Sony's Sands of Time 2

Why being on the mat has always provided some good gaming.

Welcome to the second edition of Sony’s Sands Of Time, and if you’re a new reader welcome aboard! It was fair to say that the last edition was fairly by the numbers, so today I’m jumping right in to the gaming side of things and I’ll run down one of my passions, Wrestling. And yes I know it’s fake, but so is Shortland Street, man landing on the moon and Rockstar Supernova; Toby got screwed plain and simple.

However, before we get in to the bulk of the column I’d like to mention that feedback is always welcome, whether it be on the forums or via e-mail, and thanks to the e-mails I received last week, which raised an interesting topic that I’ll touch on in a later edition… On with the show!

In The Beginning
Well, there was a decent range of titles to select from, but the one I’ll focus on in this section will be WWF Attitude. Coming at a time of booming business for the then WWF (later renamed WWE) the game allowed customisation never seen before in a wrestling game. The move set was absolutely huge, and featured moves not even used by some WWF superstars, a gripe which still rings through the ears of gamers.

Apart from this however it really set the standard as to how wrestling games should be presented, as it featured full ring entrances and ring music, play-by-play commentary and chants and banter from both wrestlers and virtual fans alike.

This game would pretty much set the tone of wrestling games following the trend of sports titles, meaning that a new game would be pumped out nearly every year. There were some high points and some lows, but none higher came than when SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 was released back in November of last year.

These Days
When you talk about wrestling titles, this game had it all. The gameplay is the best it's ever been, the presentation is top-notch, and the plethora of available modes is more than enough to keep any WWE enthusiast busy for hours and hours.

So does this mean that the series has already reached its crescendo? Well this wrestle mad gamer certainly hopes not, and neither do Yuke’s and THQ, as the next addition to the SmackDown vs. Raw series features in “Eye For The Future.”

Eye For The Future
Many fans believe the series has already run its natural course, and nothing more can be squeezed out of it. Well those doubters look set to be proved wrong as already the next instalment of SmackDown vs. Raw has been announced to have new match types, an up to date roster, and even more tinkering to the highly successful control system.

Announced for the PS2 and the PSP systems, SVR 2007 will be looking to follow the trend that the previous titles have, and that is to improve over their predecessors. Due out in November, this should be a title every wrestle-mad gamer should have, even if it is on both your PS2 and PSP systems, as there should be some way to inter-twine the systems like last year’s version successfully did.

Well that wraps up another edition of SSOT. As aforementioned I’m always appreciative of feedback and will endeavour to reply to all posts and/or e-mails. I’m going away on holiday in the coming weeks over the pond to Australia, but never fear I’ll be sure to return with a column stacked full of Sony items. Until then play hard, PlayStation.