[Multiplatform] Smackdown vs Raw '07

It's that time of year again, folks! The next update to the Smackdown vs Raw series. Now you may wonder why this is in General instead of Sony. Well the answer is simple, this year it'll be multi-platform. No I'm not talking about PSP, PS2 multi-platform, but also PS3 and Xbox 360.

Here are some tidbits about the game:

Originally Posted by IGN

March 31, 2006 - Kurt Angle clotheslines John Cena over the guard railing and both wrestlers flip into the crowd. The Olympic champ is drenched in sweat, and when he stands up, someone from the crowd hands him a bottle. With the crack of glass, Cena is left sprawled on the concrete. That's when it happens. Kurt Angle rolls the WWE champ on a table and begins to climb the scaffolding near by. The camera pans back with a cinematic flair usually reserved for Monday nights on USA, then Angles takes the death defying leap, attempting a moonsault through the table.

If this was real life, you know Angle misses the moonsault (doesn't he almost always?). But this isn't real life. This is the first footage of WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 for the Xbox 360 (which we're told is similar in gameplay to the PS3 and PS2 versions), and at first glance, it's the closest you can get to the men in tights without buying a front row ticket.

From the ab definition to the buildup of sweat throughout the match, the 20,000 polygon wrestlers (next-gen only) show amazing details. Tattoos, shoes, even facial expressions from fear and shock to the look of pain after getting beat over the head with fluorescent light bulbs... it's all in the game, presented, at least in the demonstration, sans HUD (think Fight Night 360).

But the improvements to the series aren't merely cosmetic. Using a new analog grappling system (featuring both quick and strong grapples), users will be able to control when and where they can pickup opponents, then what to do with them once they're hoisted into the air. For example: If Cena decides to pick Angle up in a vertical suplex, simply flick up on the right analog stick.

From here, Angle is in a bad way, completely upside down and completely at Cena's mercy. Hold up on the right analog stick and you can keep Angle in the air. While he's vertical, Cena can choose to taunt the crowd or his opponent, even walk to the ropes in order to setup a more vicious superplex. In fact, there are over 40 interactive moves like this where gamers will be in full control of when and how to slam their opponent. Think about rotating the stick for an airplane spin, and you get the idea of the fun that could be had.

Gamers will also be able to put in work outside the ring as there will be 20 hot spots of interactivity including everything from the ring post to the steel cage to the guard rails. This enables you to decide how many times you want to consecutively pound your opponents head into the post, or what direction you wish to rake his face along the cage in order to bust them open.

When you throw opponents into the crowd, you'll see popcorn flying as fans try to pat their favorite superstars on the back or hand them a weapon like an umbrella, fire extinguisher, or crutches. There is also backstage environments you'll be able to interact with, including speaker systems you can whip opponents into as you watch the sparks fly from an electrifying electrocution.

All of this action is running at a smooth 60 frames per second, and we were able to see everything from the intros (the crowd here cheers Cena) to the crowd interaction. There are over 1,000 fully 3D people in the audience (next-gen only), and they pretty much act like a hot crowd from RAW, jumping up and down, holding up signs, and trying to get as close as possible to these superheroes of the mat.

During the presentation, representatives from THQ also promised things like updated rosters, legends, online play with voice chat, a Create Superstar mode with over 250 customizable parts, along with enhanced versions of season and GM modes. None of this, however, was actually shown on screen. What we did see was some extremely impressive visuals and the kind of action wrestling fans have grown to love from the Smackdown series.

Forget Edge/Foley, if you're looking for someone who stole the show Wrestlemania weekend, look no further than THQ.

E3 also showed off some new footage for the game.

http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/775/775530/vids_1.html

The game looks fantastic. The realism in the game is just mind-boggling. (Probably not on the PS2/PSP version as much as on Xbox 360/PS3)

The videos of Triple H and Mysterio are pretty damn good. They all show off crowd control (to an extent), crowd behavior and interaction very well. Hell, even in demos the clipping animations are a problem, but not in these videos. This game seems to look like it's got it's act together and if the early footage looks like this, then I just can't wait to see the finished product.

E3 Hands-on:

Originally Posted by ign

May 10, 2006 - For the first time in a long time, THQ has made the next iteration of its popular wrestling franchise available for play at E3 (behind closed doors, where a legion of eager grappling fans won't overwhelm the booth). This is an important year for the franchise too, as it marks the first time in the series' history that the game will arrive on multiple platforms, and it's also the first time that it will release on multiple generations at the same time. These developments have been big news in the "wrestling gamer" community, and knowing that a vast majority of them patron IGN for their news, THQ allowed us to come in early and check out the next-generation E3 version of SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 before anyone else.

There are four major features that THQ and Yuke's Media Creations want to drive home for WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007. The first is the need for user-controlled grappling moves. Animations are no longer limited to whatever the canned AI says they're supposed to be as certain move types are now entirely determined by the user. Let's assume that a player grabs another user in a grapple and hoists them up on their shoulders. This position leaves a wrestler with a number of options -- they can perform a military press, an airplane spin (controlled with the analog stick), or go ahead and slam the guy outside of the ring (that's right, it's no longer a special move). There will be multiple grapple moves per character too, so it won't always be the same options for every character.

Another nice feature is that movesets are no longer based on the same arbitrarily-assigned types that the last game had. Now, a wrestler's class determines what kind of moves will be available to them in the ring. Divas, luchadors, power wrestlers each have their own types of wrestling abilities that can't be performed by other classes... so don't expect to see The Big Show pull off turnbuckle hurricanranas or Stacy Keibler powerslam some fat dude into the steel steps.

Speaking of the steel steps, they lead us into the second major feature that THQ wants to focus on, and that's the environmental hotspots. There are more than 20 different interactive areas in all (though the E3 build is still limited in what works), and it will include everything from the ring ropes, cage wall, and ring post, to both announcer tables, ladders and more. As an example, players can now pick up an opponent with the new user-controlled mechanic and drop them on a rope groin first (no kids for them) and then grab onto the ropes and move them up and down for additional damage. The good news for hapless opponents is that this affects the stamina of your character just like anything else does so it can't be abused, and any hotspot move is completely reversible. We've also been told that ladder matches will feature some rather spectacular new improvements (you can lay ladders across one another and can also run across one Shelton Benjamin style).

Perhaps the most talked-about new feature so far, though, is the third big feature -- the crowd interaction. As hinted in the target render teaser we ran last week, players can grab weapons, items, and even signs from the audience when fighting outside the ring. Subtle touches have been incorporated into the obvious too -- giving gamers the choice to rip up a sign if they're a heel, or to hold it up and shake it like a spaz if they're a face. Some animations will even allow wrestlers to pat fans on the back after a sign grab, and if they want to put some extra hurt on their opponent, they can pick up umbrellas, crutches, bottles, and other cool goodies to dish out the pain.

The bad news for most of you (it was for me), is that crowd interaction doesn't spill over into the audience as we hoped it would. While users can definitely duke it out in certain designated areas, they can't keep moving through a swarm of show-goers like they do on TV. Even so, there are some cool little options available to players while in crowd interaction mode, such as specific interactive hotspots like tables and giant speaker sets (the same one that Angle moonsaults off of in the trailer). As an added bonus, certain special finishing moves can be performed in particular situations.

The fourth and final new feature on THQ's to do list is the brand new chain reversal system. Reversals are no longer limited to a couple of transitions either -- now reversals can be infinite if users are astute enough at countering an opponent. A lot of the grapple animations were still be worked on when I played the game, however, and I wasn't very good at countering either... so I didn't get to experiment with it much.

Now for those of you who have been following our WWE coverage over the last couple of years, you may be wondering how the guy that writes about all the previous SmackDown's didn't do so well at the countering... and no, it isn't because I suck. The difficulty is the result of the brand new analog grappling system that brings a definite learning curve with it. In theory, it works similarly to the old digital system that was used in the earlier games, but for special maneuvers like the 360-degree turns mentioned earlier, the only way you can pull them off is by moving the stick in a 360-degree rotation. The same sort of technique holds true for slamming an opponent into something too; bang an opponent into the steps, and you'll have to move the stick up and down just like the animation on the screen.

The good news for veterans is that SmackDown still retails several of its old-school conventions. Strong Irish whips, regular Irish whips, grapple types, and all that other good stuff still works in the same way it always did with the same exact buttons. The same can't be said for the graphics, though, as they benefit from a number of new improvements including an all-new sweat system (think Fight Night), more realistic blood, and a fully 3D crowd with more than 1000 polygonal crowd members. Other new improvements include a streamlined interface (its less cluttered by far and can be turned off), better fatigue and pain animations when a wrestler is hurt, and more than 20 different facial reactions dependant on the situation.

So what's wrong with it (there always has to be something doesn't there?). Up to this point, the game is still pretty early so it's hard to tell what a major problem is and what isn't until we get closer to the release. But evaluating it as is, the game is definitely a little on the slow side (the walking animations look a little rehashed too). On a personal level, I did find it a little disappointing that more wasn't shown on how SmackDown is taking advantage of the next generation, but I have to be fair and mention once again that this the earliest a build in the franchise has ever been shown -- so there's still a long way to go before making judgments.

Luckily, THQ is giving us the chance to follow that progress with a number of cool articles planned in the future (it's almost that time of year again). To hold you over while you wait, we've included the official E3 screens on our media page below, as well as the first-ever direct feed videos taken from an early build of the next-generation version. Enjoy!

I like the fact that they're doing a new countering system. Add the fact it can be reversed infinitaly, reminds me so much of the reversal battles I'd get into in Wrestlemania 2000 and No Mercy.

Not much has been confirmed in the sense of Rosters and match types. But I imagine that all the favorite main events will be in there like Elimination Chamber, Royal Rumble (which I'm looking forward to seeing how many people will appear on-screen at once on the next-gen systems) steel cage, etc.

So far the only roster that's been confirmed are the ones in the videos.

• John Cena
  Kurt Angle
  Rey Mysterio
  Triple H

There ya have it, official SvR 07 thread! Keep discussions civilizied and on topic. Updates will occur when they get online. :P

*I was given permission by a mod to remake this thread.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

If the CAW mode is good, then they have won half the battle as far as I am concerned. I enjoyed Smackdown vs Raw 2006, but not as much as I enjoyed the Wrestlemania game that came out prior to Day of Reckoning on the 'cube, and not as much as I enjoyed Wrestlemania 2000 on N64, which is still my favorite wrestling game. I don't follow the actual tv shows or anything, so it's always interesting to me to see a handful of playable characters who I've never even heard of.

I will be getting this on xbox circle, so I expect to have a match or two against some fellow GFF wrestling game fans.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

The CAW system hasn't been too bad lately. Well, SvR's could have been much better, but SvR 06 did a better job on the model structures.

I still believe that Here Comes the Pain had a simply better CAW system though.

It would help tremendously if they allowed you to make any belt you wanted without wasting "smackdown dollars" to create it. Using the money instead to unlock different titles to challenge in exhibition mode (offline multiplayer) like ECW and WCW titles.

I also re-read some of the articles and it looks like the gameplay engine has been dramatically re-worked too. With having to use the right analog stick to "lift up" opponents to suplex and powerslam and everything. Plus the addition of crowd-specific finishers seems to be totally awesome, as well.

I'll probably get both the PS2 and XBox 360 versions of this game. Maybe pick up the PS3 version so I can have it for whenever the price of the system will drop down to something affordable.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

hey! which trailer includes HHH ?, anyway == time for an update


Roster:

1.John Cena
2.Rey Mysterio Jr.
3.Kurt Angle
4.Triple H
*60 wwe superstars including legends and divas.

Gameplay Features:

-Multiple grapple moves per character
-A wrestler's class determines what kind of moves will be available to them in the ring. [Divas, luchadors, power wrestlers each have their own types of wrestling abilities that can't be performed by other classes]
-Any hotspot is reverseable
-you can lay ladders across one another and can also run across one Shelton Benjamin style.
-Chain reversal system. Reversals are no longer limited to a couple of transitions either -- now reversals can be infinite if users are astute enough at countering an opponent.
-grapple opponent and throw them out the ring. You can chose how many times you want to bang your opponents head into the steel steps,etc
-Faces shake the signs instead of breaking it like heels.
-Face buttons are now used for things such as weapon grabbing and exiting the ring.
-Using the right analog stick in tandem with the right bumper on the controller,you can mix in stronger attacks.

Arenas:

Raw
Smackdown!

Weapons:

Chair
Umbrella
Fire estinguisher
Title belts
Glass bottle
Light tube
Monitor
Trash can

Modes:

Caw-more parts
Season-less linear
Gm mode-improved on
Online-voice chat,6 players online

Matches:

Single
Ladder-improved
Table-improved

Miscellaneous:

-Rip off the top of the announcing table


Note: All info in Bold is new.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

another update :biggrin:



Confirmed Systems
---
-Microsoft Xbox 360
-Sony Playstation 2
-Sony Playstation 3
-Sony Playstation Portable

Confirmed WWE Roster
---
~60+ superstars, including:
Rey Mysterio
Kurt Angle
John Cena
Lillian Garcia (non-playable)
Mark Henry
Rob Van Dam
Triple H
Eddie Guerrero (possibly Legend)
Matt Hardy
Undertaker
Shelton Benjamin
~"Hidden characters" seperate from Legends also announced.
-Hidden characters to be unlocked through gameplay

Confirmed Legends
---
~10 legends

Confirmed Modes
---
~All modes guaranteed to receive some sort of enhancement from '06.
Exhibition
Season Mode
-Said to be more open-ended and structured similar to HCtP.
-You will be given choices of who to side with and which belt to go for.
General Manager Mode
-THQ states that you will have "more control" over your brand. What exactly this means is unknown as of now
Online Mode
-Over 50 matches available
-Xbox Live achievements (360 only)
-Voice chat confirmed (360 only so far, PS2 & PS3 TBA)
Create-A-Wrestler
-Over 250 new parts
-Clothes won't look as "painted-on"

Confirmed Match Types
---
Single
Backstage Brawl
-Parking Lot Brawl
-Bar Brawl
Table~
Ladder~

Gameplay Enhancements
---
Right analog control, over 40 usable moves
Fighting outside of ring barrier
Over 20 "hot spots" similar to those seen in '06
Players can get weapons from the crowd (think No Mercy)

Visual enhancements
---
About 20,000 polygons per model
Better looking, more in-depth crowd
-Over 1,000 crowd members per arena
Title screen revealed; appears to be similar to '06
Kurt Angle's new attire
Detailed sweat on wrestlers

Confirmed weapons
---
Tables
-Diving attacks through table return
Glass bottle
Crutch
Crowd barrier
Speakers
Lead pipe

Confirmed arenas
RAW
Smackdown

New Moves
Small Cradle Neckbreaker

Release Date

November 17 same date as the ps3

Price

ps2 = $49.99

psp = $49.99

Ps3 = $59.99

Xbox360 = $59.99

Most amazing jew boots

Roster adds:

Undertaker and Johnny Nitro

7/21 preview from PS3 IGN:

July 21, 2006 - It has been a relatively quiet summer for THQ's upcoming WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007. Other than its appearance at E3 and the confirmation of two new additions to the roster, the annual grappler has remained somewhat of a mystery since its pre-WrestleMania debut earlier this year. Luckily, a familiar season is starting up again -- a season where the wrestling marks at IGN and the creators at THQ team up to bring you the most comprehensive SmackDown coverage in the world... and it all starts today.

Though our yearly "SmackDown Countdown" series won't begin for a few more weeks, we still have something cool lined up for the weekend -- an updated list of SVR 2007's improved match types. More specifically, these are the bout variations that we'll see the most dramatic changes in this year (not to mention a new one altogether: the Money in the Bank Match). Highlighted below are the different match types and the changes you can expect to see in them.



As an added bonus, we're also pleased to announce that THQ has confirmed two more superstars in addition the pair of personalities revealed earlier this week. Yes fans, The Undertaker and Johnny Nitro will definitely be in the game. This brings the current WWE superstar roster to nine, with plenty more yet to be announced.




Money in the Bank Match (New!)
After two consecutive WrestleManias, THQ has finally brought the wildly popular Money in the Bank match to SVR. In it, six different WWE superstars battle it out for a shot at the title from their particular brand (SmackDown or Raw).

Similar to a traditional ladder match, this contest places a briefcase with a championship contract suspended high above the ring. The first wrestler to successfully navigate his way to the top of a taller ladder and grab the briefcase wins the match. Being successful guarantees that superstar the right to a title shot any time they want. Sadly, the exact way in which this works during the career mode (re: if?) is still unknown. But at least we know that it's in there.



Incidentally, the first two people to win the "Money in the Bank" match (Edge and Rob Van Dam) went on to win the WWE Championship later in the year. By coincidence or not, John Cena was the man who lost the belt on both occasions.

Ladder Match
Before we reveal the changes in this match type, consider this bit of background info first: The moment in which Shelton Benjamin ran up a leaning ladder (which was resting against an already-setup ladder) and clotheslined Chris Jericho off the top rung at WrestleMania 21's Money in the Bank match served as inspiration for this year's improvements. In addition, last year's Rey vs. Eddie custody-deciding ladder battle (and the several spectacular moments it provided) also motivated the SmackDown team for this year. You can guess where this is going...

SVR 2007 will indeed give players the ability to lean one ladder against another so that they perform running spears or clotheslines off of it. If that isn't enough, gamers can also position ladders into turnbuckles both vertically AND horizontally. This means that when you Irish whip an opponent into the steep-steps during a grapple initiation that you can perform four different kinds of attacks. You can use the ladder as an environmental grapple too -- just drag a fallen opponent towards a floor-bound ladder and you can sandwich him between it. Also, players can expect the ability to control how many times they can close it on him as well.

But that's not all. The way in which players can grab hanging championship belts has also been changed. As many fans probably remember, the ladder used to automatically fall down once users grabbed the title. Acquiring that belt was then accomplished by tapping the bejeezus out of the controller. No more. Now, the right and left analog sticks are used to reach for the strap via individual arms; Move the left stick up and the left arm extends, move the right stick and the right arms extends. And yes, if you move both up at the same time both arms will definitely reach for the belt simultaneously.




Once the championship is in hand, the next thing to do is locate what THQ is calling its "sweet spot." As an example, if you grab the title with your left hand, the sweet spot can be found by moving the left analog stick around. The closer to the spot you get, the more the controller will rumble. A "Ladder Gauge" will then appear on the screen and start to throb and disappear. If the wrestler can hold onto the belt until the meter disappears, he'll free the title and win the bout. This same technique applies to the other two methods of grabbing the belt as well (right analog or both), but there's more risk involved when using two hands because if he doesn't find the sweet spot quick enough he'll fall off the ladder (after all, there isn't a free hand to anchor himself). Of course, the advantage is that two hands depletes the ladder meter faster than one.


Table Match
The last match type to get a big overhaul this year is the Table match. Previously, it was far too easy to break a table and there was no drama with setting it up in the first place. THQ hopes to correct that in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007.

This time, players who want to put their enemies through a table have to meet two separate requirements. Requirement number one is that your wrestler has a stored finishing move icon (easy enough) and requirement number two is about momentum --that meter must be filled as well. Once both of those goals have been reached, users can then send an opponent through a table.

Keep in mind, however, that breaking a table doesn't just "happen." Once the table is set up (be it against a turnbuckle or in the center of the ring), users must Irish whip their opponents towards the thing to get them to lay or lean on it. Once that has been accomplished, gamers can then execute a finishing maneuver smash their way to victory.


The good news is that there are different table finishers that depend on a variety of factors. Table placement affects the animations and moves that take place on it; superstar-specific finishing moves have been added in there as well. Play as Triple H, for example, and you can pedigree someone right through the top of the wood. What's more is that most superstars on the roster will have their own unique table finisher (no word yet on how many, though). Even better is that the way in which the closing moves are performed will get an upgrade too -- so expect a much a more cinematic presentation at the end moment.

Oh, and there is one other goodie worth mentioning: an all-new feature for SVR 2007 is the ability to double-stack tables. To do it, players just have to set one table up in the ring and then, while holding another table, walk towards the one that's already standing and tap the action button (X on PlayStation systems, A on the 360). This will set the second table on top of the first one. If you perform a finishing move on a double-stack, the wrestler on offense will climb the turnbuckle and superplex their victim through them.

There are some vids up for the new match types and schematics as well: http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/775/775530/vids_1.html

Man, this game is shaping up something wicked.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

update (August 25th) Details about story/season mode

From IGN.


August 25, 2006 - Though we haven't had the chance to play through the season mode of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 just yet, THQ has hooked us up with some interesting details regarding this year's story segment. Still the meat of the single-player game, the 2007 edition of Season Mode looks to add a number of new tweaks to improve over last year's version -- specifically in regards to the storylines themselves.

"Choice" is what THQ wants to emphasize this year. Regardless of a superstar's standing (general, contender, or champion), their list of available options before a match will be much more varied than they were before. Players are no longer locked into just the SmackDown or Raw brand this time either, and because of that, rosters on both shows will continue to change as the season moves on. In fact, players are really going to have their work cut out for them, as they'll participate in both the Raw and SmackDown shows. Of course, just like last year, users can continue to play as many seasons as they want back-to-back-to-back.

To help move the storylines along (besides the cutscenes), THQ has also implemented an all-new messaging system this season. As soon as a superstar enters the locker room, they'll have the option to view their email folder and check out notes from the General Manager and other superstars. Additionally, players can also listen to audio-powered voicemails that can include anything from your basic "Hello" to plot-pushing comments or good old-fashioned trash talk.

Another new feature this year is the inclusion of WWE.com and WWE Magazine articles. What's interesting about this is, that during your off-time, you can log right into a replica WWE.com website and do some shopping. It's here that you'll be able to purchase legends to wrestle with, championship belt types, and all-new costumes. Players can also read up on superstar bios if they want to research an opponent or check out a quickie story that retells something that just happened in the game (written to match the real-life WWE articles). Gamers can also pick up WWE magazines from their desk to learn supplementary details about their current storylines.

Unfortunately, and as mentioned earlier, we haven't had a firsthand opportunity to check these new features out for ourselves yet. How these new additions make the game better (or worse) compared to last year is still the big question mark -- as are whatever other differences there might be compared to 2006. Luckily, we should have a more detailed update on these facets sometime in the near future.

FELIPE NO

I will actually drop the money required to buy this game and a 360 if they let the 360 version use custom soundtracks for both generalized in-game music and theme music.

Listening to that damned emo music in 06 while I was creating characters or doing some other shit drove me crazy. But I am sure the game will not have these things, so no reason to buy it immediately upon retail.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

You can always turn it off? The music sounded like stuff I hear in Madden 2005 all the time so I didn't bother me. '06 was ok for the most part..nothing to do once you beat both brands, basically I'm just trying to unlock the milliondollar man.

With '07 I hope it's true that you've given more control over your brands, and you can actually go for any belt. Couldn't really do that in '06. It was all about getting the World/WWE title.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

When you turn off the playable music, the game refuses to play theme music whenever you're in the creation preview area to try and select a theme, which bothers the shit out of me.

That's one thing I loved about the old No Mercy game, you could win a match and it would just play your theme all day long while showing the replay of your victory. No longer does anyone do that though. :\

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I am/was a huge Smackdown game fan. I still play 06 occasionally challenging friends for belts and whatnot. My favorite thing to do in that game was go head to head in G.M mode. Although it was very time consuming and I lost for half the year, I regained ratings and dominated the shit out of my friends. I do hope they add A LOT more to that mode this year as it is one of my favorite things to do in the game.

Another thing with music. I loved and hated putting music onto my created guys. I loved it, because it gave them a more original feel, but I would like to have the song start at a certain point rather than during the intro because most of my music has overly long intro's and by the time my character got to the ring in the Xbox version the song would just be getting started.

Either way, I can't wait to play this game.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I STILL play Smackdown! Shut Your Mouth on my PS2. I've played all the games after it and I've been impressed every time.

This new game sounds really promising and the price is amazing. I'm definitely going to get it.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

In-depth look at SvR 07 for Xbox 360: (4 pages long, so bear with it)

Source:IGN

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 price 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 Bra and Panties to 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 thanks 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!

Whew. Seems like they're on the right track. Of Course I'd like to see an actual tough AI again. :\ From what I skimmed, I hope seasons aren't repeated storylines and actually evolve. But that's asking too much.

How ya doing, buddy?

Things on the Gamefaqs board for this have gotten really interesting recently because apparently 2 different game sites gave conflicting announcements on the same subject. Gamingring confirmed that the game would have custom entrance themes while Gamespot confirmed that it would NOT have custom entrance themes. Unless IGN or THQ say something about it, it looks like we really won't know till the game comes out.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I can't wait for this game. I've played all of them since they first started and they've got better every time.

I really should sell some of the older Smackdown's. They're pretty much collecting dust now (the early ones are anyway).

FELIPE NO

Game comes out Tuesday. Would LOVE to see some reviews and reactions.

How ya doing, buddy?