WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 preview

The Miz\'s attempt to change the lightbulb was thwarted by Randy Orton, who insisted he use an energy-saver. Photograph: THQ



There\'s an interesting contradiction at the heart of every wrestling game. The action, in real life, is fake – punches are pulled, storylines are scripted, matches are pre-planned. In game, on the other hand, that make-believe world becomes fully realised. That\'s supposed to be a real grunt of pain you\'re hearing when a chair crashes into your opponent\'s skull.



Wrestling is a world replete with absurdities and inconsistencies, but it must present an interesting challenge for developers – the more realistic they make the game, the less it must seem to represent what really occurs in the ring.



It\'s just as well, then, that developer Yuke\'s have had plenty of time to decide how best to interpret this pantomime pugilism, with over 10 years experience of making grappling games of one form or another.



In 2011, they find themselves in the enviable position of being able to release a title for a franchise with no real competition either in real life or the games market. Big sales are guaranteed, so what incentive is there to keep on improving?



I was lucky enough to attend a preview of WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 in Los Angeles a few weeks back, and it looks as though the developers aren\'t resting on their laurels. With a raft of improvements and a new sandbox-like backstage mode on offer, fans of musclebound men in tights have a great deal to get excited about.



Striking mix



As mentioned previously, the fact the game falls into a curious grey area between beat-em-up and sport-sim means it\'s not realism, or simply over-the-top action, that the designers have striven for – more a striking mix of the two.



Gamers need to believe that performing a spectacular but relatively harmless-looking finishing move really can cause more damage than being thrown off the top of a cage and through a pile of stacked tables. Selling illogicalities like this must be pretty tricky, but thankfully the designers I met all seemed to be huge WWE fans, so they have a pretty firm understanding of what\'s required.



With a franchise as big as this, it will be the fans that have the final say – and consumer feedback from THQ\'s 2009 release has been one of the deciding factors for improvements. Bringing back a free-roam backstage mode last seen in 2003\'s WWE Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain, for example, has created enormous excitement within the community.



Here comes the free-roam mode



I can only assume this is more painful than it looks. Photograph: THQ One of the problems every fighting game or sport-sim faces is how to keep players interested beyond playing scores of exhibition matches and tournaments. While previous Smackdown games have offered limited career-modes, this year\'s iteration gives you more freedom and allows you to get more involved with the action outside the ring than ever before.



If you think about it, it\'s surprising this hasn\'t been prioritised consistently throughout the Smackdown series. Any lapsed wrestling fan will tell you that the absurd backstage antics filling in gaps between bouts were often as entertaining, if not more entertaining, than the main events.



So if you wander up to another wrestler in the revamped RPG-lite Road to Wrestlemania mode, you may be challenged to a match. He may present you with a mini-quest or suggest forming an alliance. There\'s a great deal of humour present (including a backstage time-machine if you make a decision you regret), and WWE fans will relish the chance to mingle with their favourite characters.



In terms of added depth there\'s also the WWE Universe option, which mixes exhibition and career modes. With as much – or as little – input as you want, it will create Smackdowns, Raws, pay-per-views, alliances, feuds and so on for you and your friends to play through whenever you load up the game.



This allows you to call the shots in terms of arranging matches and title-shots while also offering the chance to just jump in and play without having to keep returning to the exhibition match screen – something any football-sim player will know can soon become rather tedious.



This is your moment



The programmers have been very kind to the 53-year-old Bret Hart Photograph: THQ This year\'s tagline, \'This is your moment\', may look like your standard corporate soundbite, but it effectively surmises the focus of the main improvements to gameplay.



A lot of time has been spent trying to improve the more spectacular elements of the game, with ladders, tables, chairs and weapons all being heavily tweaked, so it\'s more satisfying than ever to smash your semi-conscious opponent in the chin with a ladder.



Weapons and other \'foreign objects\' (as they are known) are now easier to use – or position, in the case of ladders and chairs – and react more realistically when they fall over or get thrown into the ring.



Rolling your opponent onto a table and jumping off the top of a ladder onto him is tricky to pull off but hugely satisfying, although I do wonder why people consistently leave ladders lying around under the ring in the first place.



Hell in a Cell has also been completely revamped – the cell itself is larger and there\'s more space and possible gameplay options to explore relating to the event. Tweaks have also been made to the players\' move creation facilities, which are now remarkably in-depth, and there will be the usual updates to rosters, costumes and graphics - with entrance sequences receiving particular attention.



They took our jobs



It seems to be a given that fans of the series will be delighted at what Smackdown vs Raw 2011 has to offer, especially for a release that needn\'t have made much effort.



Whether or not Smackdown will truly be a success will depend, in my eyes, on whether it can lure non-wrestling fans to the franchise simply through good gameplay – something I feel you haven\'t been able to say about a wrestling game for a good four or five years.



During my demo, I still spent an awful lot of time either being constantly countered or lying comatose on the mat for interminable lengths, only to be hit by an unblockable attack the moment I got up. Perhaps I just wasn\'t very good at it.



Given the universal acclaim UFC Undisputed received earlier this year, it\'s clear there\'s scope for Smackdown to appeal to all without angering its hardcore fanbase. If it can do that, THQ could have a pretty huge hit on their hands. Look out for our review next month.



WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 will be released on 26 October for PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360 and Wii


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