WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2007 - hands-on
We go mano-a-mano with the Xbox 360 version of the next wrestling juggernaut
We've got no complaints about the interactive environments, though. There are around 25 to 30 interactive hotspots hidden around each arena, and whether we were ramming Cena into the turnbuckle or slamming him into the ringside stairs, finding new ways to pull off dirty tricks was a lot of fun. We also liked tossing Cena into the crowd and jumping in after him, at which point the audience members huddled around and offered us umbrellas, crutches and other blunt weapons as we fought.
Sadly, we weren't able to grab or harm the audience members in any way, but it still made for a cool change of scenery. We've also been assured that as the game nears completion, things like spilled drinks and flying popcorn will be added to the action.
Crowd-fighting and interactive arenas were thought up as next-gen innovations, but take heart: all that stuff will be in the PS2 and PSP versions of the game as well. It just won't look quite as good.
There's been a lot of speculation about the 2007 roster, but only four wrestlers were playable in the version we tried - Angle, Cena,TripleHand Rey Mysterio. Further details are just rumors at this point, but if nothing else, the real-life Rob Van Dam put in an appearance at THQ's booth, which would seem to indicate at least a fifth wrestler for the game.
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