|
page 3
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. |
page 4
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! credit - Jeremy Dunham, ps2.ign.com note: I have no idea why he said that idiot Miz' qoute |
Season and GM Mode sound so much better this year, cant wait to get my hands on it.
|
Neither can I!
|
or I!
|
Nor I! :D
|
Sounds nice. But...
Ripped theme music?!?!? EDIT/UPDATE: Appearently it's been confirmed by some source in another site you have to join to even read. |
|
http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/ar...2094551649.jpg
Finishers - Figure-4 Neck Lock X2 STR 3 SUB 3 DUR 3 TEC 4.5 SPD 6 CHA 7.5 HRD 3 STA 5 PS2 Candice Michelle's Entrance Candice Michelle vs Jillian Hall No Finisher credit - Jeremy Dunham, ps2.ign.com 360 Candice Michelle's Entrance Candice Michelle vs Melina Dirty Low Blow http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/ar...2110616000.jpg Finishers - Cool Shot and Backcracker STR 7.5 SUB 7.5 DUR 8 TEC 8 SPD 7 CHA 9 HRD 8 STA 7.5 PS2 Carlito's Entrance Carlito vs Randy Orton Cool Shot credit - Jeremy Dunham, ps2.ign.com 360 Carlito's Entrance Carlito vs Lance Cade Cool Shot |
Should've given Carlito that spinning neckbreaker he used to use.
|
Smackdown Countdown: Candice Michelle
http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/ar...2094551649.jpg
Video 1 - Entrance Never before have I found Candice so attractive, I'm liking this model. She comes out and struts and shakes her stuff for the crowd, with fairy wond in hand. She gets in the ring rather sexually and does that fucking annoying dance. Video 2 - Fighting time Candice vs Jillian, OH MY GOD Candice with a hurricanrana into a pinfall, but only gets a two. Candice hits a suplex and an atomic drop . Jillian counters with a kick to the vagina and whips Candice into the ropes but nothing comes of it. Video 3 - Fighting time II Jillian is dragging Candice around and locks in an ARM BAR. After a couple of slaps and kicks Candice takes down Jillian with a kick to the knee. Candice then climbs the top rope and misses with a cross body. WTF, we see no finisher from Candice as the video ends, not that I was really interested in seeing it anyway. http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/ar...2094449463.jpg http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/ar...2094450072.jpg http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/ar...2094448072.jpg |
Smackdown Countdown: Carlito
http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/ar...2110616000.jpg
Video 1 - Entrance Carlito comes out with apple in hand and afro on top. Carlito walks down to the ring, tossing his apple around. He gets in the ring and plays to the crowd. Video 2 - Fighting time Whoo Orton is on show in this one. They have a bit of prematch square up and then get things going. Carlito runs behind Orton and smacks him in the nuts, and locks in an ankle lock move. He then stamps on Ortons ankle and the drop kicks it when they get up. After a bit of chain wrestling and reversing the video ends. Video 3 - Fighting time II Carlito hits a bulldog and hits a slingshot elbow from the outside. He then hits the Cool Shot, which it like a lifting Downward Spiral/Flatliner. He goes for the count and gets two. End http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/ar...2110402753.jpg http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/ar...2110404769.jpg http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/ar...2110404128.jpg Dunno why, but lol |
BAH GAWD THAT TEABAG AIN'T MADE A BARBECUE SAUCE!!!
|
Candice actually looks hotter in-game than I find her to be in life.
|
played the demo off xbox live... very good
|
No Backcracker? :'(
It better be in the game. :mad: |
The 360 models of Carlito and Candice look kinda bleh.
|
Quote:
|
Yeah, the Backcracker is his sencd finisher.
|
From Gamespot.com
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 Updated Hands-On We put the figure-four on the GM, season, and create modes available in this year's SmackDown! vs. RAW. By Alex Navarro, GameSpot Posted Oct 2, 2006 5:10 pm PT After getting hands-on time with two different builds of WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 at both the Tokyo Game Show and X06, respectively, and after every Xbox 360 owner got the opportunity to try the game for themselves last week when a demo hit the Xbox Live Marketplace, you might be wondering what, if anything, is left to talk about with this game. The answer? Plenty. While we've previously discussed at length the game's new right analog stick grappling controls in earlier previews, and last week we brought you a look at the full roster, Xbox 360 achievements, and the new GM mode, there's still the new season mode, online features, create modes, and even more on the new GM mode to check out. Plus, with all the attention being lavished on the Xbox 360 version of the game, some might be wondering what's up with the PlayStation 2 version. Fortunately for you, we've gotten some hands-on time with all of the above in a near-complete build of the game. Though we touched on the new GM mode last week, there are even more new features to be found than what we initially discussed. Beyond the new interface and character profile data, a whole new way to design feuds has been included. You still create feuds by pitting wrestlers on your roster against one another, but rather than forcing them to fight in repeated matches until the game recognizes a rivalry, you can now manually select specific wrestlers and set up a rivalry within a menu screen. You have to create a rivalry between a heel and a face (a bad guy and a good guy), but otherwise, there's really no restrictions. You can set the length of the rivalry and even designate specific storyline types for that rivalry. There are six storylines available, including jealous friend, stalker, ungrateful rookie, rookie partners, legend killer, and outnumbered. Anyone who has spent much time watching the cyclical WWE storylines over the last few years ought to be able to glean from these descriptions what these types of stories entail. Unfortunately, like last year's game, 2007 wont let you see your storylines play out via the game engine. You can watch the matches but not the promos. Feuding gets even crazier when you realize you have to hire writers for these storylines. Each available writer has specialties in certain types of storylines. You might find someone good at doing David-versus-Goliath-type stories or another that's adept at diva-related plots. Obviously, you can't just hire a billion writers and stay under budget, so you need to be selective about whom you hire. SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007's season mode has also seen something of an overhaul. Unlike in previous years, you can now go through multiple seasons with a single wrestler. Eventually, storylines will repeat, but THQ claims that you should be able to go through at least a few seasons before that happens. When starting out, there are three storyline paths available to you, and they all depend on who you choose. There's a champion path for title holders, a challenger path for number-one contenders, and a general storyline for just about anyone else on the roster. Furthermore, the mode features branching paths depending on specific choices you make during a storyline. These choices are pretty obvious, as you're presented with a couple of specific options, like whether or not you want to side with a faction or fight them. Still, it's nice to have some clear control over where a season goes. All in all, there's around 36 specific storylines in the mode. Like last year's game, 2007 features a huge amount of voice work from the WWE superstars that adjusts depending on who you're playing in which storyline. According to THQ, the lines aren't built generically. Wrestlers will use the mannerisms and inflections of their onscreen personas in each situation. At this point, we've only played through short bits of each of the available season stories, but the dialogue has been spot-on for the level of quality one would generally experience watching a WWE broadcast. The season mode's locker room has also seen an upgrade. Like the area in previous years, this area acts as your hub between shows. You can customize the place with all sorts of different unlockable furniture and WWE schwag if you like, and from here you can access the WWE Web site, which informs you of the latest happenings in the company, as well as voicemail and e-mail from other superstars. Voicemails, like the cutscenes, are voiced by the wrestlers themselves, which is pretty cool. As one might expect, these messages tie directly into the storylines of the mode. On the customization and creation front, all the usual suspects are on hand this year, with editable wrestler appearances, move-sets, entrances, title belts, and stables. One extremely nice addition to this year's game is the new preview system for created entrances. Whereas in previous years you were forced to manually load up a preview of every change you made to a wrestler's entrance sequence, now the changes load on the fly in the background. If you change a piece of lighting or pyrotechnic, the game will quickly load that change in the background video, and you'll see it nearly instantly. You can also create very specific timing for pyrotechnics and other effects. By switching to the preview view, you can set the timing of these effects and camera changes just by pressing a button at the moment you want the change to occur. The game will then save the change instantly. These features apply to both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 versions of the game, although the PS2 version takes a little longer to load up changes than the 360. Unfortunately, one of the coolest, and perhaps biggest, no-brainer options one could have on the 360 version isn't available in this year's game. You can't use custom soundtracks stored on the 360 hard drive as theme music for created wrestlers. Considering how that was one of the few redeeming features of THQ's previous wrestling efforts on the Xbox, it seems like a major oversight. As far as SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007's online features go, they should be familiar to those who played the game last year on the PS2. Up to four players can take part in practically all the available matches in the game, from simple one-on-one bouts to tables-ladders-and-chairs matches. You'll be able to put your created title belts on the line against online opponents and even trade created wrestlers through a separate lobby system. One nice addition is a proper leaderboard that tracks your total ranking, as well as title-match rankings. Visually, SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 is looking as good as ever on the PS2, and better than ever on the Xbox 360. It's obvious that the 360 version is using the same game engine as the PS2 one, but every visual component has gotten a nice upgrade. Skin textures are the most readily visible changes. The definition in the muscles and veins looks far more realistic, and you'll see details like progressive buildup of sweat and blood as the match goes on. The sweat isn't so overwrought as to give the wrestlers that dunked-in-grease look. It looks very realistic in the way it slowly builds up as a match goes on. The PS2 version is, of course, no slouch. The SmackDown! games have consistently been some of the best-looking games on the system, and 2007 looks to be no different. You won't get all the little details you would with the 360 version, but it's still an extremely nice-looking game. Little has changed, it seems, in the animation system, save for the new grapple moves and weapon attacks, but it all still looks fabulous. The only real flaw we noted with the presentation was the commentary, which sounds mostly recycled from last year's game. It only took an entire console generation to make it happen, but it looks like a Microsoft console will finally be getting a worthwhile wrestling game in SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007. This year's game looks to be bigger and prettier than ever, and it certainly doesn't look like it lacks content. And of course, you PS2 owners don't look to be left out in the cold, as save for the shorter load times and upgraded graphics, the PS2 version looks to include every change found in the 360 game. We'll be sure to bring you our full review of SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 before it ships this November. http://image.com.com/gamespot/images..._screen003.jpg http://image.com.com/gamespot/images..._screen006.jpg http://image.com.com/gamespot/images..._screen008.jpg :heart::heart::heart: |
No custom themes!?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! |
Oh, and...
Quote:
|
I here that, and the 360 vids are now up
|
Man, I can't frickin' wait for November 17th. This game is sounding sweeter than ever!
:heart: |
My page stretch was worth it damnit!
|
No custom themes? I'm calling bullshit!
For fuck's sake, WWE Raw 2 had this ability, who had a fucking brainfart over there and decided not to include this feature? You've got a hard drive built into the goddamn machine for a reason other than just saving data. Use it to it's full potential, idiots! :mad: |
What the fuck? No custom themes what a load of shite, I thought those were promised ages ago. Surely they can't miss out a feature like that.
|
As I won't be able to afford a 360, I personally don't care about this feature. I can barely afford the GAME, let alone a new console. :p
|
No custom music = SCOT SMASH RAWWWR :mad:
|
On one hand I can understand that they want the games to be as close to each other as possible in terms of features.
On the other they should be using the full potential of the machine. Bare in mind buying the game for the 360 will cost around £49.99 where as it's likely to be £29.99 on PS2. There's not a lot of value for money there. I guess it still hasn't been denied by IGN who appear to be the Gospel on all things SD!vRAW. Maybe the developers are attempting what they did last year. Remember how they denied the existence of GM mode even when people asked them about it directly!? All I know is that Custom music was one of the reasons to go with 360 over PS2. Maybe I should start reassessing! |
FUCK
Well, maybe you can use "select music" option from the 360 option menu for custom themes, but it will be a hassle. |
We still have a long way to go maybe they will add it.
|
Online play pretty much saves the 360 version's ass. No custom tracks? Bullshit. BULLSHIT. It's SIMPLE. Music playing over stock BGM and along side SE is fuckin STANDARD with all 360 games it would be NOTHING AT ALL to include custom tracks in the 360 version. The last two (horrible) WWE games on XBox included this despite their suckness, as well as LOW before that.
Whatever. I suppose it wouldn't matter online anyway. I wonder what wacky excuse they'll have for not having the feature. |
WHAT THE FUCK, NO CUSTOM MUSIC!?
THQ are a bunch of fucking bastards for not including this. I'm no longer going to purchase this bullshit game, because those fuckers have messed it up so much. It's a bunch of bollocks these fucking dickfaces have fucked up the game so much, HOW HARD IS IT TO CHANGE PEOPLE FROM RAW TO SMACKDOWN AND PEOPLES HAIR COLOUR!? WHAT A BUNCH OF BASTARD COCKSUCKING FUCKWAD TITTYKNICKER SMELLING SCREWJOB COVERING UP BRAIN FART ASSHEAD FUCKING FUCKITY FUCKERS! |
:roll:
|
Dude are you part of the development team?
I only ask cos everytime someone says a bad word about the game you post that shit! |
Heh. He's just saying that people sometimes find the stupidest shit to bitch about, like hair color and small features, and things that can't even be changed, like an entire entrance, major attire, and new people.
I AM still pissed about London & Kendrick being left out. Oh, and Estrada. He was left out, too, right? |
Hair color?
CUSTOM SOUNDTRACKS for ENTRANCE THEMES in the FUCKING YEAR 2006 on a NEXT-GEN CONSOLE wrestling game.. That is all. |
|
where does it say about no custom music?
|
| All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:53 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin®