Despite the theatrics of pro-wrestling, no amount of flowery prose can mask the fact that Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 is merely an average game. While excellence occasionally emerges in very small doses, the potentially enjoyable additions do little to save this title from falling under the old adage, "more of the same is not always a good thing."

This year's single player game takes a far more linear approach then some of the past titles. At the beginning of a new chapter, you are presented with some type of alliance, argument, or other action that will be drawn upon for the course of that section. Through emails and text messages, your wrestler converses with the commissioners, friends and foes, which works out rather nicely as most of the storylines are similar to what might be seen on a regular episode of WWE Raw. For each chapter, you have four matches that culminate into one pay-per-view event. You work through the ranks and make your way to the championship belt, which should be rewarding, but the amount of time necessary to do so is irritating, at best.

As with numerous PSP games, the loading times are particularly nasty in Smackdown. For those who remember last year's edition, they did eliminate the loading screens for other loading screens, but the wait is still quite long, especially between segments that don't even lead into matches. Eventually, even waiting for menus becomes taxing.

Smackdown 2007 controls a lot like last year's outing, which in and of itself is not a bad thing; however, in comparison to the home consoles' dual-analog control scheme, it can be a big change to play the PSP version. The dual analog is smooth and fast, whereas the PSP, with it's obvious hardware limitation, is quite the opposite. The PSP was not entirely left in the dust, with a newly implemented grappling system. It works well too. By pressing the O button in conjunction with the D-pad, you can choose to do either a basic toss or a player-specific move. Also, using this technique near an environmental hotspot will bring a great new move into play depending on the area, be it a toss into the turnbuckle or a suplex off the ropes. It's a nice touch, staying true to the farce that is the WWE.

This version of Smackdown contains all of your favorite wrestlers, both modern and classic alike. The inclusion of Hulk Hogan, or the recently deceased Eddie Guerrero is a nice touch as well. Another welcome addition is the create-a-wrestler mode, which allows you to create your own digital doppelganger (complete with skintight bodysuit). The depth of the mode is as expected from the franchise at this point, with no real surprises. It seems quite a feat to fit that much content into a PSP game, so it is nice to see it here. Plus, nothing beats watching Mick Foley smash a chair against your skull as commentators excitedly announce how little they can believe it.

Included in the game are a variety of modes, although most of them are from last year, excluding the woefully bad mini-games. Players are treated with the ability to create matches of their own in the GM mode, using their stable of wrestlers to create the most interesting match-up they can. It works well at first, but problems arise rather quickly. There are only so many options and your success is dependent entirely on the fickleness of the game and nothing else. Even personally entering a match holds no bearing over the outcome, which is irritating. While the mode is indeed entertaining, it's just not working correctly quite yet. There is also a PSP exclusive "Road to Wrestlemania" mode, which is not particularly exciting. Players must travel through a basic ladder system working towards the championship belt. It is better then any of last year's mini-games and proves to be a fun distraction, however, the fun only lasts through perhaps two or three plays, then fades.

For whatever reason, no online mode is included in the game. You can only play in ad-hoc mode with friends in either exhibition matches or championship matches. It is fun to play in the many, many different match types with other people; if you can find them, that is. The most noticeable elimination in Smackdown 2007 was one of the few selling points of last years model. Fans of both the home console version on the PS2 and the PSP could link back and forth, playing matches on their PSP or PS2 respectively, then syncing them back together. That was removed this year though, leaving newcomers neglected.

Graphically, Smackdown screams PS1, circa 1999. Characters are barely recognizable in relation to their real life actors; if it were not for clothes of different colors, it would be near impossible to differentiate some fighters from others. The regular matches look fairly boring, with low quality textures stretched over a bland canvas. There is some variety, however small, with each pay-per-view event having its own logos and ring entrance, and the wrestlers do make their signature entrances. With Smackdown's constant emphasis on presentation, that is one of the best things to get right, and thankfully they do. All of the entrances and action as you wrestle look much like the show, which is a testament to the developers knowledge of what people like from the WWE.

The sound is rather lackluster in this year's edition. There are songs that play during menu screens by nominally known bands, but besides that, it's a rather droll affair. Occasionally, during cut scenes you will hear the announcers say things, but it is so few and far between that it becomes more surprising to hear them speak at all, than to actually hear what they have to say. Similarly, your wrestlers are rendered nearly mute this year, with only the occasional outburst during cutscenes. Unfortunately, there are only a few standard voices, so you will not hear your wrestler say anything particularly close to their real-life counterpart. Add in the fact that the dialogue is not just canned, it's nearly empty of any expression, and it is hard not to be disappointed. One of the WWE's main selling points are the storylines. Many people tune in to the matches because of the absurdity, so for it to be so quiet is just strange.

There a few nagging issues with the game that should mentioned. Most importantly, the game locks up at times. The disc will sometimes stop spinning mid-match, halting the game entirely. While you won't have to restart (it eventually resumes), it is still an annoyance. Also, the collision detection is a bit wonky, and occcasionally, hits and grapples will not register. To make matters worse, sometimes the wrestlers simply won't do what you instruct them to do. This is especially irritating when facing off against the shoddy AI, with it at times unable to tag people back in or out.

Despite the few perks, Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 does not measure up to its televised counterpart. It is, however, worth a play for any fighting game fan looking to play something besides Tekken on their PSP. Hopefully, next year's edition will be cleaned up a bit so we as gamers can finally play without laying the smackdown on the PSP itself.