GENRE
	Sports Entertainment
	DEVELOPER
	THQ Agoura Fighting Group
	PUBLISHER
	THQ
	LOCAL WIRELESS MULTI-PLAY
	Yes
	Wi-Fi/GLOBAL ONLINE MULTI-PLAY
	No
	MICROPHONE
	No
	BUY NOW AT

Wrestling fans everywhere dream of becoming a superstar and taking their shot out in the ring. Nothing would be more exciting than getting on the WWE stage and slamming it out with their favorite superstars. in WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2010 for Nintendo DS, fans get a chance to do just that on the go.

Nearly the entire stable of the WWE is present in the tiny DS game card, with only the absolutely newest faces missing. But, while players can take to the ring with practically every WWE Superstar, the real focus of the DS game is on the player creating his or her own wrestler and going for the long haul.

The game's story mode, called "Road to Wrestlemania", let's players develop their own superstar from scratch, including looks, outfit, name, and skill set. Even skin tone is customizable, including some outlandish shades like violet or neon blue. There are also a number of costumes and accessories to choose from, some of which must be unlocked through gameplay. Setting up your wrestler's look, though, is only the beginning.

In addition to choosing the wrestler's skill set, what individual button presses do is also completely customizable. No matter what kind of wrestler the player wants, it can be done. Want someone who specializes in submission holds and dirty tricks? That's possible. So is one who trades in high-flying leaps and throws. And, if the player happens to not be happy with their wrestler's move set, it can be changed at any time. In fact, moves can be unlocked through the campaign mode and added to the wrestler as well. Stats are improved at the gym through minute-long mini-games that improve a set attribute. While this can provide a distraction from the main game, some of the training games wear after a while.

After making a superstar, the player sets out through the WWE universe, working up from one show to the next, until the player's character is at the top of the rankings. Just as each WWE Superstar is playable in the game's exhibition and multiplayer modes, so, too will each of them appear as an opponent or NPC in the single-player mode, which pits the player on central stage in a revolving series of wrestling dramas. Depending on taste, the player can also choose whether his or her character is a face or heel, with selected responses to certain other characters' questions.

The action isn't limited to the ring either, as several unsanctioned brawls take place in parking lots or in the locker room. A series of collectible cards serves as both a way to earn new moves and a method of gaining the upper hand in the ring with statistical bonuses or cheats, like an instant kickout of a pin. Once a wrestler is developed enough, the cards really aren't necessary, but they help a bit in the early stages.

Any match type playable in story mode can also be chosen in the Exhibition mode. Standard one-on-one matches are selectable, as are a table match or ladder match, TLC (tables, ladders, and chairs), the aforementioned Backstage Brawl, and Extreme Rules, where anything goes The game even includes a new type of match, an Ambulance Match, in which the object is to lock the opponent into an ambulance.

Versus play is possible for two players, but both players must have a game card to play. Budding superstars can also trade collected cards with one another. No online seems like a huge miss, but Smackdown Vs. Raw 2010 is overall a great game. It's without question the most fully-featured wrestling game on DS to date, and if players aren't happy with the sizable roster of WWE wrestlers, they can create their own easily. A must for portable gamers who happen to be wrestling fans.

8.6/10