WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 Event

Last weekend, I embarked on a trip to Los Angeles to take a sneak peak at the upcoming WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011. It was my first time playing a wrestling game in some recent time. It was back in the day, on the Nintendo 64 when I used to spend some serious time with the WCW wrestling games, (WCW vs nWo Revenge comes to mind).

With some time before the game releases, THQ invited community members to take an early glimpse at the game, and bundled it with an enjoyable community event that sent us to multiple live WWE events including SummerSlam and Monday Night RAW. Not a bad way to start the community experience THQ. It was a pretty enlightening event, where we got to see the thoughts and ideas that the developers and designers had for the latest iteration of the Smackdown series, and the direction that where the game is headed.

Fans of the previous games are going to notice some immediate changes when they first play 2011. Among the immediate changes is a more authentic cage experience for Hell in a Cell matches. The cage has now been enlarged for more room to move around the ring, and with the door completely removed, as the developers explained, to make the matches more exciting, which is ruined when a player simply walks outside an open door.  The only way out of the cage is to use a special move that breaks it open, and captures the WWE feel.

In fact, it was pretty scary how accurate the game captured the true WWE event feel, which is evident in the trailer embedded at the top of the post. While attending the WWE SummerSlam event, I noted how everything looked, the pyros, the smoke, and the ring design. When we turned on the game the next day, it was nearly identical. When the wrestlers made the entrance, walked into the ring, it was as if I was actually at the event. One can only hope that the other PPV events are captured as well as SummerSlam was.

As for the biggest concerns, the online multiplayer is said to be fixed, since some players complained of lag in the past. Those worries were answered, and SvR 2011 will be bringing a much improved experience. Plus, no more confusing DLC issues, which was also said to be a problem in the past. You’ll be able to get some extra wrestlers via presale bonuses (like Bret Hart), and will be able to download other new wrestlers via DLC.

We’ll have some more screens and Smackdown vs Raw 2011 stuff up soon. Meanwhile, check out a sample of the gameplay trailer below: