Smackdown vs Raw 2008 Preview

IGN.com recently paid a visit out to the Southern Cali headquarters for THQ, makers of Smackdown vs. Raw 2008. They discussed the new Playstation 3 version of the game with Creative Managers from THQ, Bryan Williams and his boss, the Senior Creative Manager Cory Ledesma.

From IGN.com:

"This year it's all about playing like your favorite superstar," commented Williams. "Fighting styles and character-specific moves are what we really want to stress and that's a big deal for us. We have new strategies that haven't been in the game before and cool match-specific advantages based on style."

Bryan isn't kidding. When we selected the freshly-announced ECW legend Sandman and put him up against the smirk master Randy Orton, we could see the advantages of being a "Hardcore" wrestler in an ECW Extreme Rules match. Sandman's proficiency with weapons helped us own Orton all over the squared circle, while putting chairs on our opponent's neck or pulling off conchairtos added a little extra oomph.

As wrestling fans might expect, the Extreme Rules match is a heck of a lot of fun. Before a bout, users can select which weapons they want to bring with them as part of their setup menu, but that doesn't mean that they'll just appear randomly. Now when you reach under the ring, you can choose one of your items from an analog-controlled wheel; there's no randomization anymore. Even better is that there are new weapons joining old favorites; namely barbed-wired boards and breakable guitars. Expect nine weapon types in all."

Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 is set to hit stores in November of this year.

Read the full IGN.com article with new screenshots and video previews of the game.