Smackdown v. RAW 2011

Dammit, I missed the free UFC 141 beta on Xbox Live.  Not that 25,000 people is a heck of a lot, so it was probably sold out by the morning. 

Anyway, being the cheap bastard that I am, I waited until I could get Smackdown v. RAW 2011 for cheap, and that ideal price point for me ended up being $9.99 for a used copy from the dying Rogers Video.  Best part was that the (inherently stupid) “Online Axxess” codes were still good, meaning I also got Bret Hart and Chris Masters for free.  At any rate, I am having a lot of fun playing around in Universe mode right now, although I haven’t tried the Road To Wrestlemania mode.  I actually don’t mind the control scheme, as the right analog grapple system is fairly intuitive, even though it feels like guys have the same four moves over and over.  I’m not a big fan of the stipulation matches, as ladder matches are nigh impossible to win against the computer and I found tables matches to be a pain as well.  The thing I like about Universe mode, though, is that it allows you to be disconnected from the action and act more as a booker.  Because you’re not playing as one person in particular (or you can play it that way if you like) you don’t tend to take it personally if, say, Shawn Michaels interferes and superkicks you to give HHH the #1 contender spot.  I kind of like that sort of laid-back attitude.  Because if you really WANT to have your favorite guy be champion, you can always just MAKE him champion.  Although the one thing that’s really bugging me (besides the overplay of certain theme songs as background music) is that you can’t edit appearances of the non-created wrestlers.  Zack Ryder has the goofy half-tights, and there’s no way to change it.  It’s a small thing, but it really takes me out of the game when I’m not able to update things the way I want it.

At any rate, I’m enjoying it immensely thus far, especially given that I basically got it for nothing.