Welcome to DS on DS. This is where I'm going to be taking a look at the Nintendo DS and all of it's games. And when I say all, I mean it. I will be going from WarioWare Touched! to Petz Catz Clan. From Planet Puzzle League to Grey's Anatomy.  Every Friday, I will write a review on the game I have chosen for the week.

This week I am going to be taking a look at WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2010.

Two years ago, the perennial Smackdown Vs. Raw was released for the first time on the Nintendo DS.  That version solely used the touch screen to play the game through the usually dreaded Quick Time Events.  The second iteration of the series on the DS used the d-pad to maneuver your brawler around the ring, and the touch screen to perform the attacks.  Both of these were less than ideal for a wrestling game.  The latest entry in the series, Smackdown Vs. Raw 2010, has finally been released, and thankfully it is a big change from the prior two games. 

With SvR 2010, they have finally brought a more traditional control scheme to the DS.  This is, after all, one of the most important aspects of any wrestling games.  Thankfully, bringing this type of controls to the handheld has worked out well.  I wish they would have implemented these controls into the first game, because trying to play the game with only the touch screen wasn’t entirely the best way to go around playing things.  While they aren’t as robust as those on the console versions, but there are still all of the necessary components.  You still have your weak and strong grapples and striking attacks, even if you my not have as many options for each type of attack.  The only thing that the touch screen is used for in this game is the card system.  These cards are used as power-ups during a match.  You can set three cards during your wrestler’s entrance, and you can use the cards one time each during the fight.  These cards will help you by providing you the ability to instantly kick out of a pin, or to have another wrestler perform a run-in attack.  I have yet to use these for myself, but the CPU can also use them, and usually ends up using all three during a fight.  It doesn’t drastically change the gameplay mechanics, but it does give the game something unique.  As for the match types, there are nine included in the game.  You have your one-on-one, Last Man Standing, Ladder, Steel Cage, Table, TLC, Extreme Rules, Ambulance, and Backstage matches. 

The story mode here is solely for a created wrestler.  Much like in any other wrestling game, your CAW starts out barely average, and playing through the story gives you the opportunity to beef them up.  In this game, you level up your skills by working out, one exercise per in-game day.  There are four separate attributes you can work on, with power, submission, and speed affecting which moves you can assign.  The fourth attribute is your durability.  Throughout the story, you will also earn new cards and money for the unlockables.

The look of the game resembles a graphically beefed-up version of No Mercy or the PSOne Smackdown games.  It runs about the same speed of NM, but there are no instances of slowdown (at least that I have encountered).  All 30 of the included wrestler entrances are fully represented, well, at least as best as the DS can handle.  Triple H has the multicolored lights and the water spit.  Undertaker even has the stage smoke in his entrance.  All of the entrance music is pretty high quality here as well. 

Overall, this is the best of any of the SvR games that have been released on the DS, and I can only see the series getting better. 

Final Score: 7/10

If you want to read any of my past DS on DS reviews, you can find links to them all on the Official DS on DS Blog.