Now a series of its own along with the likes of Smackdown! and Legends of Wrestling, WWE RAW is finally set for its first sequel from THQ. It is more of the same? Of course it is, but wrestling is as wrestling does, and to fans of the sport, the virtual game is almost as good as the real thing.

An Xbox exclusive developed by Anchor, Raw 2 fills an obvious void for virtual Xbox wrestlers missing a taste of the PS2-only Smackdown series. But the game is almost identical to its counterpart. ... more >>

Now a series of its own along with the likes of Smackdown! and Legends of Wrestling, WWE RAW is finally set for its first sequel from THQ. It is more of the same? Of course it is, but wrestling is as wrestling does, and to fans of the sport, the virtual game is almost as good as the real thing.

An Xbox exclusive developed by Anchor, Raw 2 fills an obvious void for virtual Xbox wrestlers missing a taste of the PS2-only Smackdown series. But the game is almost identical to its counterpart. In this case gamers can get to grips with more than 45 well-known and classic wrestlers including The Rock, Undertaker and Hulk Hogan of course. There is a variety of game modes and match types that include Triple Threat, Fatal 4 Way, Battle Royal and King of the Ring, and a comprehensive 4-player multi-player game. And exclusive to Xbox, players can also rip their own soundtrack to hard drive to use in their own game of Raw 2.

At the heart of gameplay lies a control method similar to many other wrestling games. You must simply lead your musclebound wrestler around the ring using the analog stick and take out your opponents by inflicting some damaging moves upon them. There are a great deal of tricks to learn, but they all follow the same method of execution whereby players simply enter a combination of button and directional movements. Spacing is also important for certain moves to be pulled off. Try not to get too close and don’t leave yourself open to attack. Manage all that and you’ll do just fine.

WWE RAW 2 is a fine addition for Xbox, and one that is not only a good sequel, but that does a fine job of offering an alternative to the PS2’s Smackdown games as well. << less