Sep 17, 2007 In the real world, an ass-kicking is an ass-kicking. It doesn't matter if the other guy is a street brawling gang banger, your martial artist dorm buddy, the bully on the playground, or the girl scout from down the street - the fundamental problem is someone is pounding their knuckles into your face and stomping on your spleen. As such, any further details are ultimately inconsequential. In the world of professional wrestling, however, the fight is largely secondary to the show. ... » Read More

18 Jul 2007

WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 - more hands-on

PS3 Preview | WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2008

That the SmackDown games have become stale in recent years is undeniable. The last couple felt particularly bogged down with samey-feeling characters, an ill-conceived stamina system and, in last year's outing especially, bafflingly idiotic AI - which Lead Programmer Reiji Sato went so far as to apologize to us for. The series couldn't even think about entering the next generation without a kick up the ass. The good news is that it just might have got one. You might have read about the eight ... » Read More

6 Jul 2007

WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 08 - hands-on

PS3 Preview | WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2008

"Recently I was playing against someone and he was fighting like Stone Cold Steve Austin," says Taku Chihaya, director of the new SmackDown!, "Not because of the character, but just because he never stopped. He was going crazy." This is what SmackDown's all about. It's not about the wrestlers just looking like the real thing - although they do, right down to the Sandman's grimace and Lashley's terrifying biceps - it's about them feeling like the real thing. It's about Rey Mysterio bouncing ... » Read More

11 May 2007

WWE SmackDown! Vs. RAW 2008

PS3 Preview | WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2008

Gradually, the WWE games review scores have, like a greasy tortoise, been slipping slowly downhill - due mainly to the fact that theyve started to feel the same, year in, year out. We want this decline to be arrested and SmackDown! 2008, the series PS3 debut - following the cancellation of last years planned next-gen wrestler - might do just that. Weve already reported on this years new features, although well clarify some of them in greater ... » Read More

4 May 2007

WWE SmackDown! Vs. RAW 2008

PS3 Preview | WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2008

The legacy of the small Philadelphia-based wrestling promotion that rose up to challenge the WWE in the mid-nineties is such that to this day young men who were still filling their Huggies when the likes of Terry Funk and Sabu were ripping chunks out of each other back in '94 chant "E-C-W" at the merest whiff of a chairshot. Five years removed from its demise, the brand name was so strong that WWE decided to bring it back as a separate brand on TV. And in 2008, the Extremists will debut in ... » Read More

30 Apr 2007

WWE Smackdown! Vs. RAW 2008

PS3 Preview | WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2008

Some wrestling fans will tell you that the golden age of grappling is long gone: that the great days of technical matches and memorable storylines have been replaced by stupid gimmicks and high spots. These people are idiots. The eighties? Yeah, because everybody loved mad plumber T.L. Hopper. The nineties? What, when Vince McMahon was obsessed with storylines involving octogenarian Mae Young taking her top off? The old days were full of flabby men in too-revealing outfits doing endless ... » Read More

9 Apr 2007

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008

PS3 Preview | WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2008

Though they probably won't feature Donald Trump shaving the head of WWE chairman Mr. McMahon like this year's WrestleMania, both the wrestling and gaming worlds are eagerly anticipating what the next round of WWE-licensed titles will hold. In much the way Vince McMahon will be more aerodynamic without his gray coiffure, the SmackDown vs. Raw series is streamlining to be even more intuitive to control while also offering more gameplay depth. As the former rogue promotion of Extreme ... » Read More

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