Smackdown VS Raw 2006

[PsychoDriver 0]

New article, Screens and movies up at http://ps2.ign.com/articles/638/638978p1.html

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

The previously whispered "girly" outfits for the Divas were confirmed as well, which means that players can expect to see their favorite WWE women sporting nurse's outfits, schoolgirl uniforms, and French maid getups. In fact, these new and exotic costumes tie nicely into one of SmackDown vs. RAW's brand new Main Event types, the "Fulfill Your Fantasy" match.

 

A replacement for the somewhat repetitive "Bra and Panties" contest found in the products from the past two years, "FYF" takes the previous idea and expands on it by quite a bit. Now, not only can players select to outfit their Diva in any one of the aforementioned costumes, but they'll also be able to use them inside a red satin wrestling ring... complete with a super bouncy bed (that the girls can jump up and down on) and purple comfort chairs with big fluffy pillows. Don't worry, though, you'll still be able to rip each other's clothes off just like before -- but in order to win the match properly you'll have to participate in a good old-fashioned pillow fight that adds reaction points to your overall victory meter. And yes, it's surprisingly enjoyable.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Note what appears to be Lillian Garcia having an actual in-game model for ring intros. Neat.

 

Just me, or does this look like Kurt Angle turned black and given an afro?

[Aero 0]

 

Hooray for JBL's limo!

 

 

Hooray for more than one ladder in a ladder match!

 

 

And about Carlito, above.. I'd say the face is dead-on. It looks perfect to me.

Edited August 5, 2005 by Aero

[Skywarp! 0]

Excuse me for not reading the entire thread, but from that HHH picture, can we deduce that opponents are present during introductions, instead of disappearing as in all other games?

[KingPK 0]

There's also a mysterious bonus cage match type known as "Legend Cage" that should also add some incentives.

 

BLUE BAR CAGE~!!!! They HAVE to use that for the Legends.

 

 

TEH GUNZ~! Or Batista's getting jiggy with it.

 

 

So does this mean the ref checks the arm for a submission? That would be cool; as the submission bar gets closer to Submit, the ref picks up the arm and if you are able to mash the button enough, it stays up the third time and you make the comeback.

[Use Your Illusion 0]

Screens look great, reviews sound great, new features sound great.

 

I'm ready to be disappointed.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

I think Hassan would have been confirmed already if UPN didn't ban him. Maybe this means we get another extra Cruiserweight

[Silence 0]

I think Hassan would have been confirmed already if UPN didn't ban him. Maybe this means we get another extra Cruiserweight

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Don't count on an extra Cruiserweight being added yet. After all, last year's game only had Rey Mysterio and Chavo/Kerwin White as Cruiserweights.

 

I still hope the Cruiserweight title's re-added though so London can finally make it to a WWE Smackdown game.

[dubq 0]

I think Hassan would have been confirmed already if UPN didn't ban him. Maybe this means we get another extra Cruiserweight

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Don't count on an extra Cruiserweight being added yet. After all, last year's game only had Rey Mysterio and Chavo/Kerwin White as Cruiserweights.

 

I still hope the Cruiserweight title's re-added though so London can finally make it to a WWE Smackdown game.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Man, I really hope that if Chavo is included - that he's Chavo Guerrero, and not Kerwin White.

 

Also, is there any word on there being more than FOUR titles in this game this time around? I really liked that HCTP had all titles represented. There's no excuse NOT to include at least the IC & US Titles.

 

EDIT: Can someone paste the above article from IGN? I can get to page one, but after that all I get is Access Denied. Damn Hospital internet surfing policies...

[Aero 0]

August 4, 2005 - Before our annual SmackDown coverage kicked off early last month, THQ production members Cory Ledesma and Devin Knudsen told me privately that this was the year the team wanted to go all out, the year that Yuke's and THQ planned to reinforce their idea that WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 would emerge as the premier wrestling game of its day -- and that when I finally had the chance to sit down and play the product for the very first time, that there was no way I could doubt them...

 

They were right.

Presumptuous as it may be, it's safe to say that SmackDown vs. RAW 2006 is definitely heading towards the same kind of lofty acclaim given to 2003's big man on campus, Here Comes the Pain. Even now in its earliest form (a pre-alpha build that's as barebones as you can get), the game is already a noticeable improvement over last year's strong but subdued follow-up. In fact, based on what I've seen so far, THQ has listened to its fans this season more than ever -- providing so many new features, modes, and subtle gameplay additions that it eclipses all other SmackDown sequels.

 

Take, for example, the large graphical improvement. To make things as realistic as possible, the artists have gone back to the beginning and reanimated 40-50% of all animations in the entire game. Not only does this mean that a good chunk of the in-ring moves have been completely overhauled, but every single cutscene and ring entrance has been redone from scratch as well. Even better is the fact that those same entrances and cutscenes have been motion-captured for the utmost in authenticity -- whereas only a few of those moments had previously been mo-capped and reused for the entire franchise.

 

This attention to detail really shines through in wrestler entrances too, as every ringwalk that I've witnessed so far matches up with its real life counterpart almost exactly. Triple H, for instance, has retained the same cocky nuances in his digital strut that he has in real life -- from the way he throws his bottle into the crowd to the way he poses after spraying water out his mouth.

 

Entrances are also helped by the fact that Yuke's has finally turned off the time limit that cut the previous ringwalks short (which was usually kept to a minute or less). Now, if a stroll to the arena is supposed to take two or three minutes to complete in real life, that's also how long it'll take to complete in the game. A couple times I even noticed alternate camera angles during the same wrestler's ringwalk, but whether or not that's an actual feature or just a result of the earliness of the build is hard to say.

 

Another impressive graphical upgrade comes in the form of wrestler skin tones, hair, and textures. Just look at the hulking Batista who looks exactly like the real thing. From the incomplete dragon tattoo on his back to the veins flowing through his heavily-exercised chest, the level of realism here is rather impressive.

 

To achieve this, THQ meticulously scanned the faces of each of the WWE superstars and divas so that they are as accurate to their real world counterparts as possible. And when you add the entirely 3D polygonal crowd (last year's was a mix of 2D and 3D), enhanced lighting and pyro effects, and the fact that every character's eyes follow the movements of their opponent, you have all the elements necessary for some kick-ass visual entertainment.

 

Unfortunately, because of the early nature of the build I played for this preview, all wrestler entrances are incomplete. TitanTron videos, the correct background music, voice-overs, and the majority of the sound effects aren't even in the game yet (which leads me to wonder just how cool the final ringwalks may ultimately turn out to be). At least wrestlers, ring announcers and commentators appear in and outside the ring during the introductions, though, which at the very least adds a nice and long overdue presentational touch.

 

Also unfinished in our preview build was the roster, as THQ hasn't finalized the complete lineup quite yet. I did manage to confirm, however, at least 15 of the superstars who will definitely make their way into the finished product (and counted almost 30 more in the regular lineup excluding divas and legends). But before you can ask about anyone other than the 15 guys listed below, you have to remember that neither the WWE nor THQ are ready to go on record about who else is in there, so you might as well save your breath. With that in mind, here are 15 people you can definitely expect to see in SmackDown vs. RAW 2006.

 

Batista

Carlito Caribbean Cool

Chris Benoit

Christian

Eddie Guerrero

Edge

JBL

John Cena

Kane

Kurt Angle

Randy Orton

Rey Mysterio

Shelton Benjamin

Triple H

The Undertaker

 

THQ did go on record, however, regarding several of SmackDown's modes and features (and how they're going to work). The playable arenas, for example, total 17 in all and there's a chance that we may even see a few more if time permits.

 

All the familiar PPV venues have been included in here too, with no-brainers such as WrestleMania 21 and Royal Rumble appearing in addition to more surprising venues like Taboo Tuesday. The previously whispered "girly" outfits for the Divas were confirmed as well, which means that players can expect to see their favorite WWE women sporting nurse's outfits, schoolgirl uniforms, and French maid getups. In fact, these new and exotic costumes tie nicely into one of SmackDown vs. RAW's brand new Main Event types, the "Fulfill Your Fantasy" match.

A replacement for the somewhat repetitive "Bra and Panties" contest found in the products from the past two years, "FYF" takes the previous idea and expands on it by quite a bit. Now, not only can players select to outfit their Diva in any one of the aforementioned costumes, but they'll also be able to use them inside a red satin wrestling ring... complete with a super bouncy bed (that the girls can jump up and down on) and purple comfort chairs with big fluffy pillows. Don't worry, though, you'll still be able to rip each other's clothes off just like before -- but in order to win the match properly you'll have to participate in a good old-fashioned pillow fight that adds reaction points to your overall victory meter. And yes, it's surprisingly enjoyable.

 

The most talked about new main event, however, has to be the long-awaited Buried Alive match (which users have been asking for forever). Setup with no-holds barred rules and mirroring the Vince McMahon / Undertaker match from a few years back, it uses several never-before-seen mechanics to give it a fresh edge. If you want to be technical about it, it's not a buried alive match at all since it's essentially finished once you've slammed your opponent into a casket (a cutscene takes over from there). Even so, the control mechanics behind the bout are actually pretty neat and present players with three different button puzzles so they can get the most out of it.

 

It all begins when you throw your foe into the edge of the casket and force them into a subdued and stationary position. From there, a simple grapple in any direction will turn the opponent over face-first, initiating a mini-game. At that point, the struggle is all about who can push the buttons faster. A vertical submission bar appears to reflect the struggle for placement in the coffin. If the aggressor can make it to the top of the bar before time runs out, it means that he's successfully put his enemy into the coffin and then the next mini-game begins.

 

This one is a little less difficult. Here the player just has to move the right analog stick up and down to close the lid on the tomb -- but if your opponent can hit the R2 or L2 buttons fast enough, the attempt is reversed and he'll make it out alive. Needless to say, it's quite the entertaining match type. It'll be interesting to see how interactive the surrounding environment gets as development progresses.

 

Speaking of interesting, the all-new Backstage Brawl Event type has also been made available and it boasts three distinct non-arena battles to participate in. The good news is that all three locations are brand new and have never been used before (ie: a revamped backstage area, a bar, and a redesigned parking lot). What's cool about it, though, is that despite being a pre-alpha build the environments are highly interactive and sport fresh object reactions. So while the first SmackDown vs. RAW certainly offered specialty animations when you were thrown into cars, none of them are repeated here. Granted, you may see a few variations on pre-existing maneuvers, but at least they're not rehashes.

 

One aspect of the Backstage Brawls that I liked in particular is that they're full of WWE staff members going about their daily routine. If you really want to, you can go ahead and attack them in the middle of a conflict with your regular opponent and involve them in whatever beating you want to dish out. These third parties also add a bit of strategy to the match, since the staff can be just as detrimental to your own health as your adversary can.

 

Just because there are a bunch of new Main Event types, though, it doesn't mean that the old ones have been neglected. In the 2006 version of the Cage Match, for example, things play out more realistically. To start, you can now chase your rival up the cage and pull him down mid-climb instead of having to constantly bump into the fence. There's also a neat little timing-based mini-game that makes scaling the cage or crawling to the door much more strategic (yes, you can crawl to and escape out of the door now). It uses a variation on the preexisting submission system and grants the ability to throw foes into fences for more damage and increased blood loss (three levels of blood loss, in fact). There's also a mysterious bonus cage match type known as "Legend Cage" that should also add some incentives.

 

Title belt defenses and title belt creation have also been expanded upon. Players can now create Tag Team straps in addition to singles titles and defend any of them in normal "Title Match" exhibition bouts. You'll be able to compete against other players in "title-for-title" matches, as well (you may remember this feature from Know Your Role). Or, go ahead and try winning any of the preexisting belts made available from the outset. All modern belts (and several older ones) are represented here. The WWE, World, WWE Tag, World Tag, Intercontinental, U.S, Cruiserweight, Women's, Hardcore, and a special surprise belt are yours for the taking right from the beginning of the game.

 

In the brief time I've spent with SvR 2006, I can say that the gameplay has changed rather dramatically. A lot more deliberate in pace, the average match seems to take twice as long as it used to -- thanks to the brand new stamina system that drains wrestlers of energy for doing more spectacular moves. The idea here is certainly a good one and it balances out confrontations between newbies and veterans. But stamina seems to be lost a little too quickly right now. Using Rey Mysterio (a guy with a substantial stamina rating), I still seemed to tire out after only 6-7 seemingly-moderate moves -- requiring me to press select to manually regenerate my stamina on a regular basis. If balanced correctly, stamina will prove to be the single most important element in any match, that's for sure.

 

A couple other gameplay tweaks also change the way matches play out, as they're amore user-friendly than before. When a bout first begins, for instance, you can now use the right analog stick to choose what kind of pre-match scenario you want to engage in (stare down, test of strength, lockup) or decide to skip that step altogether. An all-new set of moves (which I can't seem to pigeonhole yet) have also joined the submission, signature, power, and quick movesets because Triangle and Circle are now used for Power Irish Whips. You can still do regular Irish Whips while running and tapping circle, but regular whips are no longer possible when standing still.

 

Most impressive of all, though, would have to be the improved enemy AI. Still not operating at 100%, the aggression and strategy of the CPU is pretty hardcore -- and much higher than it used to be in any previous SmackDown. THQ and Yuke's finally recognized that hardcore players are the ones who usually buy the majority of their games every year anyway, so why not make it harder? Even at this stage, the CPU AI does pull off some pretty nasty stuff, namely three-move reversals, clever positioning between you and the referee when he's hurt, and frequent pin attempts when you're in trouble. Finally, we have a formidable artificial opponent and I can't wait to see how much more advanced it's going to get.

 

That about wraps it up for my first playthrough with WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006, but it doesn't even begin to tell you what the game has in store. There are dozens of other cool things I've been asked not to tell you about yet, in addition to all the remaining superstars, divas, and legends yet to be confirmed. There's even a brand new sleeper hold submission system and the ability to play possum for sneak attacks! Check back with us again next week for another update, and be sure and click on the media page below for all-new screenshots and the first-ever videos.

 

Awesome news about the title belts.

 

EDITED so it's not so wide.

Edited August 5, 2005 by Aero

[Aero 0]

BTW, I'm amazed that they actually manage to put a decent Kurt Angle attire in a game. In SYM and HCTP, he had the red "super Angle" tights. Also in HCTP, he had the outdated Team Angle tights. Last year, he had the lame red tights with a fake gold medal on the front. FINALLY, something decent...

 

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

What do you guys think is the surprise belt? European Title? Some sort of a Legend Title where only Legends can wrestle for and also to the guy who said Cruiserweights won't get in except for Rey and Chavo. It clearly says the Cruiserweight Title is in the game which means Nunzio will probably be in it and Paul London. And I actually hope to see Kerwin White, that would be hilarious! 15 are announced, it says 30 more will be announced. How big is WWE roster?

[dubq 0]

What do you guys think is the surprise belt? European Title? Some sort of a Legend Title where only Legends can wrestle for and also to the guy who said Cruiserweights won't get in except for Rey and Chavo. It clearly says the Cruiserweight Title is in the game which means Nunzio will probably be in it and Paul London. And I actually hope to see Kerwin White, that would be hilarious! 15 are announced, it says 30 more will be announced. How big is WWE roster?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'm betting it's either some new made up title or the Stone Cold Smoking Skull title..

 

Also, on the subject of arenas - does anyone else agree that it'd be a good idea to create a "generic" WrestleMania venue for season modes? I mean, it doesn't make sense for WM21 to happen two years in a row...

[Guest Coffey]

Goddamn, why do they keep including the hardcore title? Stop it already.

[dubq 0]

^^^ Agreed, its the ugliest F'n thing I've ever seen. In HCTP I'd make it a point to have the IC or World champ win it as well so that I'd never have to see the damn thing again.

[Astro7x 0]

Chis Masters better be in this game... no so that I can play as him, but so that I can give his entrance to my CAW! haha

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

I hate Hardcore Title as well. I mean I like wrestling backstage and shit like that but those things can happen without the Hardcore Title.

[dubq 0]

That said, the article doesn't mention that any of those belts are specifically in the season mode. It's great if you can fool around with them in exhibition, but I'd better be able to go after mid-tier belts like the IC & US titles in season mode..

[Golgo 13 0]

I think London is in DoR2, which bodes well for an appearance in this one.

 

It'd be awesome if the extra belt was the Million Dollar Title.

[Silence 0]

The Hardcore title better not be one of the titles that I'll have to go after in Season mode, or THQ/Yukes clearly haven't been paying attention to all of the titles currently featured in WWE for the last few years if that's the case.

[dubq 0]

I think London is in DoR2, which bodes well for an appearance in this one.

 

It'd be awesome if the extra belt was the Million Dollar Title.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Dude, that totally slipped my mind. I would mark out like a little bitch if that were true.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

It was so annoying in HCTP that when you wrestled on the show but you were he Hardcore Champion you got attacked backstage a lot. Eventually I just dropped the belt because it was so annoying.

 

Also when you are WWE or World Champion you shouldn't wrestle on every show.

[Use Your Illusion 0]

Holy crap Kurt Angle looks amazing.

 

With all these extras, they won't possibly be doing *more* of those idiotic voice-overs for the game, will they? Maybe if I actually read the entire article up there I could derive an answer for myself, but then where would the fun be in that for you?

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

You can also watch gameplay videos...

 

I hope you can now use your title as a weapon or use JBL's limousine.

[Rendclaw 0]

I am psyched about the belts.... One of my favorite things in SYM was that if you held the World, Tag, IC and Cruiserweight titles all at once, you were called a Grand Slam Champion. I wish I hadn't gotten rid of the save file for that, because my Low-Ki CAW was able to do that. That gave me a true sense of accomplishment in the game, something that was sorely lacking in SvR.

 

I just hope that every week that the number of matches is changed from three to five, and that if you wanted you could wrestle those matches, like in HCTP. Yes, I used that to my advantage to lower HHH's Superstar points, and job him out. It happens when you have a deep dislike of a wrestler, as I am sure you all can attest to.

 

If you had the Hardcore title, that was just more experience points for your CAW, which enabled him to be completed faster. I just hope they keep the transferring of EXP from one CAW to another.

[dubq 0]

I mostly just wrestled the Title matches of other characters in HCTP. It was kinda like playing booker.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

I HATED in HCTP when WrestleMania had 3 matches, all PPV's had 3 matches but WM is just the worse. I mean I had Kurt Angle © vs. Matt Hardy (me, for the WWE Title), Rhyno © vs. Chris Benoit for US Title and fucking Rodney Mack versus Val Venis, that doesn't feel "big" at all.

[Silence 0]

I just hope that every week that the number of matches is changed from three to five, and that if you wanted you could wrestle those matches, like in HCTP. Yes, I used that to my advantage to lower HHH's Superstar points, and job him out. It happens when you have a deep dislike of a wrestler, as I am sure you all can attest to.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I did that too in HCTP. I also played as Steven Richards and Tajiri so many times in Season mode that I was able to get a HIAC World Heavyweight title match at Wrestlemania with Tajiri beating Richards for the title. It was some of the funniest shit I had ever done.

[Rendclaw 0]

::laughs:: that *is* funny!

 

all my CAWs held the titles... the create a PPV option was fun in SvR, now if they took that a half step forward and made more controllable matches (yes it is like playing booker, sort of) during the week, that would be sweet... hell I would be happy with four matches a week, and five or six for the PPVs...

 

I do have to admit, its a bit of an ego trip when you have the wrestler you;re using be involved in all of the matches on a PPV, all of them being title defenses....