I’ll be the first to admit I am not a hardcore videogamer, and prefer my games simple. As someone who grew up on Nintendo and Sega, give me a simple game and I can entertain myself for hours; make it complicated, and I lose interest. Such is the case with the Nintendo DS version of Smackdown vs. Raw 2009.
Just reading the instruction booklet made the game seem daunting. Gameplay is done using the stylus and control pad. Tap the screen to strike. Draw a circle to lock up. Draw a double circle for a strong grapple. Irish whip your opponent by drawing a line in the direction that you want to whip him. It would take me longer than my deadline to even hope to get the hang of it.
Whatever happened to simple control pad and buttons?
Graphics-wise the game looks great. Obviously it isn’t going to measure up to playing on your big screen TV with a larger console, but for a portable player I was impressed with the graphics. Twenty-nine superstars are included in the game –- some expected like Batista, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Triple H and some unexpected surprises like Big Daddy V and Jimmy Wang Yang. Match variety is great –- Last Man Standing, TLC, Steel Sage and others. It even has a Create-A-Wrestler feature, which won’t be as in-depth as the stationary consoles, but still is an unexpected addition.
If you are a DS master and know how to control your stylus like an expert than absolutely, SVR09 is worth picking up. If your only console is DS and you need your wrestling fix, the same applies. For the casual gamer though, as impressive as the graphics are, there are games that are a heck of a lot less complicated and more fun. If you have a large console and the game, don’t bother getting the portable version.
