WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 [PSP]

The PS2 wrestling title, SmackDown vs. Raw 2006, is the type of game that only shows up once a console generation. It's on the level of Kurt Angle, or Stone Cold Steve Austin before him, or Bret Hart before him, in that it stands head and shoulders above its peers. Nobody's surprised to see a PSP derivative this holiday season; but everyone will be surprised at how faithful a port SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 PSP is to its beefy bigger brother.

With few exceptions, if it's in the PS2 version, you get it here. Long, branching season mode with full voiceovers by the WWE Superstars themselves? It's true. The new GM mode, where you book matches in your own personal brand? You got it. All the match types, including Diva-centric Fulfill Your Fantasy and the deadly Buried Alive match? Believe that. It's unbelievable how much was squeezed onto this UMD, especially when you consider how scaled-down a lot of 360 ports of current-gen games were.

SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 on PSP doesn't just have quantity; it also brings the quality. The gameplay is full of nuances, from playing possum to an intuitive reversal system. Control is both deep but easy to grasp, and will feel like home to SmackDown veterans. The audio is almost unparalleled on PSP, with tons of music and voice work. Wrestlers look amazing, showing all the emotional variety of their PS2 counterparts, and just as many animations.

So, what isn't here? Well, the arenas and audiences look pretty bad. It shows that THQ and Yuke's used the PSP's power in the right places (i.e., the Superstars). Play-by-play commentary is absent, but that was hit-or-miss in the first place. It must be said that when the camera pulls away -- especially during tag matches -- it's hard to track the action. Also, the meters for submissions are a little too small, and trying to hit the marks to escape holds is much more difficult. These are all tiny beefs -- no pun intended -- and don't take much away from the entire experience. The load times may annoy you, but they're pretty much on par with the rest of the PSP library.

But wait, there's more! Connect your PSP to your PS2 via a USB port, and you can swap data -- including Legends that can only be unlocked in one version or the other. A trio of minigames gives you something to do outside of the ring: Guide Eugene to the ring a la Tony Hawk's grind balancing; answer WWE trivia; or play full-fledged Texas Hold 'Em with WWE Superstars.

The PSP is fraught with ports, but most are made worse by trying to mimic their PS2 counterparts. SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 is the type of conversion we hoped to see on the handheld: There's virtually no degradation in quality, it's better than almost any console game in the genre, and it makes the platform look like gold. We have a feeling this game will hold the portable wrestling belt even longer than SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 will be the console champ.