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THQ Superstar Challenge in Chicago tonight [update 1]
WrestleMania 22 may still be 3 days away, but that isn't stopping WWE Superstars from taking to the virtual squared circle tonight in Chicago.The fourth annual THQ Superstar Challenge will begin in less than an hour at 6 PM at the House of Blues. It'll be SmackDown vs. RAW on SmackDown vs. RAW with reigning Challenge champ Shelton Benjamin defending his gamer title in a 16-player bracket-style tournament.If it's too late to snag $20 tickets to the opening WrestleMania weekend event, perhaps you can hang around until tomorrow, when THQ will "announce the next addition to the WWE video game family." Would a next-gen announcement be too much to hope for before E3? And will the Undertaker continue his undefeated WrestleMania streak? Answers to your manly soap opera questions will be coming at ya this weekend.[Update: It turns out that the new game's already been confirmed--WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007 will hit the PS2, PSP, PS3, and even (a non-Sony system for once on) the Xbox 360. 10 "next-gen" screens of the game to hit later this year are also available via the Update link. Thanks, Master X 24!]See also: Official WWE page for WrestleMania 22 Load time from HELL! PSP game takes its sweet time [SD! Vs. RAW] WWE sues THQ Rumble Roses XX promises hot girl-on-bear action
Load time from HELL! PSP game takes its sweet time
A warning to curious Joystiq'ers: the video presented above is long... very, very long. It's a (presumably) undoctored video detailing the time to get from menu to gameplay in THQ's WWE SmackDown! Vs. RAW 2006 for the PSP. The following sites had this to say about the loads: Gamespot: "You will need to suffer through some lengthy loads prior to wrestler entrances, and then another lengthy load prior to the match. Thankfully, the in-game action doesn't suffer from any slowness or technical issues, but getting into a match does take a touch longer than it ought to." 1UP: "...being a PSP game, you should expect some ridiculous load times, which thankfully can be shortened by simply turning off those entrances that you've already seen a million times over." Yahoo! Games: "The load times may annoy you, but they're pretty much on par with the rest of the PSP library." To preempt any console flaming, I'll say that I have a PSP, and of all the games I have--which admittedly isn't many (alright, alright, just one jab)--I have never seen a load screen like this; not on the PSP or any console! One would think load screens this long would immediately disqualify a game from being reviewed, not to mention being enjoyed! Any masochists manage to find enjoyment in this mess? For shame THQ... for shame.[Thanks, Joe]UPDATE: Updated the video link after the earlier one stopped working.
New WWE game announced
Must... Try... To Control... Excitement... Oh, wait, that was easy. Continuing the trend of putting out one average wrestling game after another, the "wrestling" (from some of their shows, you have to wonder...) behemoth that is WWE have announced yet another PS2 video game. Imaginatively titled Smackdown vs Raw 2006, the game will include, for the first time, stamina, adding more strategy and realism to the matches. No word on whether poor booking, ridiculously ill conceived plots, and wrestlers with talent being fired while untalented idiots keep their jobs will be part of the season mode. That would truly bring WWE videogame realism to a new level.
No WWE at E3
For those quivering in anticipation of the new WWE Smackdown vs Raw title being revealed at E3, we're afraid you're going to have to keep quivering. Try not to hurt yourself. The logic at THQ, if you can call it that, is that, apparently, revealing the game AFTER E3 has a bigger impact. Really not sure how that works, since everyone knows E3, everyone knows the really big players make big announcements at E3, and everyone expects the big names to be revealed at E3. The move paints THQ as bush league, but the title will still sell, even if they do no promotion whatsoever, so let's let them have their little fantasy, shall we.
WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw: a great letdown
Since the turn of the century, THQ's SmackDown! franchise has been churning out titles year after year, courtesy of Yuke's development team. Alright, so five years & six games isn't record breaking, but THQ has been in the wrestling business for a long time now and perhaps reached the pinnacle (at least in this generation) with last year's Here Comes the Pain. That's not to say this year's installment is along the lines of Just Bring It, but it is a bit of a letdown. The two most talked about features, online play & WWE voice acting, are really disappointing. The online component is a shockingly bare bones affair that seems like it belongs in the first generation of broadband console games. As for the voice acting, it ranges from pitiful to believable, but generally remains just tolerable. A few additions have been added to the gameplay, including minigames that mimic stare downs, shoving matches, chop battles, & spanking contests (sorry, ladies only). The character models remain top-notch, and the arena options/match types are overwhelming, but Yuke's still fell short of true innovation. If you're a fan of the series, you'll likely enjoy SmackDown! vs. Raw the same way a Madden-head enjoys each annual installment. It's a great wrestling game, just don't expect it to redefine the genre.
WWE sues THQ
The WWE has filed a lawsuit against THQ and others, alleging that these companies used bribes to obtain the WWE videogame license. The WWE wishes to void this license and seek damages. THQ released a statement yesterday, claiming, "[It] is not directly accused of any wrongdoing in the complaint." Indeed, Jakks Pacific, THQ's partner, is carrying the brunt of the allegations, believed to have offered more than $100,000 to WWE senior vp of licensing & merchandising James Bell and WWE licensing agent Stanley Shenker for the videogame license back in 1998. At any rate, the lawsuit will not effect any current WWE games, namely WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW & Wrestlemania XXI.
