WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 Hands-On

WWE's two brands, SmackDown! and Raw, have been split for a couple of years now, and regardless of what you might think this has done for the television product, it's been a pretty good move for THQ's line of wrestling games. While the SmackDown! series has been going strong for years now, other WWE-themed games, such as the Raw franchise, didn't enjoy the same level of success during their brief runs. Because of this, the merging of the two wrestling brands into last year's debut, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw, made a lot of sense and resulted in a pretty good game of wrestling. Here we are, roughly a year later, and the next game in the series is set to debut on PS2 in a scant few weeks. We got our hands on a recent build of the game to check out what's new this year.

The Legend Killer simply has never looked better on the PS2.

We've written before about the new controls tweaks in SVR 2006, but until now, we hadn't had much of a chance to put these controls through their paces. First and foremost is the new stamina system, which looks to play a big part in your match strategy this year. Each wrestler has a different stamina rating that will determine how long he can last in the ring before getting winded. Smaller guys will typically enjoy a higher stamina rating than the big bruisers, but at the same time, they won't be able to deal as much damage when their blows land. Your character's stamina wears down as you perform moves in and out of the ring, and the more high-impact the move, the more stamina will drain from your grappler. Aerial moves, for example, take more of a toll than simple headlocks. Similarly, pulling off a long string of moves will drain your stamina quickly, as will running around the ring apron when outside of the ring.

If your stamina gets too low, your wrestler will be unresponsive and doubled over as he attempts to regain his breath. To regenerate your stamina, simply hold the Select button down--though you'll want to pick your spots carefully; catching your breath leaves you wide open to attack from your opponent. The stamina system is an interesting twist, but we found that as long as you're smart with your moves and consistently aware of your stamina level, you won't have much trouble keeping up the pressure on an opponent.

Strike and grapple reversals are still a big part of the SVR series this year, though they seem just a bit easier to pull off this time around. It's not uncommon to see multiple reversals happen in a row during times when grapplers are trading blows in the center of the ring. The grapple animations are varied and authentic-looking as well, such as when one grappler reverses an atomic-drop attempt into a back slam onto the canvas. The length of the reversal windows differ depending on the move being attempted, but it's nice to see that if you're on your toes, you have a good shot at reversing nearly any move thrown at you.

The main game features and modes in SVR 2006 include exhibition, season, pay per view, a number of create modes, your personal locker room, and, of course, online play. Exhibition matches are just that--an easy way to get straight to the action in the squared circle. There are lots of match types to choose from, including singles, tag, triple threat, fatal 4-way, handicap, and a number of main event-type matches such as ironman, TLC, steel cage, and special referee. New main event match types for this year are the backstage brawls (actually, backstage brawls aren't new to the series, but the barroom setting in SVR 2006 is), the buried alive match, and the fulfill your fantasy (which you can read about in detail in our previous preview). Then there's the title match, where you can play against any current WWE champion to try and take his or her belt, or go up against any current holder of a created belt in the game.

Strike and grapple reversals will once again play a huge part in this year's SmackDown! vs. Raw.

Another feature new for 2006 is the interactive locker room, your personal headquarters where you can check out your progress in the game, unlock new items in the WWE shop area, choose from different costumes for your created character, customize your character attributes, view a number of trophies and belts you can win in the game, and more.