Another Update For The WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2010 Video Game (Saturday, October 10)

Although the news is only being released slowly, I thought I would update you on the latest features that have been announced for the Smackdown vs. RAW 2010 since my last article on the subject.

Road To Wrestlemania Preview

The first time gamers saw this mode make an appearance was last year, and due to the high amount of praise it received, it has made a return and it’s better than ever.

Just like in Smackdown vs. RAW 2009, you get to play as a WWE wrestler and work your way through a unique storyline to get to the “granddaddy of ‘em all” Wrestlemania, but this time around there are also storylines solely for WWE Divas, created wrestlers, and for 2 players to work through in cooperative style.

Source: Gamespot

The superstars that you can play as are:

• A created wrestler
• Mickie James
• Edge
• Randy Orton
• Shawn Michaels
• John Cena and/or Triple H

It has been reported by Gamespot that the storyline that calls for 2 players to work as a team can be completed with only 1 player.

WWE Rivals

Source: IGN

WWE Rivals is the newest feature in the series that allows you to control who a superstar’s allies and enemies are, as well as the intensity of the relationships, which will help you keep the game as up to date as possible. Each superstar has a limit of 5 allies and 5 enemies, and depending on how much they like or dislike a certain wrestler, they will interfere in their matches.

Certain superstars in the game have unique run-ins such as The Undertaker appearing as if from nowhere after the familiar gong sounds and the screen fades to black, and Triple H running to the ring with his trusty sledgehammer in hand, but the majority of the roster only have a generic entrance where they will jump the barricade or run down the ramp.

Those that interfere in your match looking for a fight will eventually scamper away with their tail between their legs if enough damage is done to them. While they are at ringside it is possible for them to become a nuisance in a big way. THQ has reported that an interfering superstar has the ability to either stand at ring side and break up pin fall attempts, enter the ring and hit their finisher, or come to the ring with a weapon at the ready.

The cool thing about WWE Rivals is that once you create a relationship between two wrestlers from one of their profiles, the other superstar’s profile is automatically updated, which essentially cuts the time that you’re customizing the game in half.

One of the only let downs of this feature is that superstars can only be involved with other superstars, while divas can only be involved with other divas.

When you first play the game, all of the obvious relationships are already built in by default, so you will likely see Triple H and Shawn Michaels being good friends, while John Cena and Randy Orton will have a strong rivalry.

For those of you wondering if this will affect the Road To Wrestlemania mode, don’t worry because this feature is exclusive to the exhibition mode only.

New Royal Rumble Match Features

Source: PWMania

Anyone that’s played a game in the Smackdown vs. RAW series knows how difficult it can be to win the coveted Royal Rumble match, and with the improvements that have been made to the match type, it’s just gotten even harder.

Now it’s not only possible for 3 superstars to join forces and try to eliminate a fourth wrestler, as seen in the picture to the left, but there is more than 1 way to eliminate another participant, all of which require the player to enter a mini-game to try and gain the upper hand.

Middle Rope Elimination – The player needs to rapidly press a button that appears on the screen to eliminate the opposition.

Corner Elimination – The player needs to be the first to press the button that appears on the screen to gain an advantage.

Bottom Rope Elimination – The player needs to stop a cursor in the correct position to eliminate the opponent.

Royal Rumble Finisher – If your wrestler has built up enough momentum and stored a finisher, then they can use it to instantly eliminate the opponent once they are in one of the previously mentioned positions.

There is also a new feature to level the playing field a bit. If you find yourself in the middle of an elimination and have a finisher stored, you can use it to instantly break free of the other wrestler(s) and get back into the ring.

When playing this match type, the player has the option take part in either a 10, 20, or 30 man Royal Rumble, all depending on how long you feel like playing.

The only downfall to this match type, and it’s something that affects other specialty matches such as the Money In The Bank match, is that there can still only be a maximum of 6 wrestlers in the ring at any one time. If there are already 6 superstars in the ring when another is due to make their entrance, then they have to wait until somebody in the ring is eliminated, which can make the match seem to drag on a bit.

Championship Scramble Match

Source: Gamespot

After the match concept was first used in WWE last year, it has made it’s way into the new game and appears to be a big focal point by game developers.

When deciding to play this match type, you have the choice of having a 5, 10, or 20 minute match, so it all depends on how long a match you feel like playing.

For those of you that don’t know what this match type is, it’s really quite simple. It’s basically a multi-man non-elimination match and is usually for a championship. Two wrestlers start the match with another being introduced every 5 minutes until all 5 people are in the ring.

When one of the wrestlers pins another, they are interim champion and will win the match as long as they don’t in turn get pinned themselves. In the end it all comes down to whoever has the last pin in their favor that is announced the winner of the match. You can see an in game video of the match here.

A while ago, screen shots were released of Mickie James and Maryse participating in a steel cage match. Since then, there have been no details about WWE Divas being involved in matches under No DQ rules. Now a video has surfaced of 5 Divas fighting it out in a Championship Scramble match which can be seen here. I have yet to see any of the women being busted open, which has been a big no-no in the past, but with the inclusion of Divas in No DQ matches, who knows?

Unlockable Legends In The Game

Several pictures of WWE legend’s in game likeness were leaked online during the week on Photo Bucket, which you can see below. Whether they are all playable or not remains to be seen.

"Cowboy" Bob Orton

Dusty Rhodes

Steve Austin

Ted Dibiase, Sr.

The Rock

Vince McMahon

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Miscellaneous

• There is said to be an “all new blood-texturing” when a wrestler is busted open which looks even better than before and even rubs off on their opponent.
• Unfortunately for some, there will be no demo released for Smackdown vs. RAW 2010, but the reason is being put down to the fact that it would simply take time away from developing the game.
• When your opponent is on the canvas, you now have the option of grappling him from the side instead of just from their upper or lower body. An example of a side grapple attack would be Randy Orton’s punt kick.
• THQ has said that wrestlers can now perform offensive and defensive from on the ring apron such as “jaw dropping high-flying maneuvers to brutal slams onto the surrounding ring floor.”
• There are now 4 strong grapples that each superstar can perform, with each one leading to another 4 finishes. That’s a total of 16 moves that can be unleashed on your opposition!
• Once again this year there are 21 abilities with a maximum of 6 assigned to each created superstar. Most of them are familiar to gamers, but there are several new ones such as “Ring Escape,” “Pull-Back Attacks,” “Fired Up,” “Exploder Turnbuckle Attack,” and “Strong Strike.”
• Speaking of created wrestlers, similar to last year, your wrestler earns points when wrestling in matches, but the difference this year is that points are earned in every mode of the game. It doesn’t matter if it’s an exhibition match or in the RTWM mode, points are earned and abilities are unlocked at every corner.
• In a positive move for the franchise, whenever the referee or ring ropes get in the way of the camera, they now fade to almost invisibility so they won’t get in your way.
• Based on the videos I’ve seen so far in regards to match footage, Matt Striker on commentary makes for a welcome change to the typical “what a slobberknocker!” from previous installments.
• Santino Marella is up to his old tricks again, claiming to be the best ever Intercontinental Champion, in this video which demonstrates what a beat down looks like. The Italian then complains to Vince and the drama unfolds.
• Here’s a few more screen shots from the game:

A backstage location (Source: Otakuhero)

Another backstage location (Source: Otakuhero)

The old fashioned way still works (Source: Gamespot)

Undertaker makes an unexpected appearance (Source: IGN)

The points system to improve your created wrestler (Source: IGN)

A corner elimination in the Royal Rumble (Source: PWMania)

One of the stranger items that you can make your created wrestler wear (Source: IGN)

Haven't we already seen this match before? (Source: IGN)

Santino working the mic as only he can (Source: Worthplaying)

Inside the women's locker room (Source: Worthplaying)

The referee's getting a bit handsy! (Source: Worthplaying)