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[JdFoX187]

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Oct. 26, 2010 --

Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 2, Playstation Portable, Wii, iPad and iPhone

Canadians seem to get the best.

Xbox 360 Achievements: 680 points in visible achievements and 320 points in hidden achievements
Playstation 3 Trophies: Nine bronze, 13 silver, one gold, one platinum and 16 secret

Smackdown: World Heavyweight Champion Kane, Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler, Divas Champion Michelle McCool, Unified Tag Team Champions Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes, Undertaker, Beth Phoenix, CM Jesus, Kofi Kingson, Super Rey Maestrio, Big Show, Jack Swagger (No Swagger Soaring Eagle ), Kelly Kelly, Shad, Vance Archer, JTG, Finlay, Luke Gallows, Matt Hardy, Chavo Guerrero, MVP, Chris Masters, Hornswaggle, Paul Bearer, Shelton Benjamin, Mike Knox and Mickie James

Raw: WWE Champion Randy Orton, Sheamus, The Miz, Melina, John Morrison, John Cener, R-Truth, Triple H, Eve, Chris Jericho, Edge, Evan Bourne, David Hart Smith, Tyson Kidd, SHawn Michaels, ALicia Fox, Brotista, Mark Henry, Santino, Ted Dibiase, Primo, William Regal, Zack Ryder, Vladimir Kozlov, Goldust, Yoshi Tatsu, Ezekiel Jackson, Gail Kim, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Natalya, Maryse and Mr. McMahon

Legends: Bret Hart (Best Buy Preorder Exclusive), Terry Funk, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Jake Roberts, The Rock, Rob Van Dam, Jimmy Snuka and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

DLC: Layla, Wade Barrett, Dave Otunga, Justin Gabriel, British Bulldog and Lex Luger

Each year, THQ promises a bunch of DLC, but hardly ever delivers. SvR '10 only had Austin, which was a preorder bonus. This year, two DLC packs have already been announced, and more are hinted at. A Fan Axxess pack has already been announced for launch. For $10/800 MSPTs, players will get a bunch of added junk like lobby graphics, online profile avatars and other stuff. However, $12 in DLC has already been announced, so in essence, you get $12 of content, plus any other unannounced content, for $10.

DLC Pack One (free for new buyers, $10/800 MPSTs for used): Chris Masters, Kelly Kelly alternate attire (sexy Devil outfit,) Rey Mysterio alternate attire (dia de los muertos halloween themed.)

DLC Pack Two ($7/560 MSPT or free with Fan Axxess): Coming Holiday 2010: British Bulldog, Lex Luger, Layla, Wade Barret, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel, Shad alternate attire Shawn Michaels alternate attire (classic “hearts” tights,) playable NXT arena.

DLC Pack Three ($3/240 MSPT or free with Fan Axxess): Coming early 2011, DLC alternate ring attire for John Cena, Undertaker and CM Jesus and the WCW Arena.

Superstar Editor ($1/80 MSPT or free with Fan Axxess): At launch, ability to edit attributes and abilities of the main wrestlers on the roster.

Unlock All ($1/80MSPT or free with Fan Axxess): Available at launch, unlock everything on the game.

Also, a druid arena has been confirmed for DLC at some point in the future.

THQ has turned heel, Hulk Hogan style, and jumped on the bandwagon we all hate. Different retailers will have different preorder bonuses in the game. Where is CM Jesus to save us?

• Best Buy (or any retailer in Canada): Brett Hart playable character
• Toys R Us: Undertaker's "Ministry of Darkness" gear
• Amazon.com: Three outfits for Randy Orton (T-shirt, suit and referee uniform) and $10 video games credit
• Walmart: "Tribute to the Troops" arena

As part of this year's "improvement," Yukes! went back to the drawing board for the god-awful weapon physics that have plagued extreme rules matches for years. Instead of the same canned move and destruction animations, each object will have unique physics -- thus finally pulling, at least that aspect of, this franchise into this generation of consoles. Hell in a Cell has also been improved this year. Instead of having assholes go outside and stand on top of the Cell, or just taunt to get a quick finisher, you will have to literally throw your opponent out of the Cell. After a wrestler has taken enough damage, he can be rammed through the Cell wall with different animations, depending on the size of the guys you're playing as and against.

In the ring itself, SmackDown features a more extensive object interaction system and a more robust physics engine. During the demonstration, we saw superstars pick up various ladders, mallets, chairs, and even the ringside steps to throw, bash, or toss at one another. When a superstar or object collided, they appropriately transferred their momentum; in other words, tables smashed into bits and chairs skidded across the ring. In one clip, a wrestler leapt off a ladder and slammed another wrestler through a set of stacked tables all the way to the ring floor. The most creative use of object interaction we witnessed was the ability to lay ladders down on the ropes and use them as launching pads for aerial attacks. The game features the ability to flick one of the analog sticks toward an object while grappling an opponent for easy object interaction. We had the opportunity to get in a couple of rounds with the X360, PS3 and Wii versions. We found the Wii controls to be the most responsive and were slamming wrestlers through tables in no time.

Gamespot Aug. 18 Preview

For more traditional players, the grappling engine has undergone an overhaul. There is no longer the traditional quick/strong grapple of the games of yore.

THQ has made numerous tweaks to this year’s game in order to make the game better in the gameplay / control department. These changes work to accomplish two different goals: make the game more accessible to all players and to help improve the flow of in-game matches to make the experience a lot closer to the actual wrestling we see on television. The biggest change returning gamers will notice is the removal of the grapple modifier. The gameplay system, as a whole, is still based heavily around grappling with your opponent using the right analog stick. In previous years, players would have to press a trigger button prior to engaging in a grapple with your opponent in order to initialize a strong grapple, that isn’t the case anymore. The type of grapple that you engage in is based on the condition of your opponent; at the beginning of a bout, engaging in a grapple will trigger what has traditionally been known in the game as a “light” grapple. As the match continues on, and you wear down your opponent, you will then engage in heavier grapples which will give you access to stronger follow-up moves. The new method of grappling truly gives the feel of an actual match; no longer will players, or the computer for that matter, be pulling off devastating moves right out of the gate. The end result is a more dynamic and well-constructed matches, in pretty much every mode of the game.

Gaming Nexus.com Oct. 6 Preview

The traditional story mode has been removed from Smackdown vs. Raw 2011. Road to Wrestlemania makes a return and is touted as being "improved" from last year. But with the horrible voice acting and scene choreography, it was always a one-off experience. Yukes has added a WWE Universe mode this year, which sounds similar to a combination of the GM Mode of previous years and a story creator.

The matches and feuds you're setting up get presented like the Raw and SmackDown episodes you know so well. There will be run-ins, sneak attacks, and more than 100 cutscenes to push your storylines forward to make WWE Universe way more engaging than the exhibition we've seen in the past. The game reacts to what you're doing, and you need to get the Superstars you want to succeed on the Top 10 contender lists.

IGN Sept. 23 Preview

Perhaps the most impressive improvement this year is in the online department. Ever since the series went online for SvR 2006, it's been plagued by lousy latency, horrible lag and a convoluted lobby system that makes Gamespy look appealing. Matches were limited to four players and the pickings were slim. With SvR 2011, up to six players can tangle online in just about any match in the game including the Elimination Chamber, Championship Scramble and the Royal Rumble. Supposedly, the online code has been improved this year.

On the creative side, CAWs do not have to be leveled up through constant gameplay anymore. As soon as a CAW is made, the attributes and abilities can be assigned, depending on size, weight, etc. Say goodbye to grinding in SvR!

Also mentioned in an interview, players can now fully customize any CAW they download off THQ's community creations server. In the past, you were stuck with whatever you downloaded. But now, you can change looks, attributes, abilities and moves. After a couple weeks, the community should have some very nice CAWs of the wrestlers that didn't make the final cut in the game, including one Daniel Bryan.

Bryan Williams: We've put a lot of work into, not only the online Royal Rumble, but online gameplay in general. This is the best "Smackdown" has ever played online. I know our online experience has never been that great because of the lag, and the fans are right to get on us about that. The game did have a lot of lag online and wasn't very good. So this year, we really took it up a whole bunch of notches. That was our mandate. Before we added the online Royal Rumble, before we increased the number of wrestlers in the ring at one time to six, we knew we had to get rid of the lag. If we couldn't do that, we couldn't add the Rumble, let alone add two additional people in the ring. Yukes figured it out and I've been playing our QA guys out in Phoenix from our office (Los Angeles), and the gameplay has been silky smooth. I was so impressed. It feels like an offline game. I was so happy.

ESPN.com interview with game designer Bryan Williams

IGN: 8.0

In the end, there are two main annoyances that stand out to me with WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 and make it just a bit less awesome than last year's effort -- the frustrating grapples and the rough Road to WrestleMania backstage stuff. Not being able to transition to a hip toss and watching John Cena's mouth open and close at random sucked me out of the experience.
Thankfully, there's plenty in this game that pulled me back in. Making choices in the stories, never knowing what was going to happen in WWE Universe Mode, and seeing fans hold up signs packing the IGN logo are all really cool memories I have from this game. Sure, it feels like a suped-up version of last year's title here and there, but there's nothing wrong with that when the game is this much fun.

Full Review
IGN Video Review

Full Hell in a Cell match between Undertaker and CM Jesus
FUll Tables match between Triple H and MVP
WWE Universe Video preview
The Rock's entrance
Stone Cold Steve Austin's Entrance

 

[Colocho]

The last really great Smackdown for me was Here Comes the Pain, are the current gen ones any good?

 

[JdFoX187]

I'm one of the few who defends them, to an extent. '10 was the best one in years, and '11 looks to be a substantial improvement. If they fix the exploitable moves for CAWs, the enjoyment factor could go up 10-fold.

 

[Lunchbox]

No genesis version, no sale

 

[shwimpy]

needs more

 

[iconoclast]

The last really great Smackdown for me was Here Comes the Pain, are the current gen ones any good?

2010 was pretty good, but I don't think it's on the same level as HCTP. SvR 2007 was good too, plus it probably still has the best roster of the current gen games.

 

[canadian crowe]

Great OP. I still love me some Smackdown (even if it is only for a couple weeks after release).

'10 was pretty good. I preferred '09 though.

 

[JdFoX187]

needs more

I wish

The creative community will come through and give us a glorious Alberto that we can all love.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

The last really great Smackdown for me was Here Comes the Pain, are the current gen ones any good?

2010 was the best since the HCTP/2006 era, and 2011 looks to be better than 2010.

 

[Chamber]

Smh @ the Womens Champion being DLC

Not sure if I can talk myself into paying full price for a Smackdown game but WWE Universe mode sounds pretty awesome.

 

[Gravijah]

Wow, the character select screen doesn't suck anymore. When did they do that? :lol

 

[BoboBrazil]

Wow, the character select screen doesn't suck anymore. When did they do that? :lol

Yeah that looks alot better than having to scroll through one by one. Also the weapon physics being finally added in is a good thing.

 

[BigKaboom2]

Can't wait to see if they really fixed the netcode, and I'm expecting some stupid caveat involving editing downloaded CAWs. WWE Universe sounds really great though, and they seem to have added a lot more move-specific counters, rather than just shoving the other guy away or doing a go-behind.

I still wish they'd replace all the stupid ground grapple counters (low blow, eye poke, leg trip) and I'm really not sure about the new grapple system. AFAIK nobody knows yet if you have more or less than 2010's 29 front grapple move slots.

Also they announced the other day that the WCW arena is 90s Nitro.

 

[El Pescado]

Played this for like 3 minutes at BestBuy today and really liked what I saw. The loading screens are all WWE Trivia and quotes and after the match it shows highlights of some of the big spots while your theme song plays. It's the little things, y'know...

DiBiase, R-Truth, and Smackdown have outdated themes, but this is offset by Dashing Cody Rhodes music being in

Spoiler

even though he's still got Legacy written on his tights...

 

[Striker]

The new grappling feature is intriguing. However, I'm worried it may be too complicated for the same casual users from before. I like they ditched the quick moves out for forcing users to initiate a grapple, but I shouldn't really have to grapple up and maneuver for a knee to the chest, ala Kevin Nash. Wish they had released a demo.

 

[canadian crowe]

After playing EA MMA, I really wish EA would take a stab at the wrestling genre. Have Japanese and Mexican feds, and ROH for America. Train in different styles. It would be great.

 

[CreateNowSleepLater]

Nitpicking but where is Stone Colds vest in the entrance video?

 

[Venomgxt]

After playing EA MMA, I really wish EA would take a stab at the wrestling genre. Have Japanese and Mexican feds, and ROH for America. Train in different styles. It would be great.

Yes yes yes! Im sick and tired of THQ and the smackdown vs raw franchise both in graphics and animation

 

[CryptiK]

Went to an event for this. I skipped the last WWE game yet I feel like I was playing the WWE game from a while back it hasnt changed much at all maybe the hud thats about it. Same Game..

 

[canadian crowe]

Yes yes yes! Im sick and tired of THQ and the smackdown vs raw franchise both in graphics and animation

EA MMA is as close as we'll get for now. I don't like MMA but it's tearing me away from Vanquish and New Vegas.

 

[RBH]

Also they announced the other day that the WCW arena is 90s Nitro.

:O

Yukes, you may have finally won this round.

 

[Reave]

After playing EA MMA, I really wish EA would take a stab at the wrestling genre. Have Japanese and Mexican feds, and ROH for America. Train in different styles. It would be great.

No thanks. I'd rather not perform every single action with the right analog stick.

 

[RBH]

The EA MMA demo was fucking horrific. :lol

 

[Niblet]

Nitpicking but where is Stone Colds vest in the entrance video?

DLC (already on the disc)

 

[canadian crowe]

The EA MMA demo was fucking horrific. :lol

Yeah it was dreadful. Game is way way way better

 

[Backflip]

I've been playing the Xbox 360 version for almost a week (review copy) and I've got mixed feelings about the game. I loved the 2010 version but there are things that I don't really like so far in the new game. The RTW mode isn't what I was expecting. You can't really do much in it. So far I've only finished Cena and Christian's storylines. John Cena's RTW scenario is truly boring. Christian's on the other hand is very funny (Edge & Christian goodness).

There also are a few bugs. I remember a match against Regal during which he had a girl's voice. I also noticed Tommy Dreamer's name in the game during Cena's RTW. I suppose he was taken out of the game pretty late.

As always, the Legendary difficulty setting isn't too hard. But the computer keeps reversing holds and that can get annoying. Also, I can't seem to be able to get back into the ring when the computer tries to eliminate me during a Battle Royale no matter how fast I mash the buttons. It's a problem I didn't have last year so I hope it gets fixed with a patch.

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

Nice job Jdfox, your OT is probably better then the game itself.

 

[Striker]

So far I've only finished Cena and Christian's storylines. John Cena's RTW scenario is truly boring. Christian's on the other hand is very funny (Edge & Christian goodness). .

Bout time gaming becomes reality.

 

[BoboBrazil]

Is there blood in the game this year?

 

[Burai]

Do any of those Randy Orton DLC outfits contain pants?

 

[JdFoX187]

Is there blood in the game this year?

:lol I was asking myself the same thing. I would hope so, especially since they were hyping the new "blood physics" last year.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

Bout time gaming becomes reality.

Indeed.

Great OP by the way.

 

[Penguin]

After playing EA MMA, I really wish EA would take a stab at the wrestling genre. Have Japanese and Mexican feds, and ROH for America. Train in different styles. It would be great.

EA.. wrestling game
EA... wrestling game...

Why does that ring a bell...

Not saying it can't be good now.

 

[JdFoX187]

EA has really improved a lot in recent years with their internal development. I'm curious what they could do with a franchise. That's why I was hoping they would buy the TNA license. I still say that could have been an awesome game if Midway was given a chance to expand on it with a proper development cycle. All of the pieces were there, it was just barebones as hell.

 

[Triple Da G.O.D!]

EA.. wrestling game
EA... wrestling game...

Why does that ring a bell...

Not saying it can't be good now.

Don't remind me. Thanks Jesus Bynum for No Mercy and VPW2. I might have to hop back into SvR this year. Seeing as I've been skipping it since 08. Now if TNA could money hat Syn Sophia to making them an actual wrestling game then I could be happy.

 

[BoboBrazil]

How come they aren't making another TNA game? Did it sell like shit?

 

[JdFoX187]

How come they aren't making another TNA game? Did it sell like shit?

Midway, the company that had the TNA license, collapsed and it was in some sort of limbo. Southpeak Games, the publisher of the Just Cause series, has the rights to do portable versions, but I'm not sure who has the home console license.

 

[BoboBrazil]

Midway, the company that had the TNA license, collapsed and it was in some sort of limbo. Southpeak Games, the publisher of the Just Cause series, has the rights to do portable versions, but I'm not sure who has the home console license.

Damn, that sucks. So are they free to go to another company for home versions? I think for a company like EA to take it on, really depends on how well MMA does.

 

[JdFoX187]

Damn, that sucks. So are they free to go to another company for home versions? I think for a company like EA to take it on, really depends on how well MMA does.

I'm not sure. Warner Bros. acquired most of the licenses and rights from Midway, but I'm not sure if they got the TNA license either. I really would like to see EA tackle a series, but I'm not sure if they would or not. SvR is still a multi-million seller each year, but the MMA games are definitely taking a bite out of it, just like on television and PPV. So EA might not see the rush to get into the market, especially since TNA doesn't have as much exposure.

 

[spindashing]

Holy shit. I did not know Paul Bearer was in the game.

Actually tempted to get this one. It has not really jumped out to me as that different from the usual wrestling video game. It has Ezekiel, Punk, RVD, Brotista, Truth, MVP and that's cool with me.

Lol @ Primo in the dead center trying to look important.

 

[JdFoX187]

Brotista also has civilian clothes in the game. No pink polo shirt though

 

[BoboBrazil]

Do all the weapons have physics now or just the tables? Like if I have a chair on the ground will the person actually hit it if they land on it?

 

[Host Samurai]

There is a huge lack of wrestling games this generation. What the hell is Human doing these days? Where are the Japanese only wrestling games? PS3 is finally region free and there is no JPN style wrestling game this generation. They took the region lock off too late I guess.

The last Smackdown game I loved was HCTP. The roster was fucking ACE. I would totally buy another Smackdown game if they just loaded the roster up with Legends (Legends of Wrestlemania was crap) and added a cool story mode. I just hate the current crop of wrestlers.

 

[Backflip]

Is there blood in the game this year?

Yes there is. But you have to activate it.

 

[Linkified]

Thanks spoiling that RVD is in the game plus Britain gets the best, we get a 3 dvd pack of Bret Hart Best There Is.

Oh and we have Sheamus on the front as well.

 

[JdFoX187]

Thanks spoiling that RVD is in the game plus Britain gets the best, we get a 3 dvd pack of Bret Hart Best There Is.

Oh and we have Sheamus on the front as well.

:lol It was already posted in WrassleGAF. Besides, him being in there is fairly well known now. I just don't understand what THQ and Yukes were doing when he's been in TNA since before '11 was started.

EDIT: Also, I'll be putting up a thread in the Online forum later this evening for people to list their gamertags and PSN IDs for online play. The more GAFers we get to play online, the better the whole experience would be.

 

[Host Samurai]

Thanks spoiling that RVD is in the game plus Britain gets the best, we get a 3 dvd pack of Bret Hart Best There Is.

Oh and we have Sheamus on the front as well.

So I guess you have the worst cover than....

 

[Lothars]

I think I am going to preorder this mainly to get Bret Hart and because it looks like it has one of the best rosters in years.

 

[iconoclast]

There is a huge lack of wrestling games this generation. What the hell is Human doing these days? Where are the Japanese only wrestling games? PS3 is finally region free and there is no JPN style wrestling game this generation. They took the region lock off too late I guess.

The last Smackdown game I loved was HCTP. The roster was fucking ACE. I would totally buy another Smackdown game if they just loaded the roster up with Legends (Legends of Wrestlemania was crap) and added a cool story mode. I just hate the current crop of wrestlers.

There's Wrestle Kingdom (featuring NOAH, NJPW, and AJPW... and it was also developed by Yuke's lol), but yeah I wish Spike would funnel all of their money into a proper HD Fire Pro Wrestling and a new King of Colsseum and go out in a blaze of glory.

But like Jim Ross would say, if wishes were fishes, then the world would be an ocean.

 

[YoungHav]

The last great smackdown game was Smackdown 2006. Healthy amount of legends and I had 30 full American/Japanese CAW legends.

I was going to get last year's game but the deal breaker was the fact that you could not edit CAWs that you downloaded. That was fucking dumb. If you had a superb looking Scott Hall that did a tombstone piledriver, you were stuck with that. fuck yukes for that.