WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009

At its core, SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is very similar to last year’s game. Everything feels and plays pretty much like it always has, and one wonders how long the series’ essential gameplay — as fun as it is — can stay the same before fans demand something fresh.

Fortunately, developer Yuke’s has done an inspired job of enhancing the game in other ways. This year’s version has received a graphical boost and refined hit detection — plus enough new trappings to entice owners of previous entries.

Gone are the days of 24/7 and GM modes. Shining in the spotlight is the new Road to Wrestlemania mode, a narrative-driven career composed of six standalone stories, one of which is playable cooperatively. John Cena’s solo story, for example, sees him fighting in Iraq in a Tribute to the Troops, while Rey Mysterio and Batista test each other’s trust in their co-op tale. Complete with branding in the bottom corner after each fight’s finale, tales are told through a series of SmackDown/Raw television events, so the entire thing is absolutely seething with that soap-opera-formen style of storytelling that makes professional wrestling so memorable — and it translates brilliantly to the game with plenty of feuds and betrayals to keep things interesting. At three hours per story, they’re quick to blow through and offer great bite-sized chunks of gameplay.

Carrying a created character up the ranks in Career mode will scratch your itch for longevity. Progression is directly proportional to how you play — Want to boost your submission power? Use them more often! — so it’s got a great “one more round” addiction factor when you’re choosing from an enormous list of different match types (the newest of which, Inferno, has brawlers setting each other ablaze in a flaming ring).

You can also use the Create-A-Finisher feature to give your wrestler a custom attack consisting of up to 10 attack animations picked from a list of hundreds. The end result is a devastating homebrewed string of attacks that flows incredibly naturally.

The few blemishes SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 has — you’ll still be struggling to look at the right opponent in a ring full of four or more, and characters clip through each other from time to time — fail to pin it down. The flaws are overshadowed by crisp controls and the same unbridled fun that has made this the best wrestling series for years. In the face of its TNA Impact competition, SmackDown stands up and steps forward enough to stay on top.