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Good: Graphics, Create-a-Wrestler, amount of modes

Bad: Stamina system, GM Mode, soundtrack

Best created wrestler ever: RoboHitler

I'm pretty happy that Yukes has started giving the Smackdown series a numerical subtitle, because they must have been running out of dumb catchphrases. We've already been through Know Your Role, Just Bring It, Shut Your Mouth, and Here Comes the Pain. This update (similar to the Madden games, I hesitate to call these yearly releases 'sequels') adds some new modes and a few gameplay tweaks, but it still feels all too familiar.

Some of the aspects of the gameplay are simply annoying. Escaping submission moves by stopping a moving line in a certain space is awkward, and seems more like you're kicking a field goal in a football game than escaping a figure-four. The new stamina system is horribly annoying, and depletes far too quickly (especially if you use a lot of powerful moves). As you perform moves or get beat up, your stamina bar drains. When it's low or empty, it's nearly impossible to do anything. Your wrestler just freezes and hunches over, unable to fight. In this situation, you have to hold Select to regain your stamina. It's truly a chore, and the gameplay is far better when this option is turned off.

Speaking of options, SvR2006 has a lot. You can tweak an insane amount of AI settings and other options. Feel your opponent is reversing grapples too often? Turn the frequency of grapple reversals down. This insane attention to detail is made extremely apparent in the massive create-a-wrestler mode. More user-friendly than ever, this game will allow you to create just about anything you can imagine. My RoboHitler was complete with an eye visor, hook hands, skin that resembled metal and the people in the crowd even held up the German flag and "SUPPORT THE TROOPS" signs for him. Honestly, if you can think of it, you can create it. Make an Oompa Loompa, make Conan O'Brien, make Ted Nugent. Go crazy with it, because it's perhaps the best aspect of the game. Once you're done, you can even go online and trade your created monstrosity with other gamers.

As for match types, it includes just about every gimmick match seen in the last decade of WWE. Armageddon Hell in a Cell, Buried Alive, TLC, First Blood, it's all here. They're all handled equally well, and a lot of them can be a blast in multiplayer or online (especially Ladder or TLC matches). In addition to the amount of different matches, there's also a bevy of arenas to battle in. All of the Pay-Per-View arenas are here, as well as the TV shows and even the ECW arena.

Season Mode is decent, and features some good voice-over work from the actual WWE Superstars. Different story paths are available, so there's reason to play through again. One thing I didn't understand is why they start one story arc off with your character going after Triple H and the WWE Championship right away. This mode does a pretty good job of mixing up the gameplay. One week will have you going after the title in a cage match, while the other will place you in an interference-friendly manager position.

GM Mode seems like a decent idea, but it's actually incredibly boring for anyone but the most hardcore of wrestling fans. Like a virtual Vince McMahon or Eric Bischoff, you'll arrange rivalries, manage finances, and draft talent for your show. JR and Tazz will give you advice from time to time, wrestlers will get injured, and TV ratings will rise and fall. Most of this is done through a simple menu interface (sometimes resembling the WWE website), and it gets old pretty quickly.

Every superstar in the game looks absolutely identical to their real-life counterparts. Faces are incredibly detailed, and every wrestler's entrance is painstakingly recreated down to the most minute detail. Crowds are animated very well, and the arenas all look great. The soundtrack is absolutely terrible, but it only plays during the menus and can thankfully be turned off. Sound effects aren't a huge step up from previous games, but there is a huge amount of commentary. Both teams of commentators (JR and the King for Raw, Michael Cole and Tazz for Smackdown) are in the game, and they're more talkative than ever. They'll reference events from wrestling's past, talk about historic feuds, and make a ton of cheesy jokes. While you'll hear a couple of the same things twice, it's still the most detailed commentary I've ever seen in a wrestling game.

For hardcore wrestling fans, this game has to be the Holy Grail. There are so many things to tinker with, so many little things to buy with your 'WWE Cash' earned in the Season and a huge amount of attention to detail. Unfortunately, if you're not a hardcore WWE fan, the gameplay alone isn't reason to buy this game. If this game was released back when I was into wrestling, I wouldn't leave the house. Now that I haven't watched in years, it's far less appealing. If you're a huge WWE fan, Smackdown vs. Raw is certainly worth a purchase. If you're not into it, I'd recommend a rental at best.

Graphics: A-

Sound: B

First Play: C

Last Play: C+

Gameplay: C

Overall: 74% C