WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2008

Gradually, the WWE games’ review scores have, like a greasy tortoise, been slipping slowly downhill - due mainly to the fact that they’ve started to feel the same, year in, year out. We want this decline to be arrested and SmackDown! 2008, the series’ PS3 debut - following the cancellation of last year’s planned next-gen wrestler - might do just that. We’ve already reported on this year’s new features, although we’ll clarify some of them in greater detail.

Above: All screens from the PS3 version.

As you’d expect, SmackDown! 2008 looks nicer than ever, offering unrivalled sweat physics and a higher polygon-to-pec count than ever (probably). It’ll also come with the usual roster update, this time featuring the ECW mob - so you should see the likes of CM Punk, Matt Striker (he’s a teacher), Kevin Thorn (he’s a, erm, vampire) and Bobby Lashley, alongside Raw and SmackDown! newcomers like the tag team of Cryme Tyme and (please, God) Hornswoggle, the comedy Irish leprechaun.