We toss Triple H around the squared circle in this simplified grappler
Ever since we first tried the Wii's motion-sensitive controls, there's been a nagging question at the back of our minds: "What could a wrestling game do with this?" As it turns out, the reality isn't nearly as fantastic as our dreams of throwing angry man-mountains around in real time, with our wrestler's hands mapped to our own Wii Remote-and-Nunchuk movements. But it's still a promising start.
Our first taste of WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2008 on the Wii was a simple demo featuring John Cena and Triple H; we didn't get to see any of the new fighting styles or hardcore moves that we've covered inother previews, and from the sound of it, it's still undecided whether the more complicated stuff will even be in the game.
"We wanted to take the complexity out of wrestling," said the game's Senior Creative Manager Cory Ledesma, adding that the game's spirit will be more akin to the simplicity of the old WWF arcade games. Whatever the case, it was easy to get into; picking Cena, we effortlessly smacked Triple H around by swinging the Wii Remote. Jerking it in different directions produced different kinds of simple attacks, and with a little practice it was easy to bust out punch, kick and slap combos against our hapless rival. Grappling was as simple as holding down a button, and - after a brief moment where both players furiously shook their controllers to get a hold on the other - we were able to hurl Triple H at the ropes for an Irish Whip attack, or lift him into the air before slamming him onto the canvas.
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After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.
