Another year, another game. Smackdown vs. RAW 2006 came to the Playstation 2 console November 15, and since then I’ve been laying the Smackdown on superstars such as The Undertaker and John Cema, as well as legends like Hulk Hogan and British Bulldog. There are so many things to talk about with this game because it has improved a lot from last year’s game.The first thing would have to be the season mode. This year’s season mode is more superstar oriented. For example, if you choose Triple H, the storylines in the game would be more oriented toward him rather than playing the same storyline with a different superstar, like JBL.
One storyline that I enjoyed a lot was the WWE Legends Tour. I played this as Eddie Guerrero, who recently passed away. As a tribute to him, however, I’m going to retire the WWE Championship with him as champion on the game. In this storyline, your superstar will go through a month of fighting WWE Legends like Mankind and Stone Cold Steve Austin. At the end of the month, if you defeat the legends in a battle royal match, you win the Legend Killer trophy for your locker room trophy case.
Speaking of your locker room, this year you have a customizable locker room. You can paint your walls orange and have a classic wood locker or a metal locker. You can hang a poster of your favorite WWE Diva all over the four appointed wall points, select what kind of couch you want, as well as rugs and various room corner items.
Some of these items, however, have to be unlocked by winning a certain trophy and then purchasing them in the WWE Shopzone with the WWE Cash you earn through wrestling the matches in story mode and completing challenges. The trophies you can earn are RAW Season Trophy, Smackdown Season Trophy, Legend Killer Trophy, and GM of the Year, to name a few. I have three more to get. This alone will provide you with hours of game play. After you get each trophy, you unlock an item and receive $10,000 for the WWE Shopzone.
The GM Mode is also a cool new feature. If you don’t like to read much, however, I would recommend you steer clear of this one because it’s really text oriented. You’re the GM for a year, and at the end of the year, if you’ve done a better job as GM, Vince McMahon will award you the GM of the Year trophy. I had a lot of trouble getting the fans over on my side, so this one will probably take me a while.
Some new match types have been added as well. My favorite of these is the Buried Alive Match. This has been one fans of the Smackdown series have been waiting for since they had the casket match in the first game. This match plays just like the casket match in the first Smackdown game, with your opponent being buried alive after the match is over. Other match types are the “Fulfill Your Fantasy” match (made popular by the Taboo Tuesday Pay-Per-View) and Bar Room Brawl.
Over all this game will provide you with hours of game play. If you’re a fan of pro wrestling games, this is one that I suggest you get.
Smackdown vs. RAW 2006: A+