Hands-On Preview + Orton Stalks Triple H Video

[Smacktalks]

Mike Regan of GamingRing yesterday posted the following hands-on preview of the game, here's what he had to say.

For 1 week solid I have played WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009. I had a chance to kick the tires and try out a very early build of the game. The game featured these following WWE Superstars. Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Batista, John Cena, The Miz, John Morrison, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, CM Punk, HHH, HBK, Undertaker, Beth Phoenix and Kelly Kelly, Chris Jericho and Kennedy. The build we recieved feature pretty much all of the standard match types that you have come to know and love from the series and also features the Inferno match as well as the backstage brawls. On the create side, we have create a finisher which I will discuss a little bit more later. I also have the create a move-set and create a superstar options in the build I have. I didnt spend much time with the create a superstar option but from what I did it seems that it hasnt undergone a significant overhaul and those of you who are comfortable with last years CAS should feel right at home here.

WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 has a huge laundry list of improvements so let me run a few of them down for you. First off, the loading time has significantly been decreased and the matches load up very quickly. While I didnt take a stopwatch and time them, I can see it is a noticable differeance. Also improved is the commentary this year. Previously the commentary was mostly random ramblings almost put together in mad-lib fasion. This year, the commentary teams actually call moves and call the match as you play it. While its not perfect, there is still plenty of time for the team behind the game to tweek it and improve it even more. Also improved is the character models, I hate to through this cliche out there but in this case there is several times specifically in the entrances where the graphics are so good that you actually forget your playing a video game and not watching WWE programing on TV. Visually this game is stunning, the arenas, the pyros and even the crowds all swim with little details and nice touches that while not immediately obvious only take center stage once your attention you happen to focus on them. Also improved is the new camera angles around ringside. The new camera angles really bring you into the action and showcase the new character models even more. Very nicely done. The game also features all of the PPV and TV Show arenas that fans have come to expect from the series year in and year out.

The tag team matches have really never been done this well in a wrestling game. Who would have thought that by combing both your partner and your meters that this would open entire new avenues of strategy and depth to tag matches. I played a 6 man tag team match and all 3 people do share the same meter as well.

The create a finisher really is going to be a huge feature and a great addition to this years game. I cannot overstate exactly how much fun and how much time I and many others will be spending in this mode. Quickly and with very little effort I made several moves from wrestlers in other promotions from around the world. The interface is very intuitive, with each move animated before you set the move in your finishing move que. Also cool is the ability to either speed up or speed down each move in the sequence. At this point in development, the mode feels pretty good. I was able to make several finishing holds from other wrestling federations superstars.

Even though, we do not have a full build there are several improvements that allows me to say that this may be the year that everyone including myself can say that this is the definitive WWE video game experience. With huge secrets, and surprises that promise to be

[Sunny]

Umm...I think the Orton video was already posted by ALL STAR here:

http://smacktalks.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=24729