One of the most interesting aspects of THQ’s WWE game’s is their presentation and their storylines. Some have ultimate wrestling nerd nostalgia like when Edge and Christian reunited in SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 before they did on real WWE programming.

Others are completely out of the realm of reality (We all remember the video of Kurt Angle being magically transformed into a woman by Candice Michelle from a few years ago). With the completely over the top style of WWE All Stars, there is certainly some intrigue in to the presentation of its story modes.

Each of the three modes will consist of a 10 match tournament for the player, much in the style of fighting games like Mortal Kombat or Marvel vs. Capcom 3 where players will eventually reach their championship match against either the Undertaker (Legends path), Randy Orton (WWE Superstars path) or D-Generation X (Tag Team path). Here is what we know so far about these three different paths in WWE All Stars:

Path of Champions, WWE Legends – Undertaker

The World Heavyweight Championship is on the line at SummerSlam. Can you defeat 10 of WWE’s battle-hardened WWE Legends and defeat Undertaker? Paul Bearer welcomes you to his funeral parlor, as Undertaker emerges from a standing casket. He has a message for the player – “Rest in Peace!” There are plenty of surprises and more cutscenes along the way as you move your way up to face “The Phenom!”

Continue Reading →

In just over a week, THQ releases its newest WWE game, WWE All Stars. Departing from the realistic, television style of the SmackDown vs. Raw series, WWE All Stars chooses a more over the top style in both its animations and graphics. The beefed up Superstars and Legends more closely resemble Zangief from Street Fighter IV than their real life counterparts. But that certainly isn’t a bad thing.

WWE All Stars gives a good change of pace to the WWE video game brand without getting in the way of their top selling annualized franchise. Included in WWE All Stars will be a host of WWE Legends and current Superstars including friends of the Flickcast Kane and John Morrison.

Two somewhat surprising additions to the roster are Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Hogan, despite being known as a WWE icon is currently on the payroll of TNA wrestling, WWE’s closest competition. Randy Savage only recently just came back in to the WWE fold after a long absence where not even his name was mentioned on WWE programming for years since his departure from the company in the 1990s.

Continue Reading →

XBox 360 – THQ – $59.99
Score: 7.5

THQ brings back its yearly moneymaker WWE SmackDown vs. Raw with a revised visual look to the game and brand new Create-A-Story mode. Since its inception on the Playstation in 2000, SmackDown has been an annual franchise that has continuously worked to improve itself with updated graphics, gameplay, new match types and, most importantly, user customization.

Taking pages from some real life WWE programming in its story mode while keeping as up to date a roster as possible with each iteration, there is an instant appeal for sports entertainment fans to pick up this game and play out the role of their favorite superstar or their own custom creation.

Gameplay:

The gameplay of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 is very similar to the previous years. Players move their wrestler with the left analog stick, use the right stick to lock up in to a grapple and use various combinations to perform specific moves. This isn’t like a standard fighting game where complicated button presses are needed to pull off “special” moves like the complete circle on the DPad needed for Zangief’s piledriver in Street Fighter.

Continue Reading →