the game.

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