Preview: Smackdown Vs Raw 2009

Take your favorite WWE superstar, tack on a new create-a-finisher, backstage brawls, new moves, more intense tag-team combat, improved online multiplayer and rankings, and a revamped career mode, and you get Smackdown vs Raw 2009. Easily, this game could very well sell millions with the amount of features it has packed under the hood.



Gamers can be very picky when they become fanatics of a particular series. In this case, Smackdown vs Raw has a very deep following that has endured the good times and bad. Now unlike EA’s Madden series, and their millions and millions of fans who seem to never get what they want, Yukes at least takes to heart what devoted wrestling fans crave in their interactive experiences. So with this latest iteration of the SD vs Raw series, not only can gamers look forward to a new career mode, but a much deeper tag team experience, which has become the focus for this year’s game.

Even though tag-teaming has been an important, and evident, feature in the past, it was never truly the focus of any wrestling game. So with the new tag functions no superstar is a one-man army. Instead, each superstar must rely on his/her partner to function as a cohesive and effective unit. This means there are new tag-team moves, such as the blind-tag and a desperation tag.

In addition to the tag team improvements, there’s also the new inferno match – it had an appearance in ECW Anarchy Rulz, but failed to appear in many other mainstream wrestling games since then. Returning matches also include the Referee match, and the Gauntlet match. Players will also be able to go backstage once again, a feature that had disappeared in place of fighting in the crowd.

Now, personally, I liked the 24/7 mode from the previous SD vs Raw 2008...but Yukes has decided to replace it with a Road to Wrestlemania mode, in which players will choose from a handful of superstars to take through a pre-defined storyline. So it’s almost like playing any other game with a main character and a main storyline. But fear not, all of you who still want to play your custom characters outside of exhibition modes. There’s a new Career mode that now takes the place of the favored General Manager’s Mode, where players can take any superstar through a career, earning attributes, etc. Personally, I wish all the career/season/GM modes could have stayed from SD vs Raw 2007 and 2008. But I’m thinking memory conservation has come into play and the Xbox 360's limited disc capacity is to blame.

Anyway, the real highlight of the game has always been the create-a-features. So THQ and Yukes have taken the wrestling genre to a much needed next step, which includes creating-a-finisher. This is in addition to the create-a-taunt, create-an-entrace and create-a-superstar modes. However, creating finishers is by far one of the most well-crafted features of the Smackdown vs Raw series. The feature houses more than 500 animations and up to 10 different animation slots. Players can mix and match all different starting, middle and ending animations for their finisher, including how fast the character executes the move. So if you want to start your finisher with a kick to the groin and a switch-over into a reverse DDT, it’s completely possible.

Regarding the actual gameplay, Smackdown vs Raw 2009 has the same kick-butt, fluid control scheme as usual. So reversing and pulling off moves is pretty easy, and still provides for some entertaining matches. But the real switch in the gameplay comes from the modification to the fighting styles, which have been done away with due to their gameplay imbalance. However, elements of the fighting styles that were in SD vs Raw 2008 have been added to particular superstars to give them a much more authentic feel.

A special feature has been added for the Wii version of the game, as players will be able to manually control their superstar during the entrances. Players can pull off taunts or interact with the fans to earn momentum going into the match. It’s actually a cool feature for the Wii, and fits nicely with the Wii-mote control scheme. The real test for the Wii version, however, will be with the final outcome of the game and how balanced the Wii-mote works during the actual matches.

You can look for Smackdown vs Raw 2009 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS this November. And remember to stay tuned in with Blend Games for more news and info on your favorite games, or visit the Blend Games Forum for more discussions on the latest games.

Tips N4G