WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2007

[Scroby 0]

I am picking it up for the 360 and I'm also starting a wrestling fed over at another messageboard. If anyone wants details on it, you can PM me and I can give you information.

 

Also does anyone know how to take weapons from the crowd?

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Two people I know on IRC determined it could not be done on the demo.

[Scroby 0]

I understand the strong grapple system now!!!!

 

You press the RB button and depending which way you push the left analog stick, you grab your oppoent in a certain way. Then after you grab your oppoent you press the left analog stick again to do your move. Now I don't understand why the AI counters it most of the time.

[Downhome 0]

The new controls shouldn't freak you out. Like I mentioned before, even if you don't want to use the new controls, you can still change them to how they've been before.

 

Yeah, if anyone here is doing a fed or whatever, let me know. I've never played a wrestling game online, so this one will be my first. I never got only with my PS2, and I only just recently signed up for a year of 360 Live.

[Scroby 0]

Two people I know on IRC determined it could not be done on the demo.

If your talking about taking a weapon from a fan. I just did it, but I have no idea how I did it.

[Downhome 0]

I've just hit the point where I like the new controls better than the old way I do believe. I'm not sure why, but it just hit me all of a sudden. I love the new changes, and the "total control" moves are just awesome. There's nothing like lifting someone up for a chokeslam, then walking over to the rope and just dishing out the move over the top rope tossing the other guy out to the floor.

[Rob Anybody 0]

I've just hit the point where I like the new controls better than the old way I do believe. I'm not sure why, but it just hit me all of a sudden. I love the new changes, and the "total control" moves are just awesome. There's nothing like lifting someone up for a chokeslam, then walking over to the rope and just dishing out the move over the top rope tossing the other guy out to the floor.

 

That just sold me. If it means less work for setting up table spots, then I'm all for any change to the control system.

[Downhome 0]

Yeah, you can set up a table then carry your opponent around and just slam them right through the table. Or if you want you can pick them up like you're going to do a powerbomb and then slam them into the turnbuckle, or do an Oklahoma Slam, and so on.

[Craig Th 0]

Mine is downloading right now. I haven't played a wrestling game since No Mercy.

[Downhome 0]

Just don't pass judgement on it right away, and the same goes for anyone who are iffy about the new controls. I really do believe that if you guys stick it out and put in the time needed to really learn how to do everything, you'll all like these controls better than those in all of the previous SD games.

 

You really do feel like you're in control.

[Fökai 0]

I'm definitely getting it for the 360. DH and Scroby, you both have my gamertag on your friend list already.

[Ripper 0]

Played the demo. Pretty freakin cool. I like the controls as I have always hated the controls of this game. But the new ones...workable.

 

Plus it looks great, and feels pretty good.

[Guest Human Highlight Reel]

Looking at those YouTube videos, I can't help but notice the announcing is absolutely the fucking same as the last game! That better just be a filler for the demo while the real announcing is recorded, because if not, that's just plain ridiculous.

[skullman80 0]

So when does this game actually release for the 360?

[Downhome 0]

I think it comes out on 11/14/06. Check out this video guys:

 

[Scroby 0]

So when does this game actually release for the 360?

3 days before my birthday, which is the 17th, so the game comes out on the 14th. *HINT HINT*

 

Like I said before the annoucing is horrible and I hope theres a way to turn it off. Here's some things I notice

 

- Never say HHH's or Kane's name.

 

-Always in a casual convo, even when you put someone through a table. Its even worse when you put someone through their annouce table and they're just having a normal convo.

[Aero 0]

IGN has a four page article on Season, GM Mode, and a few other features/changes. It's worth a read, but here's something surprising from it... there is no sign of the Bra & Panties/Fulfill Your Fantasy match.

 

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/736/736705p1.html

[dubq 0]

IGN has a four page article on Season, GM Mode, and a few other features/changes. It's worth a read, but here's something surprising from it... there is no sign of the Bra & Panties/Fulfill Your Fantasy match.

 

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/736/736705p1.html

 

Can someone copy/paste this? IGN is blocked from my workplace.

[Downhome 0]

Thanks for posting that. Here is a part that really stood out for me:

 

Personally, we've always felt that SmackDown's "special referee" option was always boring -- so we just went ahead and skipped it. Even so, when we shifted back to our locker room we had a voicemail from Teddy Long (yep, the real guy) telling us that the Undertaker was pissed at us for not calling the match down the middle. Strangely, The Undertaker won his match -- so without the benefit of a cutscene to tell us what happened (we didn't get one when skipping) or understanding why he'd be angry at us for winning, we found ourselves in a quick rivalry with the Deadman (luckily, clicking on WWE.com explains what happened when we checked it out... cool!).

 

You can bet that our very next match was against "Mr. Old-school" himself and we have to admit, that the commentary as the match began was pretty impressive. Tazz and Cole completely recalled the events of the special referee bout -- they talked about how Undertaker was mad about it, who his opponent was, and what happened to get us to this point; and all this was during his intro as he walked to the ring (that's right, no special videos -- they talked normally just as they do on television). Sadly, there was a long silence after they finished their talk (no small talk), but the commentating duo did pick things up again once our boy Lashley stepped out on the ramp.

[Aero 0]

Thanks for posting that. Here is a part that really stood out for me:

 

You can bet that our very next match was against "Mr. Old-school" himself and we have to admit, that the commentary as the match began was pretty impressive. Tazz and Cole completely recalled the events of the special referee bout -- they talked about how Undertaker was mad about it, who his opponent was, and what happened to get us to this point; and all this was during his intro as he walked to the ring (that's right, no special videos -- they talked normally just as they do on television). Sadly, there was a long silence after they finished their talk (no small talk), but the commentating duo did pick things up again once our boy Lashley stepped out on the ramp.

 

It's a nice touch, but this was in the last game as well.

[Aero 0]

October 2, 2006 - If you've been following our SmackDown Countdown over the last three weeks (and based on our visitor count, who hasn't?), then you already know that we've been spending some substantial time with WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 for both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360... But other than our daily superstar updates, we haven't been saying much else. Luckily for everyone, THQ has given the go ahead for us to spill the worms so that we can talk a bit more about how things work and how things are different in SVR '07... And there are certainly things to talk about.

 

Naturally, the most obvious change that longtime players will notice above all else is the change of the control scheme -- it doesn't work the way it used to. Now altered to make use of the analog sticks, the configuration feels a lot less mechanical than it did before -- which is a good thing for an obviously-aging franchise.

 

The good news is that things are far more responsive than they were when we last told you about the game at E3. Movements via the stick no longer have the delay or outright failure to work that once plagued them, and character collision and fatigue has been tweaked in a much more realistic direction. Despite spending as much time as we have with the title over the last several weeks, however, we have to admit: the movesets do seem more limited under the new control scheme. Because of the sensitivity and completely different move assignments for each character, we seem to be pulling off more chinlocks and snapmares than ever before.

 

One of the things that takes getting used to (and pay attention to this, because it isn't mentioned in any tutorial) is that picking up your opponent from the mat is no longer handled with a face button. Now, clicking R3 is what grabs their heads and stands them upright -- while holding down and using the L-stick to navigate is how you drag them around. Veterans will certainly find the change odd, but it does seem to work better once you get the hang of it. It's also worth mentioning that the new "unlimited reversal system" works pretty well -- and it's a lot more forgiving with its timing than in past years.

 

R3 is also the tool to get the user-controlled grappling moves started (click it while grappled to initiate, and then push a direction to determine what type). It's definitely a cool little addition in concept, but we're still not sold on its actual value yet. You see, the prince for using an UC grapple is a large amount of your stamina bar -- and the moves are flashier than they are powerful. Then again, we're still learning the ropes with a number of the game's new mechanics, so it's still too early to pass the grade on it.

 

Oh, and while we're discussing new mechanics, the "Interactive Fighting Areas" are definitely neat little additions. Throwing someone into a barricade, for example, will send them spilling over it and you can follow them to incur more damage if you like. Once engaged in the IFA, things work just as they do in those prelim videos that have been floating around since the game was announced: players can pull weapons out of the crowd or even signs to help them out. As a face, pulling a sign from a fan can help your momentum out as you cheer along with the crowd; but if you're a heel, you can go ahead and tear that sign up and stomp on it for their own momentum boost.

 

If you're not worried about momentum and just want to hurt someone, that's cool too. The focus of IFA is doing an extreme amount of damage in a number of different ways anyhow. Trash cans, fire extinguishers, chairs, monitors, speakers, scaffolding, and an assortment of other things that make babies cry can all be used for some easy pain-giving. The company line here is that "if you can see it, you can use it," and so far that's true -- as just about everything we've seen can be used on or against your opponent (with cool special effects to boot).

 

One area that still runs into problems, though, is the AI. Admittedly, we've played every SmackDown since time began, so maybe we're a little on the advanced side... but even so, the level of opposition that the CPU provides on all but Legend difficulty will be a pushover for series pros (and even then, it isn't the hardest challenge in the world by any means). Obviously, and as with past SmackDowns, the real fun here is playing with other people -- but since we haven't been able to give online head-to-head a go yet, the CPU and "Player #2" are the only folks we've been messing with so far.

 

The good news is that, even if you're playing alone, there's a great amount of content here. Most of the familiar match types have come back from last year and improved versions of tables, TLC, and the addition of Money in the Bank contests are all good fixes. However, fans of the diva specialty matches from earlier seasons might be disappointed to learn that there isn't such a match this year -- that means no Bran and Panties and no fulfill your fantasy -- or at least, it isn't anywhere that we've seen in the menus or unlockables section.

 

There are some slight alterations to other match types as well. Buried Alive, for example, has slightly-better collision on the dirt mound (you'll still get the mysterious floating wrestlers, but not as often), and the interactive areas add some spice to old favorites (particularly "Parking Lot Brawl" which now as a fire truck and a sewage tanker).

 

The "Locker Room" feature was a big hit with fans last year, and THQ has made a number of new changes to it for SVR 2007. The first and most noticeable amendment, of course, is that it's no longer setup with a static and lifeless display. Now the locker room is full 3D -- just like the old season navigation modes used to be in earlier PS2 SmackDowns. There are three rooms to explore in all, and they include an upstairs belt case and "Wall of Fame" area to a side area dedicated to character customization.

 

Pressing start at any time while in the locker room brings up the customization screen, and allows players to modify almost every area of their abode. Whether a user wants to change how their drink bar looks (which is where they can check their challenges) or alter the type of table they use to house WWE magazines (which provide Superstar bios that include everything from their height and weight to notable championships and more), the choice is entirely theirs.

 

And by choice, we mean it. There are 14 customizable hub aspects in total: Room Lighting, Wall Pattern, Floor Pattern, Stairs, Amusement Corner, Bar Corner, Shelves, Desk, Large Furniture, Rug, Corner Items, Wall Decorations, Banner, and Collectibles. Of course, each of these categories has further sub-groups within them, and that's where your creativity will really come in.

 

Speaking of which, the number of options within each customization set is huge. Take lighting for example -- not only can a user choose to change the main lighting scheme, its color, and what sort of fixtures are used to illustrate it, but they can also unlock a number of hidden items that expands their number of choices. This sort of choice bleeds into the other customizable areas as well; you can change your floor from concrete to metal, your walls from plaster to wood, or you can even change what kind of handrail your stairs have. Couches, coffee tables, and even your belt case can be manipulated in just about every way you'd hope.

 

But having a cool locker room means more than just looking cool. Like last year, it serves an actual purpose for your loaded profile. In addition to the Wall of Fame, Challenge Mode, belt case, and WWE magazines highlighted above, for example, players can also access a loading screen manager (32 screens in total), customize CAW attributes, access profile stats, and purchase new bonuses at the WWE shopzone. The shopzone is much easier to navigate this year too, and provides a great one-stop spot to pick up new legends, new moves, and cool championship belt alternatives (like the Smoking Skull and NWO variants). The locker room also grants admission to "The Desk" which is an invaluable tool for a variety of Season Mode reasons.

 

And what about Season Mode? How does it work and how is it different? Well, it begins rather simply -- after choosing an existing or created superstar from the menu screen, the game shifts to your locker room desktop. Here you can check your messages and get info from your general manager. For the purposes of our play-through, we used Bobby Lashley and began with two messages from Teddy Long. The first was a welcome note and a promise that if we won four matches in a row that we'd get a shot at the title; the second letter was an assignment to play special guest referee in the main event for that evening's program (Benoit vs. Undertaker).

 

Before heading off into SmackDown, a number of other options are available as well. Checking the calendar, for example, allows users to adjust season mode options (difficulty, subtitles, and email reminders) and clicking on desktop PC brings up WWE.com. Here, we have all the same options that the locker room normally brings with two exceptions: one, we can save our season mode progress from there, and two, we can click on an article that sets up the current storylines (in this case, the Benoit vs. Undertaker match-up). Once out of the locker room, the view shifts to a backstage look at the arena and we're once again given the option of saving, changing our difficulty setting, going back to where we came from, or starting our week.

 

Starting the week begins the pre-match screen which looks pretty much identical to previous years (rules are shown, you can choose to play, to skip, or whatever). One new option, however, is the new "Multiplayer" feature. By selecting this button, gamers can choose to play whichever character they want (ie: we can choose to play as Undertaker instead of Lashley if we don't feel like refereeing). Even better, a second player can hop in to play as one of the two remaining characters too -- it's a nice touch to say the least.

 

Personally, we've always felt that SmackDown's "special referee" option was always boring -- so we just went ahead and skipped it. Even so, when we shifted back to our locker room we had a voicemail from Teddy Long (yep, the real guy) telling us that the Undertaker was pissed at us for not calling the match down the middle. Strangely, The Undertaker won his match -- so without the benefit of a cutscene to tell us what happened (we didn't get one when skipping) or understanding why he'd be angry at us for winning, we found ourselves in a quick rivalry with the Deadman (luckily, clicking on WWE.com explains what happened when we checked it out... cool!).

 

You can bet that our very next match was against "Mr. Old-school" himself and we have to admit, that the commentary as the match began was pretty impressive. Tazz and Cole completely recalled the events of the special referee bout -- they talked about how Undertaker was mad about it, who his opponent was, and what happened to get us to this point; and all this was during his intro as he walked to the ring (that's right, no special videos -- they talked normally just as they do on television). Sadly, there was a long silence after they finished their talk (no small talk), but the commentating duo did pick things up again once our boy Lashley stepped out on the ramp.

 

Following a two-Dominator victory (which isn't reanimated, by the way), Lashley and Undertaker are shown backstage arguing (with full voice-over); just as Taker is about to do something crazy (involving lights and hand-raising), Benoit enters the mix and before you know it, all three guys are yelling at each other. As you might have guessed, the storytelling elements are much better this year and play out more like they do on television. For proof, just take that backstage stare-down into account, and the following in-ring trash talking that results in a Lashley vs. Benoit match the week after, and a cool stipulation match that allows the winner of a three-way dance to pick their main event at No Mercy.

 

After winning our match at No Mercy, Season Mode's whole purpose became much clearer -- it's how you unlock the game's hidden goodies. In this case, we gained access to the "Diva Package" in the WWE Shopzone and added a No Mercy trophy to our Locker Room. Of course, Season Mode is also a great place to earn money and experience points (which can be used to buy more stuff or upgrade created characters respectively).

 

On the subject of upgrades, General Manager Mode has received one this year too. A good portion of last year's features and guidelines are back, of course, and there's still a 20-wrestler limit per show, the ability to use existing or user-drafted rosters, a salary cap, the option to set contract lengths, so on and so forth. The interface, however, is all-new. Vince McMahon's greeting, for example, is now voiced over by Vince himself and is delivered via cell-phone instead of the stiff-looking menus of last year.

 

Setting up events on your calendar is as easy as can be too. Just hop right into "Schedule," select the day for your show on the interactive map, and book your event (up to six matches). Figuring out to book your matches is much easier as well, and this is tanks to a brand new tab system that allows you to navigate seamlessly between titleholders and other superstars. Each wrestler has a much more informative character card too -- morale, titled held, last title match, number of weeks not used, and even specialty match (it's Hell in the Cell for Undertaker, surprised?). This sort of setup is definitely good news for those of us who were into the mode last year, since we're no longer forced to keep hopping back and forth between menus to figure out how to get around.

 

Another nice touch is that users can now hire writers for their show to supplement their roster, and each one is good for about three storylines each. These storylines can be specific too -- for cruisers, divas, legends, or whatever. Just like in real life, the better your writer is, the better your storylines will be (and no, names like Russo or McMahon aren't on the list). This new story system (which uses a five-star system to show how valuable it is) is an invaluable tool for pushing rivalries forward and affects what kind of match popularity rivals can produce. What's extra cool about this is that up to four wrestlers can be involved in a rivalry at a time and you can actually set cut-off dates as to when that rivalry should end.

 

If you visit WWE.com on a regular basis, you're probably familiar with the "Power 25" (an ongoing ranking of WWE superstars that are ranked by wins, opponent quality, momentum, and in-ring dominance). That same list has now been incorporated into General Manager Mode as well, and can be used to help figure who your mid-carders and jobbers should be, who deserves a title shot, and who is doing well on a rival show (perhaps a trade is in order?).

 

Finally, General Manager Mode also includes the addition of Velocity and HEAT. Half the size of a RAW or SmackDown card, these sideshows are used to build up superstar popularity independent of your day-to-day operations of the main programs. Ideally, this is a good place to put your created characters -- guys who start out at the bottom of the ladder every time -- and it won't cost you any rating points to do so. Don't expect to use many other superstars for HEAT and Velocity, though; once a character hits a popularity rating of 70, they're too big to headline it.

 

As with most wrestling games, there's still plenty to explore in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007, but most of it lays in the details. What moves are reanimated, what tweaks have been made here and there, and how is create-a-wrestler looking? Good questions, all of them, but they're meant to be answered on another day (following considerably more play time). Hoo-Rah!

[Downhome 0]

I assume that they meant that it's even better now. I'm not sure why else they'd focus on it.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Well if they are acknowleding the GM Mode / feuds is "writing storylines" and not being a kayfabed GM booking matches, hopefully you can assign winners now.

[Vyce 0]

Any word on the number of CAWs?

 

Cause sadly it's the thing I care about the most.

[Scroby 0]

Any word on the number of CAWs?

 

Cause sadly it's the thing I care about the most.

I don't think anything has been said yet. Not much has been said about CAW's or online.

[Aero 0]

IGN has a No Mercy PPV simulation up right now for Insiders only. Kennedy's entrance is PERFECT, complete with chasing Tony Chimmel out of the ring and then doing his own intro with a good voiceover. Booker T has his regular intro animation and music, but the King Titantron is in.

[Jericholic82 0]

cool info there.

 

Batistas entrance looks great and he FINALLY has new trunks

 

Mark Henrys entrance is pretty spot-on as well, though he walks like he has pooped his pants (then agian he walks like that in real life) and when he gets in the ring he shakes his head and sweat flies off his hair nice touch

 

Mickie James has a good intro too, complete with jumping around and smiling

 

Benoit still has the same intro it seems as last year, but then again his walk is pretty simple. he does have the sweet new wolverine tights though

 

Candice's intro has the stupid magic wand thign that she hasnt used since like march but whatever. plus it is incorrect since THQ is lazy and doesnt have her with a robe or whatever on to unveil herself liek she does.

 

why am I nitpicking on this stupid things ?

 

and carlito doesnt even have his tshirt on? damn at least last year he had his hawaain type hsirt on

plus Lillians voiceover hasnt even been updated to pronounce his name spanish style with the rolling r. thats not cool

[Jericholic82 0]

Burchills intro is up and its great. has the rope swinging and everything, then he takes out his sword by the ring. man if only they pu tthis much effort into the gameplay

 

umagas and masters up as well. laziness abound as Umaga is missing his sarong and masters his robe AGAIN, though it is funny to see him all roided up still. youd think they could just redo it before release but its too late I suppose

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

Burchills intro is up and its great. has the rope swinging and everything, then he takes out his sword by the ring. man if only they pu tthis much effort into the gameplay

 

umagas and masters up as well. laziness abound as Umaga is missing his sarong and masters his robe AGAIN, though it is funny to see him all roided up still. youd think they could just redo it before release but its too late I suppose

Last year they had La Resistnce in the Quebec tights but the videos and music for their solo runs, such as they were. It looks like generally the models are done for around Wrestlemania and then do the entrance packages just before finalizing

[slimm44 0]

Ric Flair's the next profile. His videos are up, but the profile isn't