For the first time ever the WWE SmackDown! Franchise, which was recently exclusive to Sony consoles is finnally coming to Microsoft's Xbox 360 in glorious high definition. The game will also be available on PSP, PS2 and PS3. Now when THQ made this announcement I'm sure Xbox 360 wrestling fans, like me, were overjoyed at the thought of a decent wrestling game to actually hit Microsoft's console. The WWE SmackDown! Franchise has become synonymous with wrestling fans over the years with releases on both the original PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles.
For a few years now, THQ had tried releasing different WWE titles on different platforms. With of course the popular WWE SmackDown! series on Sony's PS2; a number of WWE WrestleMania and Day of Reckoning titles have appeared on Nintendo's GameCube and of course WWE Raw, WWE Raw 2 and WWE WrestleMania 21 on Microsoft's original Xbox.
WWE titles on the GameCube did rather well, but the console to have the worst WWE games in history has to be our poor old Xbox console. Now don't get me wrong the WWE titles that were released on Xbox were OK at best however they fail miserably in comparison to the SmackDown! games though, the one feature out of the WWE games on Xbox that caught my attention the most, was in WWE Raw 2, and that was the customization of ring entrances. You could edit literally everything from lighting to pyrotechnics, you could even use your own music stored on your Xbox Hard Drive as entrance music for a wrestler. Hell, you could even add Triple H's spit in his ring entrance (for some reason that did not make it into the game, but I added it myself).
There has been a slow progression from Xbox's WWE games to the next. WWE Raw, was the first WWE game to appear on the Xbox, and even though it was pretty bad – game play, animation and generally moving characters around the ring, looked odd. The WWE Superstars walked around as if they have a stick up their backsides. I considered it forgivable, because I did have fun playing the game for a short time. Then WWE Raw 2 was announced, and you expect so much more, you expect the developers to have realized their mistakes from their first outing, but this was not the case, it practically played the same, was slow and sluggish as the original, the WWE Superstar's still look like they've got that stick stuck up their backsides. I'm not sure what happened to the developers, but THQ got a new developer in to make the next WWE game to appear on the Xbox; WWE WrestleMania 21. I was really looking forward to this title, mainly due to previous WWE WrestleMania titles appearing on the GameCube, which did well; so of course there were high hopes for the Xbox release. For some reason though, the game seemed to play almost identically to the previous WWE Raw games, but it seemed to be generally polished and was to a certain degree actually playable. I was disappointed that the customization features from WWE Raw 2 did not make it into the game though. Though it did have one thing, and that was online play, albeit not very well implemented, and was quite slow but still fun at the same time. The addition of being able to defend your Championship belts online was great. The only problem was there was never anyone to play with! I did manage to get a few online games in with friends which I talked into buying the game.
So it's not been a good time for WWE fans with an Xbox. Though there does seem to be a glimmer of hope now, with THQ having finally confirmed WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007 is coming to the Xbox 360 as well as the other platforms mentioned previously. Now, that really is big news and being a WWE fan myself, I was very happy with the news. One can only wonder where this leaves Nintendo and their Wii console. Maybe THQ may announce that the game becoming multi-format altogether? Though they may continue to do new WWE projects for Nintendo's Wii console and somehow implement new game play features into the 'wand' controller.
Some new features. Give me a hell yeah!
SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007 will feature a brand new Analog Control System (ACS) which has been incorporated into the control system, from what I understand, it still very much plays the same as before except with a few tweaks here and there. The big change comes in the form of this ACS, which gives you much greater control over your superstar's moves and greater control over your opponent when in a grapple hold. It works something like this; once in a grapple-hold you can simply push the right analog stick up, which would put your opponent in a power bomb position or something similar. You then have the freedom to walk around whilst carrying your opponent in this position, so you could walk over to the ropes and throw your opponent outside. There are also 'hotspots' which also take advantage of this new analog control system i.e. the ring steps. By getting your opponent caught up in the steps and entering a grapple you can then bounce your opponents head off of the steel steps. So to do this you can push the right analog stick down to bounce your opponents head off the steps, or you can move the right analog stick up and then move it down, which would result on screen in your character moving the opponents head backward and then slamming his head down into the steel steps with force. You can continue to do this until your superstar runs out of stamina.
The concept of this new analog control system sounds excellent. I just hope it’s not going to be too heavily involved in the action, as I fear it may slow the pace of the action down. It looks great from what I have seen and it seems to open up more opportunities to perform different moves. I just hope they stick to the basics for performing basic maneuvers and your finishing moves; which I'm sure they will, from what I have seen of this new feature in action. It certainly looks like it adds a lot and opens the game play up more, which in turn, can present new and devastating ways to decapitate your opponent, well not literally. The first thing that entered my mind (apart from the luscious divas) was something I mentioned earlier, and that is getting your opponent in a grapple and then using the new ACS and getting him into a power bomb position and then power bombing that sucka right through a table on the outside! Awesome and I cant wait!
In SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007 players can take the battle of being a WWE Superstar up close and personal, by clothes lining your opponent over the barricade and into the fully 3D modeled crowd. A WWE Fan has a sign you don't like? Then grab it off him and rip it up! Get the advantage over your opponent anyway you possibly can. If feeling threatened by your opponent in a crowded area then perhaps you would like to steal a WWE Fans crutch and proceed to bash your opponent in the skull with it until he bleeds. I know I would like to bash John Cena's skull in with someone’s crutch then I might proceed to take a fans glass bottle and whack him over the head with that as well, for good measure, I might just like to throw him on to a table and do a moonsault off of a very high structure. Wooooooo!!
There will most certainly be a plethora of gaming modes now playable online, which is sure to add to the overall longevity of the title. There has currently been no announcement on the more popular offline game modes, like the 30-man Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber match; hopefully both of these matches are incorporated into online play. There will still be plenty of other matches that are likely to be available in online play; including 3 Stages of Hell, First Blood, Cage, Hell in a Cell, Tag, Singles, Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Submission and one of the more popular ones; the Bra and Panty match and more.
We can expect to see another great season mode in the game as well. With many new features enhanced from last years edition. Expect to see voice-overs of some of your favorite WWE Superstars and an expanded General Manager mode. Maybe we can expect to see some new match types as well, there are also updated rosters for both Raw and SmackDown! With any luck we may get more than expected as far as match types and rosters are concerned. Perhaps the roster may have some 'extreme' additions?
Speculation?
If you've been watching WWE programming recently you will know that Extreme Championship Wrestling 'ECW' is back and is back to stay. For those of you that don't know, ECW is now owned by World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. So ECW wrestlers are appearing in storylines on WWE programming at the moment. There was also events held recently, titled; WWE vs. ECW: Head to Head and a Pay-Per-View event called ECW One Night Stand, which features both ECW and WWE Superstars.
A well known wrestling based news website has reported that THQ are planning to rename WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007 to WWE vs. ECW.
Make of that what you will, it is not official as THQ haven’t commented. Though again it is possible, would THQ release a new WWE game this November that’s already out dated with such a big storyline and missing an ECW roster? I am sure THQ are kept fully informed of WWE's intentions as they move forward, so perhaps THQ would have known about this all along and thus were able to keep their newest WWE title up to date?
There has been no mention of downloadable content for the game, but it doesn't hurt to speculate. Now I don't think we are going to get new wrestlers to download, as these titles are released yearly, so it would be something to save for the 2008 edition. Though, there might be one exception; if for whatever reason they weren't able to keep the game up to date, then they may add downloadable content of at least an ECW roster, as that would be a big thing to not make it into the game. Other than that I don't think we will get downloadable wrestlers. It is likely if we get downloadable content that we will at least get new move sets and CAW parts to download for our created wrestlers. If the ECW roster does not make it into the game and they don't release an ECW roster pack, then they may even add the appropriate CAW parts so we can at least create them ourselves. If WWE did not keep THQ and Yukes informed of the ECW plan a head of time, then it is unlikely it will make it into the game.
These are just some of the things we don't know, hopefully over the coming weeks THQ will release more information on the roster and storyline. Either way, this will hopefully be a great game, as with the previous track record of the WWE SmackDown! series. WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007 is scheduled for release this November. We will keep you up to date on all the information as it becomes available.
Preview By: Wayne Julian
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