THQ recently invaded Washington D.C. to give journalists another taste of its upcoming brawler, WWE SmackDown Vs Raw 2008, and thankfully, the final version plays better than the preview copies we received a couple of weeks ago. That's not to say it doesn't have its issues, especially the PlayStation 3 version, but if you crave head smashing, body slamming action, prepare to layeth the Smacketh down.

Sorry PS3 owners, but your version actually looks worse than the Xbox 360 edition, thanks to anti-aliasing issues that prevent THQ from smoothing jagged edges, resulting in sloppy looking superstars that pale in comparison to their much more attractive Xbox 360 alter egos. Furthermore, the developers let you get a first person view during all ring entrances, the goal to capture what superstars see on their way to the ring. This PS3 exclusive feature works in conjunction with the SIXAXIS controller, allowing you to physically maneuver it to look around. Although a novel idea, the jerky camera will probably make squeamish gamers vomit. With that being said, 2008 marks the series' PS3 debut, so while this will do nothing to stop fan boys from crying, there's always 2009.

The rest of the game suffers from the usual SmackDown issues, such as hair clipping through muscles, problems with targeting multiple wrestlers and matches taking too damn long to complete. Buried Alive matches, for example, drag on for upwards of 45 minutes before someone gets dumped into the casket, and although THQ lets you set tables on fire in the ECW Rules Match, it offers no direction on how to injure your opponents, other than Irish whipping wrestlers into them. Then again, the game doesn't include controller breakdowns in its options menu, forcing you to learn on your own or open the...dare we say it...manual.

These problems notwithstanding, we like the game, not necessarily for the combat but the host of options. THQ pumped a whopping 62 match types into the game, including Buried Alive, First Blood, Elimination Chamber, Ladder, TLC (Tables, Ladders and Chairs), Last Man Standing, Steel Cage and Parking Lot Brawl. You can mix it up with up to five other wrestlers at once, create your own superstars using hundreds of parts, create your own ring entrances and championships. Furthermore, the game has 20 pay-per-view arenas, such as December to Dismember, Raw, SmackDown, Backlash and the upcoming Cyber Sunday. Now combine this with a 50 plus superstar roster (one that features John Cena, Randy Orton, The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy), and you have a stocked WWE game with enough goodies to keep you busy for months.

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