Smackdown: Raw Vs Smackdown kurtmark’s preview. (Copyright of Kurtmark don’t repost without permission.)
I have played the demo version & seen videos of even more of the game so the time is ripe to tell all there is about this years SD sequel. First things first this game is heavily based around the divas the pop up everywhere in the game. During season you must pick one diva to impress (unless you are playing as a diva of course) this is mandatory & all through the season stories will pop up involving you & the diva. Almost every menu, loading screen & season ‘day’ includes a diva picture / moment. Indeed the male wrestlers seem to be taking a back seat in this years effort at least until the actual matches start. Also evident from the start is that the wrestlers look even more life like than ever before, individual hairs move & facial expressions change during matches.
Then there are the referees no longer do they just stand around like zombies or worse get in your way. No now they talk to wrestlers, ask them if they want to submit when in submission moves, signal for bells & defend their selves if need be. The wrestlers their selves have plenty of new ‘ref’ moves as well they complain to refs, accidentally (on purpose) KO them & much more. Not only that as well as the return of the body part & submission bars from HCTP you also now have an invisible fatigue bar. As matches go on you will kick & punch a lot slower, you won’t move as fast & if you are pinned you will only barely kick out. Managers too play a huge part gone are the days that saw them just stand around until somebody left the ring. They ask the crowd to cheer or tell them they suck, they shake their heads & get upset when you are in trouble, they distract the ref & they even slap the apron to encourage you. Best of all you can control the managers yourself by pressing the R3 button & throwing a weapon into the ring. Beware though if the ref catches the manager he may be sent back to the locker room.
Before singles matches & certain other matches one of four things will happen 1/The match will start. (Naturally.) Or 2/ 3/ 4/ A stare down, Test of strength or shoving match will occur. Basically if one of 2 to 4 appears a bar appears & the first person to get a target on the bar unto a certain part of the bar gains an advantage. This bar also appears in matches mostly during turnbuckle & bra & panties matches. If you get it right you will rake eyes, slam opponents, stamp on feet & much more, but get it wrong & you will receive several large punches to the head.
Moves are much harder to do this time around as well, try DDT or a powerbomb in the first two minutes & you will be sorry, your opponent will counter & destroy you. Big moves now have a power grapple bar & the stronger your opponent is the more chance he will escape. So at the start you must use quick grapples, punches, kicks & mat work to prevail. Also there is a new move system where you can pick up & opponent & get a free shot such as a groin kick or & hair pull but if the ref catches you, you get a warning or even a DQ loss.
The submission bar has changed slightly, last year you just had to tap it faster & faster until your fingers fell off but now you watch a pointer go across the bar & tap it exactly in the centre. Every time you get it right your opponent gets weaker until he passes out or submits but get it wrong & the hold is reversed or the opponent escapes.
Then there’s the much talked about Heel / Face mode. During seasons you will change depending on actions (& choose at season start) but during exhibitions you choose who is a heel / face before a match. Anybody can be whatever you want whenever you want. If you are a heel you can break your own pins, use weapons, taunt from the outside, refuse to release submission holds (You get the classic 5 count) use low blows & Eye Gouges & attack tag team partners on the apron. Every time you pull a heel move you get heel heat (crowd boos or chants such & such sucks) if you build up enough you get a super heel move. Heels don’t have it all though if a heel uses a high spot move or gets the crowd cheering he will be considered a failure & will lose finishing move icons
The same goes for faces put to get your super face move you must pull off big moves, refuse to tap out, counter submission moves, refuse too use weapons & never attack managers. If you achieve super face you become untouchable for a short period & start to ‘hulk up’. If a face uses heel tactics he will become a tweener & his moves will be weaker.
As far as the season mode goes no longer will it be predictable & repetitive. First every wrestler & I mean every one uses their real voices. Then there’s the commentary which is no longer random but reflects the ongoing match / event. Each season show is just like the real thing with matches, back stage stuff, Heel turns, injuries, romance & much more. Stephanie McMahon & Brian Gerawitz personally wrote several hundred hours of original scripts for the game. In previous games the season cut scenes were based around the last year or so of the real WWE but now every single cut scene & moment is newly scripted. Getting back to the commentary it is excellent. JR is repetitive & forgets people’s names (Government mule is in!) & adores faces. Tazz will start talking gibberish come up with a pointless joke or talk about a wrestlers history. The King Lawler will bait JR, cheer heels & ogle divas. As for Cole well he will be his usual informative but bland self. Best off all the commentators are visible ringside during matches & you can attack them! They will even run away if you try a move on their table.
There is one bit of bad news to finish up this preview so much space was taking up by all that commentary, voice interaction & season scripting that back stage areas have being cut back. Indeed there are only 3 possible fight areas, Rings, Parking lot & a small backstage area. The training room, VIP room, locker room, & outside arenas have all being removed. Still it’s a small sacrifice for a game that sounds better & better every day.
I hope you enjoyed reading this & I will update it when I know more.
Smackdown: Raw Vs Smackdown kurtmark’s preview. (Copyright of Kurtmark don’t repost without permission.)
I have played the demo version & seen videos of even more of the game so the time is ripe to tell all there is about this years SD sequel. First things first this game is heavily based around the divas the pop up everywhere in the game. During season you must pick one diva to impress (unless you are playing as a diva of course) this is mandatory & all through the season stories will pop up involving you & the diva. Almost every menu, loading screen & season ‘day’ includes a diva picture / moment. Indeed the male wrestlers seem to be taking a back seat in this years effort at least until the actual matches start. Also evident from the start is that the wrestlers look even more life like than ever before, individual hairs move & facial expressions change during matches.
Then there are the referees no longer do they just stand around like zombies or worse get in your way. No now they talk to wrestlers, ask them if they want to submit when in submission moves, signal for bells & defend their selves if need be. The wrestlers their selves have plenty of new ‘ref’ moves as well they complain to refs, accidentally (on purpose) KO them & much more. Not only that as well as the return of the body part & submission bars from HCTP you also now have an invisible fatigue bar. As matches go on you will kick & punch a lot slower, you won’t move as fast & if you are pinned you will only barely kick out. Managers too play a huge part gone are the days that saw them just stand around until somebody left the ring. They ask the crowd to cheer or tell them they suck, they shake their heads & get upset when you are in trouble, they distract the ref & they even slap the apron to encourage you. Best of all you can control the managers yourself by pressing the R3 button & throwing a weapon into the ring. Beware though if the ref catches the manager he may be sent back to the locker room.
Before singles matches & certain other matches one of four things will happen 1/The match will start. (Naturally.) Or 2/ 3/ 4/ A stare down, Test of strength or shoving match will occur. Basically if one of 2 to 4 appears a bar appears & the first person to get a target on the bar unto a certain part of the bar gains an advantage. This bar also appears in matches mostly during turnbuckle & bra & panties matches. If you get it right you will rake eyes, slam opponents, stamp on feet & much more, but get it wrong & you will receive several large punches to the head.
Moves are much harder to do this time around as well, try DDT or a powerbomb in the first two minutes & you will be sorry, your opponent will counter & destroy you. Big moves now have a power grapple bar & the stronger your opponent is the more chance he will escape. So at the start you must use quick grapples, punches, kicks & mat work to prevail. Also there is a new move system where you can pick up & opponent & get a free shot such as a groin kick or & hair pull but if the ref catches you, you get a warning or even a DQ loss.
The submission bar has changed slightly, last year you just had to tap it faster & faster until your fingers fell off but now you watch a pointer go across the bar & tap it exactly in the centre. Every time you get it right your opponent gets weaker until he passes out or submits but get it wrong & the hold is reversed or the opponent escapes.
Then there’s the much talked about Heel / Face mode. During seasons you will change depending on actions (& choose at season start) but during exhibitions you choose who is a heel / face before a match. Anybody can be whatever you want whenever you want. If you are a heel you can break your own pins, use weapons, taunt from the outside, refuse to release submission holds (You get the classic 5 count) use low blows & Eye Gouges & attack tag team partners on the apron. Every time you pull a heel move you get heel heat (crowd boos or chants such & such sucks) if you build up enough you get a super heel move. Heels don’t have it all though if a heel uses a high spot move or gets the crowd cheering he will be considered a failure & will lose finishing move icons
The same goes for faces put to get your super face move you must pull off big moves, refuse to tap out, counter submission moves, refuse too use weapons & never attack managers. If you achieve super face you become untouchable for a short period & start to ‘hulk up’. If a face uses heel tactics he will become a tweener & his moves will be weaker.
As far as the season mode goes no longer will it be predictable & repetitive. First every wrestler & I mean every one uses their real voices. Then there’s the commentary which is no longer random but reflects the ongoing match / event. Each season show is just like the real thing with matches, back stage stuff, Heel turns, injuries, romance & much more. Stephanie McMahon & Brian Gerawitz personally wrote several hundred hours of original scripts for the game. In previous games the season cut scenes were based around the last year or so of the real WWE but now every single cut scene & moment is newly scripted. Getting back to the commentary it is excellent. JR is repetitive & forgets people’s names (Government mule is in!) & adores faces. Tazz will start talking gibberish come up with a pointless joke or talk about a wrestlers history. The King Lawler will bait JR, cheer heels & ogle divas. As for Cole well he will be his usual informative but bland self. Best off all the commentators are visible ringside during matches & you can attack them! They will even run away if you try a move on their table.
There is one bit of bad news to finish up this preview so much space was taking up by all that commentary, voice interaction & season scripting that back stage areas have being cut back. Indeed there are only 3 possible fight areas, Rings, Parking lot & a small backstage area. The training room, VIP room, locker room, & outside arenas have all being removed. Still it’s a small sacrifice for a game that sounds better & better every day.
I hope you enjoyed reading this & I will update it when I know more.