Well, this is just like deja vu all over again, I mean I've done this with every wrestling game since WarZone for some odd reason, but eh.Let it continue.
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Last year publisher THQ brought its WrestleMania franchise to Nintendo's next-generation console to mixed reactions. Players were pleased that developer Yuke's, with former members of the Aki team, was at the helm of the semi-sequel, but the end play mechanics and grappling moves seemed to lack the finesse and depth of the N64 titles. Meanwhile, while the wrestler's visuals were suitable, it still lacked a selection of features, including what is often the biggest selling point in these types of projects today, a strong story mode.
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Well, on some of those points they are dead on, on others it's a matter of personal taste, but I'm sure lots were burned by the lost of AKI/Asmik.
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THQ listened to the complaints and in some sense went back to the drawing board. The result is WWE WrestleMania XIX, which is set to debut exclusively for GameCube this August. The game, piloted by a "brand new development team with Yuke's members mixed with former Aki staff in a unique creative collaboration," is in every way a deeper wrestling experience, according to THQ, with a host of enhancements and additions that are sure to finally satisfy demanding GCN owners. Keep reading to find out why.
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Well, I'm not gonna fall for that whole Yukes' with some AKI members thing again, it was said the samething last year and that didn't work out too well.
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Exclusive WWE WrestleMania GCN Sequel
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I'm pretty sure that everyone figured out
SmackDown series= PlayStation
Raw= Xbox
WrestleMania=Gamecube
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Developed by a new team made up of Yuke's and former Aki members
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So they formed yet another new team for this game?
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Faster, but more simulation-centric focus
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I don't know how this works, but eh.
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More than 50 wrestlers including WWE superstars
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Well um 50 is a nice big number, I think that is like 15 more than the original.
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Grappling system now features wider variety of grapples
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Well thank the skies, that was one of my biggest complaints of the original game lack of moves.
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Enhanced create-a-superstar mode
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There is another compliant, a VERY weak CAW mode.
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First wrestling game this generation to feature blood in matches
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Well, it's finally back since it was taken out since No Mercy.
Well this was a cool mode, but if it has a bit more meaning in the multiplayer mode, I'll care more.
Well, I'll get to that later on in the article since it touches on it in a lot more detail.
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Totally re-created character models
Player-specific damage
Tutorial mode
Four-player support
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Go into more details later on.
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WWE WrestleMania XIX is still in pre-alpha stage, but it's already up, running and looking good (see the first screenshots we've included in our media section for proof). The title will have a changed focus -- it'll play faster than Raw but not quite as speedy as Smackdown. "The gameplay focus is now more slanted toward a simulation where timing is the key," says a THQ rep. The grappling system of old will be back, but significantly tweaked with several more grapple types.
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Well, the grapplin system of WrestleMania x8 or the one from old n64 games?
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The title will sport more than 50 wrestlers, many of them WWE superstars, including everyone from The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan to Booker T, Triple H and Scott Steiner.
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Well, Scott Steiner really would have worked in WM x8, I mean his arsenal of moves would have fit in with the lack of moves in the original.
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Each will come complete with unique wrestler entrances. Also, each features his or her individual attributes, strengths and weaknesses. So, for instance, while the Undertaker is very strong and deals out fierce, damaging blows, Ray Mysterio relies heavily on his speed to evade attacks.
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Well this sounds like an interesting aspect and something fans have been asking for for some time, and I hope it's pulled off right.
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Interestingly, because there were criticisms that the wrestlers looked "too cartoony" in X8, the development team completely scrapped the old player models and created new ones from scratch. The new models are much more realistic in nature. To this end, the game will likewise include blood -- a first for any wrestling game this generation, according to the publisher.
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Well, I didn't think the character model in the old game looked too cartoony but maybe that was me, but the new model do look a ton better, and I can't wait for the red stuff.
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Control will be both familiar and improved. Executing a player's special move is roughly the same as last year -- hit A+B once and the wrestler's special animation will begin, and then the player must hit A+B again at the end of the animation to complete the move. The development team is still testing the option to let opponents counter and break the special move during this sequence.
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Ok this sounds rather complex and weird at the same time, I mean you have to insert the button controls for a finishing move twice? Does that mean you can fake a finisher to only pull it off moments later on an even more unsuspecting foe?
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XIX will also feature location-specific damage. For example, if a player wears down their opponent's ankle, the opponent will limp around the ring and eventually that part of his body will be worn down and more susceptible to being pinned.
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Well, it looks like this feature of No Mercy makes a return, I hope it's done just as well.
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Of course, the biggest addition of all comes in the form of the game's story mode. Last year's game included a 'Path of a Champion' mode as the main single-player option, but this time around the story mode is where it's at. Here players pick a superstar and then helplessly watch as Vince McMahon strips them of their status. One's wrestler is promptly kicked out of the WWE, and the goal of the game is to seek revenge and regain his or her dignity. Wrestlers will fight in many different backstage areas on a mission to destroy McMahon's commercial assets and bring honor back to their name.
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Well, I think this whole story mode is very interesting since it seems to take a more linear, adventurre type setting which may be cool a couple of times, but really will there be other storylines or will this be a branching story?
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There are five environments in all, and each is broken down into six missions. Players will fight in a McMahon's construction site (where they must destroy his operations), a shipping port (where they duke it out on his multi-million dollar yacht and eventually detonate it with a bomb), a shopping mall, a parking lot, and a fire station. Near the end of the story mode, gamers will work their way back into the ring and even participate in a few cage matches. In the final showdown, wrestlers must confront and defeat Vince McMahon himself in the ring.
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So there are over 30 "missions" in the story mode? But some of these elements really do seem more akin to an adventure game than anything else, I mean detonating bombs?
And Vince McMahon as the end level boss? This just sounds weird, but different.
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On top of everything else, the game will still feature other classic play modes including King of the Ring and Royal Rumble, a host of new and old match types, and even a tutorial mode in which players can learn the ropes of the entertainment. Additionally, THQ says, the create-a-superstar feature from last year's game will be back except with a list of options that run much deeper. Expect full multiplayer support, too.
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Well, I'm glad to see all the gimmick matches return, but no new one, I mean no Elimination Chamber?
And a tutorial mode? Haven't seen that since Warzone and I think Attitude, but I believe it was taken out of the n64 version.
First Details on WrestleMania XIX and Screens
Def Jam Vendetta and FirePro A 2 are awesome.
Linear Mode
