This years SvR release is more polished than all the previous iterations. The presentation,visuals, and sound are all top notch. I rarely saw (if ever) any of the collision problems that's haunted this game since it began almost 10 years ago. The in-ring action is faster and smoother, more fluid. The announcers appear to know who's in the ring for a change. The new "Road to Wrestlemania" mode is a really welcome change to the series. You take on the persona of one of 6 superstars HHH,Cena,The Undertaker,and a few others. Also included in this mode is a Batista& Rey Mysterio Co-op. The goal of course to make it to the "Grand daddy of 'em all". All the while featuring real voice overs from the wrestlers themselves in a very unique story mode. So now you have a reason to actually use an existing Wrestler instead of your created one (like I usually do). Now the bad news. Unfortunately the trade off for this is there is no story mode for a created character. There is a full on career mode, complete with stat tracking. Other than moving up the ranks and winning new championships is less rewarding than ever before. Your Created superstar's abilities improve based on match performance rather than last years training sessions. With all the improvements made with the controls and all that I mentioned earlier it's kind of disappointing to lose what has been the game's main draw for all these years. A new camera perspective has been added when the action spills out of the ring, and it can be difficult to see your opponent when you knock them down. However I'll admit these are small gripes. When it comes down to it you play this game for the wrestling itself,and THQ definitely nailed it this year. Online play is as frantic and challenging as ever, and if you're able that may be where you end up spending the bulk of your time. It was nearly perfect this year. I'm hoping this is a sign of things to come. This years release is more than worth a play if you've given up on the series

Ah, yes. The wrestling world has produced yet another great game. I can still remember my elementary school days--coming home to play No Mercy with my brothers. Still, this game has even more components and yields almost the same fun. Now, don't get me wrong, no game can exceed the amount of fun you get out of playing No Mercy, but this is a very nice attempt. I give WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 a 9. It is well-deserved.