The most annually iterative franchise outside the halls of EA is getting its usual minor tweaks and slight graphical upgrade. THQ let lose with new screens for Smackdown vs Raw 2009 this week at E3. And it looks like the game is…well, SvR. It looks essentially the same as last year’s game. Sure it’s updated a bit, but that’s the problem with annual games. They start to blend together and y0u forget what the hell you’re playing.

Aside from the gallery of new screenshots below we also have a fact sheet with all the details on Smackdown vs Raw 2009. Personally I’m still waiting for No Mercy’s return. Could someone get on that instead? I’m done with the SvR series, and a refreshing of things in the sports entertainment interactive entertainment entertaining game department is more than welcome. Otherwise I guess we could read on and find out what fancy new tweaks await fans this fall.

360/PS3/PS2/PSP Experience:

• Tag Team Explosion – WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2009 unleashes a brand new tag team match. Build momentum and attributes as a team, destroy opponents with high-impact double teams, pull of new bone-crunching tag team finishers and get the “hot tag” for the win.
• Road to Wrestlemania – Pave the way to WWE’s biggest event of the year through SmackDown vs Raw 2009’s new story mode, which features the franchise’s first-ever coop storyline.
• Create-A-Finisher – Construct the most devastating moves ever unleashed in a WWE ring with this brand new interface. WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2009 lets players customize all aspects of created Superstars – even their very own finishing moves.
• New Online Functionality – Extend the WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2009 gameplay experience with downloadable content and much more.

Of course for the Wii and DS games there is going to be unique control schemes. Plus who doesn’t want to waggle a folding chair to the skull of Randy Orton?

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