GameSpy
Preview
of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009
Orlando's Citrus Bowl will play host to WrestleMania XXIV, where muscle-bound men and scantily clad women will beat themselves to a pulp, flying off of ladders and putting their lives and livelihood on the line to entertain a crowd of crazed sign-waving fans. In stark contrast, Walt Disney's carefully manufactured dream world of homogenized happiness and ultra-huggable anthropomorphic animation icons was where THQ held its press conference, teasing a mixed audience of gaming and sports media outlets with snippets of information about its next wrestling game, Smackdown vs. Raw 2009.
THQ's Senior Creative Manager Cory Ledesma gave a presentation outlining a few of the features and enhancements to the series that would be coming in this year's game. While this would not be an exhaustive, all-inclusive look at the game, he emphasized a quintet of key franchise improvements that would be the focus of this first look. Interestingly enough, he emphasized the importance of improving the game in areas that were met with negative response by critics, going on to say that it was his goal to improve review scores. While game critics often hope that their assessment of videogames during the review process are utilized constructively by developers and publishers, it was intriguing to hear this confirmed and how, at least in this case, it's helping shape the development process.
The first area where Ledesma said franchise improvement was needed was met by nods of agreement; after all, who doesn't want improved loading times? According to Ledesma, the developers have already been able to reduce load times by 50% across the board, emphasizing a need to address this issue in the match menu, when loading cut-scenes, and in loading screens in general.
Improving Smackdown vs. Raw's artificial intelligence is also a focus this year, and the publisher's goal is to release a game with an AI system that features more intelligent opponents that actually act like their real-life counterparts. Part of this system will revolve around Superstar-specific A.I. The Undertaker was utilized as an example. The plan is for him to use signature moves in key situations, so that when the fans would expect him to use his old-school move, the A.I. will do so.
Criticism of the franchise's commentary has apparently hit home, and the teams behind Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 will be recording three different play-by-play teams in the interest of variety. While multiple broadcast teams aren't the full solution, Ledesma stated that the team would focus on major enhancements to the play-by-play to eliminate repetition.
One of the stickier issues that critics have brought up in the past is hit detection, and an improvement on this fundamental aspect of gameplay is also planned. According to Ledesma, missed attacks will be a thing of the past. The new hit detection system makes motions track and connect with better accuracy. We're hoping that this will also apply to running attacks, which have been awkwardly implemented since the franchise's inception.
The last area for improvement discussed in the presentation was animation. The approach this year is to refine the blending system with over 300 smooth mo-cap animations. Recycled animations have been a sticking point with the press, but it will remain to be seen whether this will be enough of a renovation to make a true impact.
After discussing areas in which the franchise needs a facelift, Ledesma went on to the features being introduced in 2009. As he stated before, this wouldn't be an all-encompassing list, but instead a teaser to highlight some of the things to come.
A teaser video highlighted the most dramatic of the new features, which is improved tag-team play. In the video, we witnessed the digital version of Matt Hardy get absolutely decimated by current WWE champion Randy Orton. After getting nailed by an RKO, Matt was barely able to stand, but just when you figured he'd be pinned the camera cut to a shot of him reaching out and tagging in his brother, the high-flying Jeff Hardy. Jeff then proceeded to come in with incredible momentum, quickly turning the tide and unleashing a rapid succession of high-impact moves. It looked closer to capturing the drama of a well-performed tag team match than anything wrestling games have attempted before.
Tag team matches are being expanded in many different ways, including the previously described "hot tags." These desperation tags are an attempt to bring the drama into the game, an essential part of the televised experience that hasn't quite manifested itself in the videogames. With both players sharing momentum, frequent tags are a great tool to work towards double team finishers and new team-based pin and submission setups. One partner will be able to hold an opponent, for instance, setting them up for a beating.
There's an assortment of different illegal maneuvers, like distracting the ref, balanced by moves more appropriate for fan-favorites, like pounding on the turnbuckle and clapping to rally the crowd. You can even blind-tag a partner that's been spending too much time in the ring, getting into the action whether they like it or not.
Another new feature is the create-a-finisher mode, which offers a new interface for players to create any move imaginable. These moves can be assigned to any wrestler, WWE Superstar or custom creation, and utilized in any mode, from the single-player Road to Wrestlemania story mode to online competition. You can customize animation speeds, rotations, and all kinds of different transitions.
Smackdown vs. Raw has offered online play in the past, but this year the game is taking online to the next level with what fans have been clamoring for: downloadable content. While the specific details haven't been announced yet, we expect to see roster updates and additional match types entering the mix for your standard micropayments. It was also noted that this year the Wii version of the game will have online support. You'll apparently still need to exchange friend codes to get matched up, however.
The Road to Wrestlemania will be this year's season mode, and it'll be available for single players or, for the first time, cooperative play. Not pleased with the reaction from the press to the generic storylines in previous games, Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 will feature unique storylines custom-tailored to the federation's most popular superstars. Opting to play as a tag team will provide particularly interesting results during the story branches, as you'll be able to finish strong as a team or even betray your partner to go after personal glory. Multiple endings should provide for more replay value than in previous iterations on this game mode.
The DS version of the game is being handled by a new developer. The game will focus on true wrestling gameplay, and will include plenty of match types that weren't in the previous DS game, like cage matches, ladder matches, and table matches. You'll also have a create-a-superstar mode, as well as a new full-year RPG-style season mode.
Japanese developer Yuke's Future Media Creators was on hand to give a demonstration of one of the interactivity features being added to the Wii version. Players will be able to participate in interactive entrances, mimicking the actions of the wrestler as they make their way to the ring, with proper timing and accuracy resulting in a boost to the momentum meter.
One of the developers entered the ring as John Cena, with the signature hand-waving and arm-raising that you'd expect. He didn't seem to nail the timing very well, though, since we didn't notice any on-screen rewards indication. His opponent, however, seemed to be a fan of Jeff Hardy, because he really got into the entrance sequence, absolutely hitting on every motion, including his signature wingspan spread on the turnbuckle, generating big momentum boosts.
Their match proceeded in a way that at least on a surface level appeared to utilize all the features of last year's Wii version of the game. The players integrated interactive taunts into their ring routine, and used the motion-sensing controls to deliver slaps, chops and grapple maneuvers.
The big surprise came at the end, where the John Cena player won the match and then had the option to initiate an interactive post-fight routine. He extended his hand to the Hardy player, offering a handshake after the match to show that he bore no ill will. This was done by simply extending his Remote hand towards his opponent, and they both ended up simulating a handshake with the controllers. But then, the Cena player reared back and smacked Hardy, further adding humiliation to the loss by inflicting an additional beating. It was pure WWE drama captured in-game, and a promising look at things to come.
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