WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011

It's still the best wrestling experience on the market and is easily worth the $60 investment.

THQ's Smackdown vs Raw 2011 is a massive game, both in terms of its scope and its content. There is a ton to do here and wrestling game fans will likely find it easy to hold their selves over until next year's game with this title.

WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2011 adds more than enough content to warrant a purchase this year. With so many modes to enjoy and so much content to unlock, WWE fans are going to lose themselves in the game until next year's edition hits.

Besides the horrible lip-syncing, the real tedious grapple holds and the completely unnerving backstage brawls, the games still seems to hold its ground as one of the most entertaining titles this year.

The lack of many big name legends is a shortcoming, but the massive amount of customization options and user created content will keep any fan playing for months.

The look of the new Smackdown game is a mess. The gameplay is very solid but next year there must be a complete graphical remolding of the series. We mostly liked the online Royal Rumble with up to 12 players.

As it is, this new installment still remains a must-have simply due to the Havok physics - it adds that much to the game that it's worth buying it just for crazy extreme rules and TLC matches.

The newest version of the wrestling simulation is convincing due to its new story-features, good controls and the original licenses.

WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2011 is yet another solid game in the long running franchise.

There isn't much innovation here, yet the controls have been utterly fixed, the new Havoc phisics do their job and WWE Universe is a funny diversion. It's a shame that some mechanics aren't yet perfect, even after so many years of developing.

Its attention to detail is a quality not often associated with a franchise about brawny, aggressive men wearing outlandish, skin-tight costumes – manly cosplay, if you will. That THQ and Yuke's have finally decided to let players do what they want with their content by loosening their restrictions shows how much they've listened to the fans.

Between the endless WWE Universe mode, the five Road to Wrestlemania stories, and the user-created content, fans won't be able to put this one down for a long time.

A fun and solid game in the long running WWE franchise.

An acquired taste, but streamlined and authentic. [Christmas 2010, p.90]

Overall SDvR11 is an excellent game with fabulous offline features. If the online wasn't broken I'd most definitely be scoring this game higher, nevertheless if you're a wrestling fan or even a closet wrestling fan, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 is the game you should be purchasing or requesting at Christmas.

I appreciate the attempt to flesh out Road to Wrestlemania, even if it's a bit inconsistent in this early stage. WWE Universe mode is my favorite addition this year, and it could easily be the new marquee mode if they improve it in future titles. [Dec 2010, p.111]

If you're a wrestling fan, there's no reason not to invest in Smackdown vs. Raw 2011. It's an evolution in the series and wrestling games in general. Make sure to check it out.

WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 is still the best wrestling series available and features everything fan girls and boys need for their home console experience. The action is fun, the control system is improved but best of all, it's all that customisation that is given to the player that makes this game so competent. It's a good all rounder game!

It's great to have a solid grap alternative to UFC Undisputed. [Dec 2010, p.106]

There are a ton of new features as well as dozens of little changes that tweak the formula further and get that much closer to perfecting everything the SvR series has tried to do over the years.

The balance of simplicity and depth throughout is impressive and should draw in new players without disappointing old fans of the series.

This new episode of the SmackDown franchise presents a couple of good ideas. The new online mode works properly, and can offer a lot of fun. If you are thinking to play a wrestling game online, this is the best option.

This is yet another good installment of the series after it found the right way years ago. It has not many new features and seems to be focused in improving some things, but it lacks some freshness, despite the new WWE Universe mode.

WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 takes some chances. Some that didn't work and others that did. I know we expected this year to be "Wrestlemania big." However, it didn't quite reach that pinnacle.

Sure, it feels like a suped-up version of last year's title here and there, but there's nothing wrong with that when the game is this much fun.

The usual series update with some nice gameplay additions, a subtle and successful evolution feature and a story mode that fails altogether.

After the massive improvement of last year, we're glad to see the WWE brand is back on track.

This new part in the franchise does contain a few new fine features, but the engine is getting old and the Road to Wrestlemania isn't very interesting. Eventually every fan can have a lot of fun with this game, but if you own the 2010 part, then you don't have to buy this new one.

Really, with the levels of customisation as huge as they are, the player's enjoyment is only held back by their lack of imagination.

Smackdown vs. Raw is showing its age, but there's plenty of fight left in this old superstar.

Aside from the WWE Universe and pitiful backstage portions of Road to Wrestlemania, SvR 2011 just doesn't add much from last year's game.

We're tired of an engine that hasn't seen any reasonable changes in about four years. [Issue#199, p.82]

In wrestler-speak: This one does the job. The big, unfortunate, rush job, that is. [Holiday 2010, p.82]

The net result is a step back for the franchise, as it sadly stands as one of the least fun WWE games to play in recent years.

WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 will easily satisfy every wrestling fan and probably entertain the tourists of the ring. The game is very complete in terms of game modes and choice of wrestlers, and it perfectly recreates the atmosphere and the fun of the discipline. However, it lacks some real innovations: the graphics looks a bit old, many bugs are still there and the single player mode is a joke. We hope that Yuke's Media will raise the bar next time.

Quotation forthcoming.

It's unquestionably fun. But that doesn't excuse the many, many problems, most of which should have been ironed out when the series was a PS2 exclusive over five years ago.

WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 does to little to become a great game. Just the regular WWE Universe and the multiplayer aren't enough to make something beautiful out of a bad game.

The WWE Universe stuff is pretty cool, but outside of that, this really feels like a title that's gone back to the well one too many times at this point.

It is so reprehensibly constructed and targeted directly at the lowest common denominator that fans and gamers alike should be insulted, as I was. The Universe, online, and creation features are compelling, but the foundation upon which they are built is so decrepit that it completely invalidates the meager value this game has to offer.