WWE Day of Reckoning
Release Information
US: September 20
Europe: September 20
Austraila: September 20
Introduction
THQ will be finally giving gamers the opportunity to work their way to the top, when they release ‘WWE Day Of Reckoning (DOR)” this September. You stand alone at the bottom of the WWE ladder and are forced to battle it out until you hold the championship belt firmly in your hands. THQ have developed an innovative wrestling mode in single player that allows you to being your professional wrestling career as a no-namer, ready to take on the big guns. This mode has been nicknamed ‘The School Of Hard Knock’s because it’s basically taking wrestling gamers back to school. With your character you will rise and rise until you eventually become apart of the drama and action that is WWE.
This new mode isn’t the only thing DOR has to offer. It comes with all your standard types of matches like Hell In A Cell, Tables, Ladders, Chairs, Cage and more. Gamecube fans can breath a sigh of relief as THQ promises the famous ‘Bra & Panties’ match will also be a flashy new part of DOR’s options. In this mode players will battle to tear the clothes from beautiful females until one of them is left wearing only their bra and panties. Apparently this will be done with a button-smashing submission style system.
Preview
Many new gameplay aspects are being introduced in DOR. Some of these aspects come from games like ‘Here Comes The Pain’ for PS2. The first one is the ‘Momentum Meter’, which will reflect the flow of the match. If your wrestler is on a roll after executing 5 power grapple moves, you will have high momentum which will allow you to easily take control by attempting a pin or a special move. However, THQ have hinted at an exciting new move that when executed may have the ability to immediately switch the player’s momentum. This means that even if you annihilate your opponent for 1 hour, he still has a chance at turning the tables on you when you least expect it, just like on TV. The Momentum meter will be in the form of a heart monitor that appears in the corner of the screen.
DOR includes the brilliant location-specific damage system that comes standard these days. This system simply outlines that if you execute the same grapple move, like an armbreaker, 5 times in a row, then your opponents arm will appear red. Once an area is red, it becomes very weak and a submission move placed at the correct time could end the match very easily. This is only one example of how this system functions. If your wrestler has 2 injured legs, you might find his/her mobility to be limited.
Special moves return once again in the same fashion as they did in WMXIX. When your momentum meter peaks, you can go into ‘special mode’ by pressing A and B, and then activate the wrestler’s special finishing move by pressing A and B again. Special moves have been tweaked to show maximum pain. Once a special move has been executed the camera will change to show the move from all angles and the opponent’s reaction will most certainly be different. For example, when HHH gives Benoit a Pedigree, you can actually feel the pain as you watch Benoit’s facials on the ground whilst he rolls around in agony.
The roster will come with 40 superstars, which doesn’t include the superstars you create yourself. There will also be a great variety of unlockable legends. These legends will apparently be wrestlers that haven’t appeared in a WWE game ever before, giving DOR a little edge on the competition. Most of these bad boys will be a surprise, however THQ are planning on releasing some names closer to the release date, so stay tuned.
An exciting submission-system that makes players button-mash till your fingers break, will be a pivotal part of DOR’s gameplay. Once a dangerous submission move has been executed, like the Crippler Crossface, a submission meter will appear that forces gamers to button-mash each other in a battle of wills. The meter stays active for longer, depending on how good your wrestler is at submission moves.
Weapon damage has always been questionable in all wrestling games. In most games you can smash someone in the face with a chair countless times and it almost has no effect. This will all change when DOR releases a new weapon-damage system that creates an atmosphere a little closer to reality. This time around, when you clock your opponent with a weapon, it will cause huge amounts of damage, not to mention split the person’s face apart. There will be nothing more satisfying then hearing that earth shattering smash and watching your opponent bleed all over the canvas. THQ have also mentioned that the weapons might even break after a certain amount of use.
The move sets have been improved and will include a list of moves more extensive then any other wrestling game on the market. DOR also continues the popular grappling system of allowing weak grapples by tapping and strong grapples by holding down the button. Weak grapples will be harder to reverse, but won’t do much damage. Strong grapples will be easy to reverse, but will do huge amounts of damage.
THQ have improved the graphics dramatically. Especially with regards to the entrances and the wrestlers themselves. The entrances are fully customisable, just like in XIX, but the pre-set entrances for superstars have been tweaked to look exactly like it does on TV. I watched the HHH entrance and even in the development stage, the graphics made my jaw drop. The wrestlers have all new facial expressions that are unique to each wrestler. They also look a lot more realistic by having that shiny sweat-glow they always seem to have. The loud and proud crowd is now 3D, which really impressed me. There will also be plenty of backstage areas available, including a gymnasium.
The most important area of gameplay to understand is the attribute-system. THQ are aiming to make each wrestler feel different by having a different attribute set for each wrestler. You will need to change the way you play the game, depending on who you choose. This means, if you pick Chris Benoit, you should try and use submissive moves whenever possible. When you create your own character, you will need to build up your attributes by wrestling no-name jobbers.
Anticipation
I have always believed that Nintendo release the best wrestling games on the market. Forget the Smackdown series and think back to the glory days of smash hits like ‘WWF No Mercy’. I honestly believe that DOR will spark up that lost glory; giving Nintendo back it’s rightful title as the king of wrestling games.
DOR takes all the best gaming elements from previous games like XIX and even uses elements from Playstation games like ‘Here Comes The Pain’. Gamers are promised the best of both worlds, in an attempt to bring you the best and most realistic game possible. From what I have seen, THQ have succeeded in making a new, fun and challenging wrestling game that will keep gamers like me button mashing with friends for weeks on end.
Preview by: REC
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