WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2008 - hands-on style showdown

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It's High Flyers versus Brawlers in the roughest man-tights beat down yet

Sep 17, 2007

In the real world, an ass-kicking is an ass-kicking. It doesn't matter if the other guy is a street brawling gang banger, your martial artist dorm buddy, the bully on the playground, or the girl scout from down the street - the fundamental problem is someone is pounding their knuckles into your face and stomping on your spleen. As such, any further details are ultimately inconsequential.

In the world of professional wrestling, however, the fight is largely secondary to the show. It's not enough to whip the other guy; you need to give him (or her) a distinctly different, unique assault and batteration in your own special style. This is obvious in real world wrestling, in which wrestlers all have larger-than-life personalities to go with their inhuman chest girth. But in the video game world, these differences are too often overlooked, with all the wrestlers pulling from similar move pools.

The styles names describe what you can expect from the fighter: High Flyer, Brawler, Submission, Showman, Dirty, Technical, Powerhouse, and Hardcore. Each wrestler has two styles, one of which you'll designate as major and the other as minor. They'll influence the action in several sensible ways. The most obvious is in the moves at their disposal; Rey Mysterio is a High Flyer and a Showman, so he'll be vaulting off the turnbuckle constantly. Undertaker, by contrast, is a Powerhouse and a Brawler, a massive man-mountain whom you'llrarely see climbing up onto the ropes.

Eric Bratcher
Eric Bratcher
I was the founding Executive Editor/Editor in Chief here at GR, charged with making sure we published great stories every day without burning down the building or getting sued. Which isn't nearly as easy as you might imagine. I don't work for GR any longer, but I still come here - why wouldn't I? It's awesome. I'm a fairly average person who has nursed an above average love of video games since I first played Pong just over 30 years ago. I entered the games journalism world as a freelancer and have since been on staff at the magazines Next Generation and PSM before coming over to GamesRadar. Outside of gaming, I also love music (especially classic metal and hard rock), my lovely wife, my pet pig Bacon, Japanese monster movies, and my dented, now dearly departed '89 Ranger pickup truck. I pray sincerely. I cheer for the Bears, Bulls, and White Sox. And behind Tyler Nagata, I am probably the GR staffer least likely to get arrested... again.