New WrestleMania X-8 Interview

[BreakABone]

http://www.wwfwrestlinggames.com/gam...terview2.shtml

Hmm no backstage areas

The finishers sound rather weird

Hmm that mic thing sounds like a good idea if a wrestling game ever uses it

Hmm overall short interview

[Joeiss]

No backstage areas??!!??!! That is insane!! How cannot there be backstage areas? Oh well, looks like I will just have to lay a smack down on my opponent inside the ring.

And I got really excited about the microphone thing. That would be sweet! But, too bad he was just joking. That bastard!

[BigJustinW]

Mike Regan: Can you tell us a little bit about your job and what you do for Yukes.

Brian Wannamaker: Hey, Mike. I like your site. I'm a Director here; it's a management position, but everyone here works hard to keep our hands in production as well. Helping other people work well is a big focus of my job, but I'm happiest when I'm up to my elbows in pixels and polygons.

Mike Regan: How long have you been with Yukes and what games have you worked on there?

Brian Wannamaker: I joined Yuke's a half year ago, and this is my first title with them. I snuck in a little help with Smackdown, but Wrestle Mania X8 is my main focus. Right now I'm learning the ropes at Yuke's. Until my business Japanese comes up to speed, I'm helping Morino-san with the project, and interfacing with THQ. Morino-san is WX8's Producer.

[/b]Mike Regan: Wrestle Mania X8 certainly does have some big shoes to fill considering the history of THQ wrestling games on a Nintendo Platform. What are Yukes expectations of the title, and do you think it will meet the fans expectations? [/b]

Brian Wannamaker: I sure hope so. I'm a fan of No Mercy on N64, so there's some homage to that title in ours. We have two of the designers from No Mercy, Takumi Kon and Shunsuke Katsumata heading up the design staff, so we definitely have an advantage with that experience on the team.

Mike Regan: Can you tell us about some of the modes that will be in game?

Brian Wannamaker: I don't want to give too much away, but... Yuke's is pretty good about including a bunch of modes.

Mike Regan: How far away is the game from being completed?

Brian Wannamaker: We are probably further along than anyone thinks, and not as far along as /we/ think. We plan to be for sale this summer; we are well on target for that.

Mike Regan: How will finishers be performed?

Brian: Finishers... Everybody wants to know about finishers. Okay, here's the deal: We're shipping with a microphone attachment, like that "Pokemon: Genki De Chuu" game, and you have to shout the name of the finisher into the controller's Mike. Right now our voice codec is going through localization for the U.S. -- Testing has been really noisy, so we've moved that department to a neighboring library; they hate us now. All right, not really. There's no microphone. In fact, disregard all that. We are using a meter that increases with the kind of moves that are performed, until it's full to capacity. Then the player has to set up to be in the right position for a finishing move. It's more like Smackdown's mechanic than RAW's. The cool thing is, like every other move, even finishers can be countered and reversed. So you can get that feeling same as the show, where it looks like it's all over but, BANG, a big reversal can still shock everyone.

Mike Regan: Can you tell us a bit about the back stage areas?

Brian Wannamaker: We have intentionally stepped away from the backstage for this version. We are focusing on the main action, the in-ring action for the premiere of this franchise.

Mike Regan: How extensive will the Create a superstar mode be. Do you know approximately how many body part, costume parts we will be able to edit?

Brian Wannamaker: We're stuffing in as much as we can! There will be a broad range of parts to create just about style of wrestler the player wants. Wrestle Mania will have a very different edit mode than Smackdown or RAW; it's optimized to a different intent.

Mike Regan: The release date is said to be sometime in Summer. The big question on a lot of people's minds is how current will the roster be. The WWF recently signed the NWO. What are the odds of the NWO being in Wrestle Mania X8?

Brian Wannamaker: We are very serious about providing a roster that reflects the WWF's heat. About the odds regarding the NWO, we don't have any specific announcements to make just yet but we will be revealing more of the Superstars in the game as we get closer to launch.

Mike Regan: Any last words to the fans on what to expect from WWF Wrestle Mania X8?

Brian: Yuke's is very proud of all of its professional wrestling games, and we hope our players enjoy them. We're looking forward to hearing what players think of this new line. THQ offers a different kind of WWF gaming experience on a per-console basis. Wrestle Mania X8 on Gamecube is different than Smackdown for Play Station, and both of these are different from RAW for X-box. We're confident that we will provide a unique experience, true to the WWF, that will not be available anywhere else. Again, I would like to thank you for your time. And it was nice to talk with people who really do have a passion when it comes to creating great video games. It was good meeting you at THQ Editor's Day, and hearing your thoughts about what can be done to make wrestling games great. Our conversation there got me all fired up about this version and the next. Thanks again.

[BigJustinW]

IMO, this game is shaping up to be a big letdown... the specials are different, and there are no back stage areas.

That ultamatly means this game will be nothing like No Mercy... is that a good thing?

stay tuned