Reviewed: November 4, 2003
Reviewed by: JoLene Lark
Publisher
THQ
Developer
Anchor, Inc.
Released: September 15, 2003
Genre: Sports
Players: 4
ESRB: Teen
9
9
8
9
9.0
Supported Features
THQ has once again succeeded in providing a second edition of RAW entertainment that will leave you begging for a third edition of this ongoing franchise. WWE RAW 2 is the second in this wrestling series of WWE games that has spanned multiple titles and platforms over hte years such as SNES’ wrestle mania series. It was evident that the developers spent a great deal more time with the game setup and graphical development this time, and RAW 2 is a game worthy of every bit of scrutiny and praise I will discuss.
WWE RAW2 Features:
- Dynamic, multi-player season mode with up to four players
- Enhanced gameplay with a new and improved momentum meter
- Six game modes including Exhibition, Season, King of The Ring, Royal Rumble, expanded Title Match and Create-A-Superstar
- All-new match types including Hell in a Cell and TLC matches
- Up to eight fully-scaled arenas and a variety of backstage areas
- Updated roster of more than 60 WWE Superstars
Game play is the most improved feature in RAW 2. RAW provided a great basic wrestling game while RAW 2 literally pulls all the types of matches, over thirty characters, as well as providing the behind-the-scenes soap opera found on all the WWE shows. WWE RAW 2 controls were very easy to learn and master and the title comes complete with all of the modes and options we've come to expect:
- Exhibition- compete in a tough WWE superstar match up
- Season- start your own WWE career. You can either choose to be an existing superstar or use the great create a superstar option. Be wary of the decisions you make during your season as your popularity and vitality are on the line. It is also in this mode that the soap opera unveils as you gain items by stealing from other player’s lockers or breakup with you girl or boy friend.
- King of the Ring- the classic bracket style tournament that weeds out the unworthy players while leaving the ultimate superstar with the coveted belt.
- Tournament- a make your own king of the ring match that allows you to select a match type, determine the rules, select whom you want to compete against and then beat them all to win the tournament!
- Royal Rumble- get ready for some major wrestling as you can choose from 4-64 superstars to try to defeat for the one title. To eliminate a player either pin or throw them over the ropes to bring on the next opponent.
There are two appearance setting that affect your in the ring and backstage appearance. I enjoy having my character looking slightly different while raiding the locker room vs. the ring. The entrance option was the best part in creating my own superstar as I was able to pop in my favorite music CD and copy the song onto my Xbox hard drive and use that song while entering the arena. The entrance option also allows you to add all the lights, fog, screen effects and pyro you could want. You can also change your superstar’s moves such as your taunts, specials and many others. One thing I must stress is to be sure to save your superstar, as I accidentally backed out of that area and had to spend another ten minutes rebuilding my character to my satisfaction again.
My biggest complaint with the first RAW game was that most of the faces looked fine except for Triple H. I am VERY happy to see that the developers took the time to fix and improve Triple H and ther are much more improvements in RAW 2. Another area of great improvement is that the characters' height is now in proportion with the arena’s ring. Also improved is the way your character’s face and body elements stay true during the match’s and are less apt to be distorted.
In-game movie quality is also vastly improved. The introductory movies are of a much higher resolution in RAW 2. The intro movies also mirror what the superstar uses in the beginning of a real WWE wrestling match. The developers took the time to make the graphics in RAW 2 more refined. Even the crowd graphics were improved and you were able to easily read the signs they were holding up during the whole match. Another area of graphical improvement was found in the locker room feuds as well as in the create a superstar area. Each created star has many more options available ranging from the faces to their shoe selection. The improvements found in RAW 2 make me wonder how much more they will be able to improve upon in future RAW games.
Another sound filled game awaits you in RAW 2. The best option found is that you can save your own music to the Xbox hard drive and use this in your introduction music. Each superstar also has their own entrance sounds in each match. Other sound features are non-annoying menu music and great match sound effects. I found no quirks or irritating sound features and I am sure you will not be annoyed by this game’s sounds either. Sound effects are also much improved versus the previous Xbox version of RAW.
With so many ways of playing RAW 2 expect many hours of original game playing time. It is also rumored that if you complete multiple seasons certain veteran WWE superstars will become unlocked. Thus far I am spending around an hour or more during each sessions of playing RAW 2 without getting my usual loss of interest. Replay value is very high as the AI is usually proficient in randomizing the action of your superstar opponent.
Multi-player gaming was also very well developed in RAW 2. At one time I had three players on my Xbox playing a match at one time. No glitches were found in this mode or in simple player vs. player mode. There was no support for online play using Xbox Live which was sorely missed in this day of online gaming, but hopefully we can see this feature in future WWE Xbox titles.
If you like the original RAW game be sure to either purchase or save up some major rental money as you will become totally hooked on WWE RAW 2. The fact that this game is so much like the TV show is unreal, especially when you can spar outside the ring and steal from the locker rooms. It was great to see that the developer fixed the game format and graphics so much. This was a sure sign to me that they want this game to actually succeed instead of being a mediocre sequel. Whether you rent this game or buy it, just make sure you play it. Many hours of hardcore WWE entertainment await you and hopefully your friends and family.