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WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2006

The best wrestling game since No Mercy. Period.

Last year's transitory SmackDown vs. RAW was somewhat of a letdown. Strong game that it might have been, it didn't build on the evolutionary changes that 2003's Here Comes the Pain did. Instead, it opted for the "minor update" route that's plagued professional sports titles for years and even lost a couple of features that were so enjoyable from the previous season. So while the game was certainly a lot of fun and did plenty of things right, it didn't do enough to set itself apart like the aforementioned Here Comes the Pain or Aki's No Mercy did. WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2006, on the other hand, definitely does.

The old addage "...everything but the kitchen sink" should be the first thing that comes to mind if you were to step back and realize just how much of an improvement SVR2006 really is. The teams at 717798/vids_1.html" class='autolink'>THQ and Yuke's Media Creations have done a spectacular job of listening to fans and critics alike to formulate one of the most feature-packed wrestling games around. Be it presentational, the gameplay, customization options, or the online mode, almost everything in SmackDown vs. RAW 2006 has been improved in some form or another (and that's an impressive move for a sequel no matter what the source material is). At the forefront of SVR2006's list of improvements is combination of the brand new stamina and momentum systems. A much more important addition than first thought, these meters add a lot of strategy and balance to a title that used to have issues in that category. In the past, it was easy to find a couple of repeating 'money moves' that kept your opponent floored or permanently dazed so that you could beat him up with few problems (how many of you, like me, would exploit this fact in tag team matches to keep one guy from ever reaching his partner?). Because of the addition of stamina and momentum bars, however, move duplication isn't as problematic anymore. Repeatedly abusing the crossface isn't possible anymore.

The reason these systems bring such balance to the action is because they penalize players for repeating similar maneuvers. If you continually bodyslam an opponent over and over again, for example, your momentum will begin to drop and you'll lose the support of the crowd. This makes a comeback from your opponent a lot more likely and also prevents you from earning a SmackDown finishing maneuver.

But let's assume that you do decide to mix-up it up and start delivering power grapples and signature moves until your momentum meter is charged. That's the way to do it, of course, but you'll have to be smart about it or suffer the consequences. String together too many high-end attacks and your stamina bar drains to almost nothing. This makes your movements slower and your character prone to easier exhaustion (opening up another opportunity for your enemy to attack). Knowing when to press select to manually regenerate your stamina between big spots is essential to winning main event matches on the higher difficulty levels. Expect guys like Kurt Angle to last longer than guys like Big Show.

Be warned, though, the meter does seem to drain a little faster than it ought to and may take some getting used to (and should probably be tweaked a bit for next year). Nonetheless, it's a great feature and it's hard to imagine any SmackDown game from now on without it.

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