The Road to Wrestlemania is paved with pain
So, 2009 sees a return to the no-holds barred backstage brawls, which replace last year's parking lot fights. This will be one of the areas where players will be able to use a variety of weapons, some of which will be new to the franchise - such as guitars - to defeat their opponent.New to the series, in the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and PSP versions, will be a new tag team experience, allowing players to build momentum and attributes, eliminate opponents with high impact double teams and finishers, as well as get the "hot tag" for the win.
Excitingly, we'll also have the opportunity to participate in an offline or online co-op tag team storyline for the first time in the new 'Road to WrestleMania' mode, which replaces last year's '24/7 mode'.
'Road to WrestleMania' will allow us to choose from fighters such as Chris Jericho or The Undertaker with five of the characters boasting different storylines, offering extra repay value as you aim to win the coveted belts.
Click for larger imageIn, and out, of the ring, we can expect an even deeper fighting mechanic, with smoother and more varied counter attacking moves and brand new signature moves that can be stored and used instead of the finishing moves which can also be executed.
Interestingly, the fighting styles, which appeared in previous iterations and enhanced your character based on how we fought in the ring, have now been removed and fighters now have 6 abilities out of 20 on offer, allowing us to perform moves that will allow us to regenerate health or inflict extra damage on opponents in a number of unique ways. One of the abilities available will be 'Object Specialist', which will give our character extra skill at throwing objects and using them in the ring.
Click for larger imageIn addition to gameplay changes, we can once again expect high production values with player entrances fleshed-out even more than before and enhanced crowd interaction. It goes without saying that there's also a graphical overhaul since 2008 and judging by the screenshots and trailers, fighters are looking the best they've ever looked. With its new enhancements and gameplay additions, WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2009 should be the best yet.
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 is due for release on November 7th in Europe and November 11th in North America.
More screenshots overleaf...