THQ Unveils New WWE Game at Wrestlemania

WALT DISNEY WORLD--What a difference a year makes. Last April, THQ brought a much smaller gathering of journalists to Detroit to unveil the first details of Smackdown vs. RAW 2008 in conjunction with Wrestlemania 23 at Ford Field. While the NFL stadium was gorgeous, the rest of the city was pretty much as advertised--a ghetto. Fast forward to this year and a huge gathering of international press are assembled at Walt Disney World's Swan Hotel in conjunction with Wrestlemania 24 at the Orlando Citrus Bowl. It's amazing what a difference the venue makes. Next year, unfortunately, it's back to another ghetto--Houston, although I've been to that city and it's a notch above Detroit.

THQ showcased WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2009 as part of its annual gathering. The game was shown on Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS, but it's shipping this fall for every game console as well as for cell phones. This game marks the 10th anniversary of THQ's Smackdown franchise, which debuted on the original PlayStation. Although Cory Ledesma, lead designer of the franchise didn't reveal all the secrets of the new game, he did outline enough to quench WWE fans' appetites.

WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2009 will feature all new artificial intelligence (AI), so that when you're playing against a computer-controlled character, he or she will behave just like the real superstar or diva would. In addition to this improved AI, a number of top superstars will have custom moves built-in that the computer will use when fighting you. Tag Team Matches are going to be a big part of this game. THQ is overhauling the entire system, building this from the ground up for multiplayer action. Wrestlers now share a momentum bar and must work together in the ring and outside the ring to win. In addition, the single player career mode, Road to Wrestlemania, will feature the first ever Tag Team cooperative story line. Road to Wrestlemania features a number of additional single-player story lines focusing on some of the top superstars. This offers branching stories and multiple endings for the three months leading up to Wrestlemania within the game.

Also new this year is added customization. THQ already lets fans create a superstar, choose his moves and orchestrate his entrance. Now Create a Finisher has been added, which allows new finishing moves to be created and linked to any superstar. Players can link 10 moves from over 500 different animations to create the ultimate finisher. Rounding out the new game is a great emphasis of online content, including downloadable content. While Ledesma didn't specify what would be downloadable, one can assume new wrestlers would be in the mix.  There will also be new match types and the largest roster of in-game superstars ever in this new game.

Anyone who played the Wii game that's currently out knows that it has cool controls but not a lot of depth. The 2009 version, the second WWE game for Wii, will feature over 30 different match types including steel age, Royal Rumble and Hell in a Cell. It will also be the first WWE game to offer online gameplay on the Wii. In addition to being able to interact with your opponent in the ring with the motion-sensor controllers to fight and taunt, this new game allows you to get interactive during your entrance. You can even choose how to end a match with an interactive victory, which allows you to shake hands like a gentlemen or go WWE and get dirty.