Smackdown vs. RAW 2007 (Xbox 360) Preview
Posted by Vincent Chiucchi on 07.19.2006
The franchise steps into the next-gen era with an all new, really amazing look.
Smackdown vs. RAW 2007
Developer: Yukes
Publisher: THQ
Another year, another wrestling game. The flagship series of WWE wrestling games, Smackdown, is coming back for Smackdown vs. RAW 2007. But this year it's going to be something different, for it's the first time that the popular series makes it debut for the next-gen consoles (Xbox with a good wrestling game? By gawd King!) along with the PS2 and PSP. And compared to Smackdown vs. RAW 2006, the game is shaping up to be a HUGE step forward.
The biggest change in the game besides the graphics is the control scheme. The controls now feature quick and strong attacks like WWF No Mercy, and a major difference is that this time, instead of using the combinations of buttons to grapple, you'll be using the right analog stick. To do a grapple, you get near your opponent and then tap the right analog stick in the right direction. It sounds weird at first, until you realize how damn good it actually works, giving players full interaction with their moves. Once you grab your opponent, you can press down the right analog stick and manually control your grapple. For example, say you grab someone in a military press. Keep the button down, and start tilting it left and right to lower and raise your opponent. Then tilt it down to slam him. Or pick up your opponent by their arms, take them near the ropes, and then slam his ass outside the ring. But you can't do these kind of moves forever, because they're going to start draining your stamina bar. There'll be over 40 different user-controlled moves, and the class of a wrestler (like brawler or luchadore) will determine what moves they'll be able to use.
The analog stick is also used for another new feature in the game called the Hot Spots. These Hot Spots are located all around the place, such as the ring post, ring steps, commentator table, etc. By activating these Hot Spots, players can dish out extra damage by repeatedly tilting their controls sticks in various directions, and can taunt the crowd while doing so. But all is not lost for the one taking damage, because all these Hot Spots are reversible. There is said to be over 20 different Hot Spots in the game, although not all of them were pointed out and there might be a whole lot more once we see more of the game.
In previous Smackdowns, the crowd didn't really matter overall (kind of like how WWE treats it's real crowd), as they just stayed in the background and cheered. But this time, not only does the crowd get a major face-lift with over 1,000 different crowd member animations, but FINALLY...you'll also be able to battle IN the crowd! Unfortunately, you don't actually go through the sea of people while dragging your opponent. Instead, you'll just go over the barricade and fight in a small section between the crowds, although sometimes you can throw your opponent into the crowd to buy some time. Or simply ram your opponent into the sound speakers and do a moonsault off the barricade while they're on a table. The crowd will also start interacting with you during the match. When they're not trying to pat you on the back (and yes they actually do that), you'll also be able to take a variety of different weapons from them as well such as crutches, canes, glass bottles, and umbrellas (I'm hoping for a blueberry pie). Or you can be a jackass heel and start ripping up their signs.
If you take a look at the screenshots from the Xbox 360 version of the game, you can see just how damn realistic these wrestlers look now. While looking at characters sweat doesn't sound like a big deal, you can tell how realistically they look just at staring at their sweat. Seriously! Each wrestler is now made up of over 20,000 polygons, more then three times the amount found on the previous game, though they still reuse most of the animations found in the previous Smackdown games.
Other upgrades include more complex counters, a better Season mode with more branching paths, a new General Manager mode, and 250 new parts for the Create-a-Superstar. Expected in the game are nearly 100 different single player match types, around 50 match types for online, and more than 60 playable superstars with their authentic voices, but we still await the full official roster. Plus, online mode will now have voice chat, so expect lots of people to start shouting out annoying announcer catchphrases (especially anything from Don West).
Overall, this could be...dare I say it? This could be the best damn wrestling game ever made. Expect it to be released as usual sometime in the Fall season.
