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

After a few opening punches, we go straight into grappling. As in last year's game, the grapple moves have been mapped to the right stick andit takes extra workto lift Masters up and slam him to the canvas. The impact of these moves is much improved - previous WWE games have occasionally felt a bit "floaty"- and the camera cutaways add that vital sense of performance theater to proceedings. It certainly seems to knock the stuffing out of Masters - that'll be the impact of playing as a Powerhouse, then.

The animation's been overhauled as well, with thousands of new frames of animation. Also, you're no longer confined to the D-pad's diagonals; instead you're free to run in any direction via the sticks. It makes matches look and feel a whole lot more like the "real" thing.

Previous games have simply involved bashing buttons to wear your opponent down. Now you pull on the stick according to how much pressure you want to apply. Careful, though - pull back too hard, too much and you'll tucker yourself out and lose all your stamina. Masters squirms under the pressure of Taker's camel clutch - the facial animations are excellent - but breaks the hold. In multiplayer mode, incidentally, the person trapped in the hold can break it by pushing the stick themselves. The less worn down they are, the easier it'll be. It's a good system, and one that feels more satisfying, and realistic, than simply jabbing at buttons for minutes at a time.

Oh, yes - we mentioned stamina just then; the one thing, even above the terrible AI of SmackDown 2007, that's verged on ruining the last couple of games for us. Good news? The stamina gauge seems to have vanished. And there wasn't any requirement to scuttle away from your opponent every so often and hold down Select to replenish your strength. You do get tired, though, so it's important to get your opponent in rest holds every so often and not simply churn out high-impact move after high-impact move - although Powerhouse wrestlers are able to do this for longer than others. However, right now, sometimes no matter how frantically you jab at the pad following the on-screen tip to "press any button repeatedly" to stand up after a period of prolonged assault, you stay prone. Bah.