Smackdown vs. Raw 2009: News/screens

[Golgo 13 0]

Yeah, it's not exact, but I'm a stickler for detail. Maybe it can work if they have a regular sunset flip motion in the mode.

[haws bah gawd 0]

Welp, IGN's SvR 09 countdown has begun!

 

To start things off..we get none other than the befactor of the Milan Miracle, your current IC champion... Santino Marella!

 

Entrance / signature move / finisher / dirty pin

 

Edit: Here's his actual countdown bio:

 

The son-a-ma-gun opening a can of ass whip

 

I like how so little attention has gone into the entrances that the wrestlers enter from the left of the entry way. Look at the video and you'll see Santino just kind of walks out of nowhere onto the stage.

[Scroby 0]

I was watching more of IGN countdown videos and I noticed a few things.

 

-Kofi has no pyro when he comes out.

 

-Beth Phoenix's body model looks fucking horrible.

 

-The Ring Announcers have no emotion in their voice when they announce someone coming to the ring. (though that's nothing new.)

 

-Finlay is using his old theme. The "My name is Finlay and I like the fight" song.

 

-Chris Jericho sounds really bad in the game.

 

It still actually looks pretty good, just those things I noticed.

[Exslade ZX 0]

Luckily, as far as the pyro goes you can still edit entrances yourself, as far as I'm aware.

[dubq 0]

-Finlay is using his old theme. The "My name is Finlay and I like the fight" song.

 

This is one instance where I'm glad the developers are lazy about some of the characters. I'd rather have stoic fighting Finlay than lame-ass jigg dancing Finlay. Irish wrestlers should be heels, dammit!

[Thoth 0]

The story mode looks pretty good in this one. I loved the Story mode in 2006 and hated 07 and 08.

[fazzle 0]

Am I reading the IGN preview correctly?

 

Can you really only use SIX people in story mode?

 

(well, 7, but 2 of them are forced together as a tag team)

[Thoth 0]

Am I reading the IGN preview correctly?

 

Can you really only use SIX people in story mode?

 

(well, 7, but 2 of them are forced together as a tag team)

 

I fail to see the problem.

[Exslade ZX 0]

Am I reading the IGN preview correctly?

 

Can you really only use SIX people in story mode?

 

(well, 7, but 2 of them are forced together as a tag team)

 

I fail to see the problem.

Sarcasm?

[Mike wanna be 0]

So THQ fixes "Story mode is repetitive" by adding limits to the number of people you can use, so now you're down to 5 singles & a tag team.

 

No Mercy, on the other hand, gave you the same 'repetitive' storylines regardless of who you used, but you could use anybody in any storyline.

[daileyxplanet 0]

As long as CM Punk is one, I don't care. It annoyed me you couldn't in the last one.

[Scroby 0]

So THQ fixes "Story mode is repetitive" by adding limits to the number of people you can use, so now you're down to 5 singles & a tag team.

 

No Mercy, on the other hand, gave you the same 'repetitive' storylines regardless of who you used, but you could use anybody in any storyline.

My main problem with THQ's story modes has always been the fact that THQ forces a player to play Story mode to help upgrade their CAW's attribute points. Not only that, but only one player using one CAW could play story mode until the story mode was finished.

 

What would be a good idea is if THQ made it so if you won a match in any mode, your CAW was rewarded attribute points. Ok maybe not every match, but say a CAW won 5 matches straight, the game would award that CAW new attribute points. Something like that.

 

The thing I really liked about No Mercy's storymode (if I'm remembering this right), is that a player didn't really have to play storymode to upgrade their CAW. Storymode was just used as a way to buy new stuff from the Smackdown store or unlocking hidden wrestlers.

 

If THQ made a story mode pretty similar to what No Mercy did, not exactly the same, but at least not forcing a player to play story mode, I know I would enjoy it a lot more.

[fazzle 0]

THQ could do both things. They could make more wrestler-specific storylines AND not limit who you can use, if they really wanted to put forth the effort. The key? Getting rid of voice-overs and going back to text-boxes. Most wrestlers wouldn't want to record hours and hours and hours of dialogue for every possible scenario in the game relating to every single possible wrestler, so just get rid of VOs. Much more freedom to write whatever story you want.

[DangerousDamon 0]

http://gamingring.com/news/?p=3038

Hahah WM 24 is indoors

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

That's pretty weak considering they were able to set Mania IX outdoors. Man, that was awesome having that classic arena and a blue steel cage. They shouldn't have dropped that concept.

[Thoth 0]

Am I reading the IGN preview correctly?

 

Can you really only use SIX people in story mode?

 

(well, 7, but 2 of them are forced together as a tag team)

 

I fail to see the problem.

Sarcasm?

 

Absolutely not. Like it was said, playing story mode with a CAW to buff his stats is really annoying at times. Plus, the quality of the linear storylines from SvR 2006 was good, as far as I'm concerned. And don't worry, CM Punk is one of the storylines.

 

It's:

 

Cena

Punk

Jericho

Undertaker

I forget the 5th one, but I have $5 it's HHH

Batista & Rey

 

If I'm getting 6 different linear storylines of the same quality as I got in SvR 2006, then I'm thrilled. From the trailer, it looks like Jericho's storyline is pretty cool, especially the use of the tron.

 

Edit: Yup, it's HHH.

[Mike wanna be 0]

So if you don't want to wrestle as, say, Cena:

SvR 08: You pick one of the twenty or so other guys or any CAW to go through the one linear storyline with.

WM2000/No Mercy: You pick one of anybody else on the roster including CAWs to go through the various match strings/storylines.

SvR 09: You don't play 1/6 of the available story mode.

[Exslade ZX 0]

So if you don't want to wrestle as, say, Cena:

SvR 08: You pick one of the twenty or so other guys or any CAW to go through the one linear storyline with.

WM2000/No Mercy: You pick one of anybody else on the roster including CAWs to go through the various match strings/storylines.

SvR 09: You don't play 1/6 of the available story mode.

Yea, my main gripe is that there are only 2 people available that I actually like, or would play as if it were a normal story. Jericho and Punk. The others I would never use, especially Batista and Rey as a tag team..While I'm glad it looks like were getting full, superstar specific storylines, the fact that it's only 6 superstars is pretty ridiculous. Did they think people would just not want to play as others? Did they miss the memo last year where people complained about the limited superstars you could use?

 

I want to play through story as Orton, Edge, MVP, Kennedy, Jeff Hardy, Shelton, Kofi...looks like I can't. Saw somewhere else there may be another mode that they're hush hush about right now, but if there isn't, that list is way limited for them to be how many years into the Smackdown franchise now?

[Broward83 0]

I think RtWM isn't the main story mode for the game..I think its an alternate mode that one can play as to further their enjoyment of the game.

[Aero 0]

IGN has a two page Q&A up. There's some interesting tidbits in there. Full Q&A Here.

 

The most interesting part:

 

Cory Ledesma: Fans of the game know that I have been working on the game for a long time (eight years, to be exact). I have seen some of the best WWE SmackDown vs. Raw features/games and some of the ones that did not deliver on fans' expectations. I can say without any hesitation that this is by far the best WWE SmackDown vs. Raw game I have ever worked on. Now, I'm sure some of the readers are sitting there and thinking, "Yeah, like he's really not going to say this is a great game," or "He's going to say whatever to put the game over." I'm saying as a true wrestling game fan that this is truly the best wrestling game I've ever seen to date. Here are the reasons why:

 

- Gameplay is solid! I haven't felt this good about WWE SmackDown vs. Raw gameplay in a while. The game feels very well tuned and polished. A lot of that credit goes to Yuke's and our game designer Bryan Williams. We have also improved a lot of match types this year, including my favorite – the Tag Team match.

 

- Road To WrestleMania Mode is one of the best story modes we have ever delivered. Now, I know some people are complaining that there are only six stories. However, you will not complain at all when you play these storylines because they are fantastic and incorporate a lot of new gameplay elements into the stories. They also have multiple endings, choices and challenges that are all character specific. The mode itself is just a very satisfying experience. I've personally played all the stories multiple times because they are that much fun. As a creative team, we felt that we needed to vindicate ourselves based on the 24/7 mode we delivered last year, so we took the challenge to step up and deliver an amazing experience this year.

 

- Huge roster. Enough said.

 

- Mystery features that have not been announced. I know there is a lot of talk on the boards about what the mystery mode is, and rightfully so, because there are a lot of great features that we have not announced yet. These mystery features will definitely win your approval. We will be announcing them in the near future, so as you start to see these features revealed and you think of all the awesome features we've already announced, you'll definitely piece together why this is the best wrestling game ever.

 

- Create-A-Finisher. If you're a wrestling fan, then how could you not buy a game that has this feature? This is the pinnacle of wrestling game features. This is a feature that everyone wants, and it's finally here!

 

Color me intrigued with the mystery features and secret arena. And wow, a huge roster actually seems definite after all these years of false promises. Now we just need to hope for certain updated wrestlers (I'm looking at you, THE Brian Kendrick... not likely, though).

[Blade2kxx 0]

Question... have they announced if GM Mode will be back this year?

[Broward83 0]

Its answered in the Q/A but GM Mode will not be back for 09.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

I don't understand. You have to select one of the six wrestlers to go through the Road to Mania mode? Is that what it is? Or can you use anyone, but not get the specific storylines?

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

There are a few things they need to fix from last year's.

 

a) Learn how to use the damned playlist feature. It's not hard.

b) Either add more than 30 CAW slots, or let us use another signed in profile. Preferably both.

c) CAW. Alternate attires. Stop being lazy and add this. Though from that Q&A, it sounds like we're going to have the same "a few wrestlers get one alternate attire" yet again.

d) More original entrances.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I don't care what Ledesma says, NO story will ever replace "tag partner ate the last slice of pizza".

[daileyxplanet 0]

I don't understand. You have to select one of the six wrestlers to go through the Road to Mania mode? Is that what it is? Or can you use anyone, but not get the specific storylines?

 

You choose of those four and the tag team of Rey and Batista.

[Scroby 0]

There are a few things they need to fix from last year's.

 

a) Learn how to use the damned playlist feature. It's not hard.

b) Either add more than 30 CAW slots, or let us use another signed in profile. Preferably both.

c) CAW. Alternate attires. Stop being lazy and add this. Though from that Q&A, it sounds like we're going to have the same "a few wrestlers get one alternate attire" yet again.

d) More original entrances.

Could you explain A) and D) a little bit? I don't understand what you mean. Your complaining about adding more than 30 CAW spots? How many CAWs do you make?

 

I agree with you on your C) point. Having two attires for wrestlers shouldn't be that BIG of a change in the game, I really want to know the reason why they have taken that out for the game.

[Scroby 0]

I don't understand. You have to select one of the six wrestlers to go through the Road to Mania mode? Is that what it is? Or can you use anyone, but not get the specific storylines?

Here's who it looks like you can pick from....

 

HHH

CM Punk

Undertaker

John Cena

Chris Jericho

Rey Mysterio & Batista as a tag team.

[Golgo 13 0]

I agree about more CAW slots. It's time. There should be more added on the PS3 and 360 since you could use the drive to store them. Though with a bigger roster and DLC creating WWE wrestlers shouldn't be much of a concern anymore.

 

Could you explain A) and D) a little bit?

 

He means in Create-an-Entrance.

 

Of course I always have a laundry list of hopes, concerns and criticisms. Here's to hoping the CAW is more freeform with more design/clothing options and that they add 'Flip' like I've been waiting for. Was the ladder match as ugly and broken last year? I hope they fix that. And that the strikes are 'tighter' and feel like they connect more.

 

I could take or leave alternate attires on created wrestlers. It's nice, but not completely necessary. I'd rather more existing wrestlers have alternates and proper entrance attires.

[Scroby 0]

Oh...I've always liked the create=a=entrance mode. The only gripe I really had with it was picking the camera angles you wanted. I've always found that part of CAE to be a giant pain in the ass.

 

Also has Smackdown vs Raw ever had what RAW 2 had when you were able to make your CAW come out during a certain part of a song? An example would be that your CAW's theme would play for a certain amount of time of your choosing, then lets says, 24 seconds into the song, the CAW would come out? That was a feature I really loved in RAW 2. If anything was done right in that game, it really was the create-a-wrestler feature.