Posted by a member on my board crowbar faith
RAW Vs SD
Just some info on the game, from sites like GameSpot, GameSpy, IGN.com, ect for those who may not have been following it as much as others…
- It’s the 10th game in the SmackDown vs RAW franchise.
- It’s scheduled to be released on November 6th for the Aussies, November 7th for Europe, and November 9th for the US.
- Tag Teams now share one momentum meter for double-team finishers and among other tag features, players on the apron can not perform a blind tag.
- SvR 09 will be the first game to include the Inferno match, a match where the player has to set their opponent on fire. The ring ropes themselves will be on fire and to win, the player must increase the temperature of the ring by performing more devastating moves. As soon as the temperature reaches 500°F, the player can then begin to set their opponent on fire via a submission-like struggle meter.
- SmackDown vs RAW 2009 will also see the return of the Backstage Brawl, where wrestlers can wrestle around the building and use a variety of weapons in each envitoment. The Backstage Brawl match will replace the Parking Lot Brawl, which has been retired.
- The Gauntlet Match (also known as the Slobberknocker Match) has also returned.
- There is no Special Referee match, but you can play a ref in a match during the Road to WrestleMania storyline.
- The Nintendo DS will now have steel cage, ladder, table, and TLC matches.
- Fighting styles will be removed but the fighting abilities will be kept and enhanced with each wrestler possessing six out of twenty different abilities that would aid the player in specific areas.
- You can now store signature moves as well as finishing moves. When in full momentum, the players can choose to store a signature move instead of performing a finishing move which they can perform later.
- A new targeting system is in place, which will automatically target a particular wrestler the player wants to attack but can also be controlled in-game by the player.
- Unlike the previous year’s DS game, whose gameplay was focused exclusively on the handheld’s stylus, this year’s edition will instead use the D-pad for movement and the left shoulder button for finishing moves. The DS version’s gameplay is now similar to that from the other consoles with full movement control around the ring for the wrestler and a stamina meter to build up for a finishing move. Grappling, attacks and submissions will still be controlled by the stylus.
- Road to WrestleMania will replace the 24/7 Mode. In this new mode, players can choose from Triple H, CM Punk, The Undertaker, John Cena, or Chris Jericho. The storylines featured in the mode are tailor made to fit the chosen wrestler’s character with each cutscene made exclusively for the wrestler.
- As part of the game’s new emphasis on tag teams, a co-operative storyline will also be included in the Road to WrestleMania mode, in which the players will take the parts of Batista and Rey Mysterio respectively, the only tag team playable in the tag team mode.
- Career mode will be replacing the General Manager mode from the previous game. Unlike the Road to WrestleMania mode, all characters featured in the game are eligible to play including CAWS. The main aim of this mode is for the player to fight their way up the rankings for a particular title of their choice, in match types that they can also choose. Players will be able to roam around the arena, improve their characters through the training room or WWE Shop and interact with superstars to start feuds. The player will be given missions to complete in order to become a champion.
- New to this years game is the much-hyped Create-A-Finisher. The player has the ability to chain a selection of up to 10 out of over 500 animations to make unique finishing moves along with the choice to speed up or slow down the animations. CAFS can only be performed face-to-face, with THQ saying it plans to add different positions in future games.
- The Highlight Reel is another new feature, where players can record the last 30 seconds of an ongoing match, and edit the clips together afterwards with custom camera angles and added visual and sound effects. Players can save up to 20 files and can upload them for online users to see. The rumor that the clips can be made into a tron are false.
- The Create-A-Belt feature has been dropped due to lack of fan support according to THQ.
- The Create-A-Superstar mode in the PS3 and XBOX360 versions will feature physics-based clothing items that will sway around realistically such as loose clothing and necklaces. About 70% of the parts in the mode are now 3D with about 25-30% of the mode featuring new content.
- For the first time, the Nintendo DS version will feature a limited CAW Mode.
- A roster editor has been introduced to change the wrestler’s brand, face/heel disposition and titles for exhibition matches. The game’s Create-A-Stable mode has also been incorporated into the editor under the Team Management name.
- The Wii version will include online gameplay as well as rankings.
- Voice chat functionality for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were confirmed. However, online play will not be available for the PlayStation 2 version.
- To conquer previous complaints in the series about outdated rosters and new superstars in WWE, THQ stated that the game will provide downloadable content, a feature to keep the game as up to date as possible. According to THQ, downloadable content will also “allow them to introduce special events in-game based on what’s happening on the show”.
- The roster in the 2009 edition will be split into six classifications: Raw brand, SmackDown brand, ECW brand, free agents, legends and a secret unlockable classification.
- For the Road to WrestleMania mode, each featured superstar’s storylines are first drafted out by the game’s season mode designer, sometimes based on a brainstorming session with WWE’s own writing team. Afterwards, one of the writing team would help finalize the scripts tweaking the scripts to help fit the character more.
- Each of the mode’s scripts were 250 pages long, with over two and a half hours of motion captured scenes included.
- According to THQ, 50% of loading times for the game has been reduced, affecting such areas as wrestler entrances.
- The announcng, composed of 3 teams, will have more play-by-play lines this year.
- For the first time in any SmackDown game, entrance theme songs can also be played in the game’s menus.
- Both the PS3 and XBOX360 will use the systems hard-drives to allow for custom themes during wrestlers / CAW entrances, but only the 360 will allow players to play custom songs during gameplay.
- A commercial for the game, starring Triple H and Kelly Kelly, has been filmed.
- A special collector’s edition of SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 for the PlayStation 3 will be released, which includes the game, special steel cage packaging, and a Blu-ray Disc featuring matches from Raw and SmackDown programming as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the game.
