It wasn’t too long ago that THQ released its first WWE Raw game for the Xbox.  Unfortunately the game lacked all the qualities seen in their PS2 SmackDown series and the entire experience left WWE wrestling fans with a bad taste in their mouths.  Aside from the fact that many of the wrestlers looked nothing like their real-life counterparts and the controls were a bit sluggish, has THQ learned from its mistakes and offer up a whole new wrestling experience with WWE Raw 2?  Wrestling fans, the answers can be found inside.

Raw 2, I’m happy to report, is actually an improvement from the previous Raw game.  A number of things have been added to this year’s game including a more in-depth Create A Superstar feature and a few additions in wrestling moves such as counter moves and specialty moves.  And if this was not enough, they really do pile on the game modes and extras this time around.

With a whopping sixty superstars--including the ever so loved WWE Divas--the game offers everything from an Exhibition match to a complete Season (the game’s story mode) as well as King of the Ring and Royal Rumble.  The good news, though, is that there are plenty of game matches here too.  There’s Hell in a Cell, Ladder, TLC, Table, Street Fight and even the Royal Rumble.  Plenty to see and do?  You better believe it.

This year’s Season mode allows up to four players to go through a story mode-type season that has you climbing your way to the top of the WWE ladder that leads all the way to the Pay-Per-View event Wrestlemania.  You can incorporate your own created wrestler (you design him or her anyway you see fit) into the story or use any of the already established superstars for a more familiar feel.  Alliances are made and broken in this mode and there are challenges aplenty that are true to the WWE franchise.  While the story is a bit on the weak side, it’s the wrestling action and the mayhem that ensues after doing things like picking into a foes locker or firing your current manager.

Control-wise, Raw 2 sees a number of improvements and sees an even smaller number of things that don’t really work for it.  For example, the new counter moves prove to be most distracting when the CPU characters just keep countering every specialty move you so happen to pull off.  The targeting system is also a bit off, making character make empty grabs.  I long for those old mistakes where the targeting had you directly centered at foes even if it meant accidentally targeting the referee.  On the other hand, unleashing specialty moves is a pure joy as are the other well-known moves.  The instruction manual goes into detail on how to pick up a chair, for example, but slamming it over a rival’s head is all up to you.

The Create A Superstar is a lot more pleasantly well organized this time around and that means features are already pre-set and ready for your choosing.  While it would have been a lot more fun if they had adopted the SmackDown way of designing your character (e.g. allowing you free reign of changing practically every aspect of your character), this isn’t a bad feature at all.  You can also add your own entrance tune (straight off the Xbox hard drive) as well as decide on what type of pyrotechnics you’d like.

One of the game’s most charming aspects is the fact that it loyally recreates the televised events down to the actual video footage, popping of flash bulbs and snazzy graphics titles.  The superstars themselves all look and more natural enough and thankfully they look more like the actual wrestlers. The more extravagant the wrestlers, such as Hollywood Hogan, are the ones that are most identifiable but now the other fan favorites don‘t look like poorly designed caricatures.  You’ll note the facial details the most in animated cut scenes during the game’s story mode or after a match.  The arenas are also in need of some visual flair, but they’re not bad at all.

Apart from the fact that there’s no voice work found in the game except for the ring announcer, the superstar intros are still fun to listen to as they make their dramatic entrance.  Many of the tunes are made especially for the superstars with the exception of a few wrestlers that use licensed music.  The game also lacks sound effects, particularly when it comes to grunts of pain or getting slammed by obstacles.

WWE Raw 2 is the improvement we were all hoping for in a series that shows a lot of promise.  With enough game modes and extras to choke a horse with and controls solid enough to make the experience fun, this game is certainly worth your while if your a true fan of the WWE franchise.  As for the casual wrestling fan, Raw 2 should not be ignored and would make the perfect weekend rental to share with friends.   

Gameplay: 8.6
The real downer here is that the new additions, such as the easy flow of the new countering system, are more of an annoyance here rather than a welcome change.  The targeting is also a bit off, making for many moments of grabbing-and-missing.  Other than that, though, the controls are pretty solid and executing specialty moves makes for a really satisfying sight.

Graphics: 8.2
Gamers will be amazed how well Raw 2 captures the whole WWE televised event presentation.  Not only does the game faithfully recreate each superstar entrance but also adds the flashy intro graphics and the flash from the cameras of the fans in attendance.  The good news is that unlike the first game certain superstars look a lot like their actual counterparts now.  Triple H looks like more like himself now, as does Booker T.  The arenas are done decently enough, although sometimes a fan’s sign might block part of the ring for but a few seconds.

Sound: 7.8
The game does an excellent job of bringing the full audio experience of actually watching a televised event.  Whether its the ring announcer or the individual superstar theme music, Raw 2 does a good job of bringing it all to life.  It doesn’t, though, fully capture the sounds of grapplers really hitting the mat or any loud grunts that might come out as a result of a very painful DDT.  To top it all off there isn’t any superstar voices to be found either.

Difficulty: Medium
The real challenge is figuring out how to pull off specialty moves or combos for that matter.  Unlike the SmackDown games of the PS2, pulling off specialty moves is more of a guessing game and thus makes gamers an easy target against foes.  However, the instruction manual does thankfully give you enough insight as to how to pull of some really brutal moves. Of the many game modes, Royal Rumble is the most difficult and wonderfully challenging modes that will surely keep gamers nicely busy.

Concept: 9.0
You have to love a game with plenty of game modes and Raw 2 certainly has its nice share of game modes.  The game’s story mode allows up to four players to play along and that is a real delight.  The Create A Superstar and Create A Team are also great features--although I personally wish there were more creative options available for designing your own superstar.  Still, adding your own intro song (thanks to the Xbox hard drive) for your creation is downright cool.

Multiplayer: 9.0
What’s a wrestling game without some multiplayer action?  Raw 2 brings the brawling fun for up to four players.  You can, in fact, play the Season mode with four friends making each battle seem more personal since it involves not only you but also three other friends. Really, this does make for a great party game when you want to show your stuff in a four-man test of will that is Royal Rumble or a good old-fashioned Fatal 4 Way.

Overall: 8.9
WWE Raw 2 breaths new life into the franchise and makes for a pretty entertaining wrestling game on the Xbox. This game brings us all the juicy extras we all love in our wrestling games and has plenty of game modes to sink our teeth into but it still has a long way to go if it wants to be the ultimate pro wrestling title.  Still the improvements do work here and this is, by far, one of the most solid WWE wrestling games on the Xbox so far.  Give this one a chance, wrestling fans.