HERE IS IGN'S ARTICLE FIRST LOOK OF SMACKDOWN 2009

Many would think after yesterday's WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 announcement and QA blowout there couldn't possibly be any more to say about THQ's tenth entry in the storied series.

They'd be wrong.

Cory Ledesma, THQ senior creative manager, took the stage just after noon at the Swan Hotel in Orlando and laid out the "teaser" for SVR 09 that IGN fans are already busy memorizing -- the company's commitment to improving load times, rebuilding the AI, and so on -- but he also dropped a few unannounced tidbits and gave us our first chance to see the game in action via some prepackaged clips.

First up was how the new tag team features are going to work. If you haven't made your way through all of our coverage, SVR '09 is revamping of how the series handles tag team matches. In a video feature starring Jeff and Matt Hardy against Ken Kennedy and Randy Orton, Ledesma walked us through some of the nifty double team moves the Superstars now have access to. With the opponent on the ground, Matt lifted Jeff, Jeff kicked out his legs, and when Jeff got to the highest point, Matt released his brother for a devastating leg drop. The brothers Hardy pulled off a double-sided Russian leg sweep, and Jeff tripped an opponent before Matt dropped his trusty old fist on the bad guy's head. Although it was quick, we also got to see our first tag team finisher. Matt hit the Twist of Fate, and as soon as the move was over, Jeff was soaring through the air for the Swanton Bomb.

Then, Ken held Jeff against the ropes while Randy talked some trash and slapped the hell out of the Hardy.

The visual delights of the tag team world didn't stop there; throughout the video, the opponent on the outside was able to walk the apron at will so that he could get into position, pump up the crowd or pull of a bind tag. Now, when the ref's getting distracted or you're pulling off a neat double-team move, the camera pulls into the cinematic perspective you're used to seeing for finishers and other animations. There's even a new camera outside the ring that shoots the action from right around the steel steps so you don't lose the action because of the apron getting in your way.

Next on big screen was how Hot Tag works. If you're not familiar with the phrase, you're for sure familiar with the action -- it's when a guy's getting his head kicked in, crawls to his corner, slowly reaches out his hand, makes the tag and the fresh partner comes in and steamrolls everyone. Ledesma said this Hot Tag will be available for the team throughout the entire match, and his video showcased the Hardys pulling it off. Matt stormed into the ring and took out Kennedy, laid out Orton on the sideline and then hit the Twist of Fate on Ken. Of course, the video also showed a scenario when Matt stormed into the ring and Orton reversed the Hot Tag attack when the Hardy boy came to the apron. Apparently, the move isn't foolproof.

The other big part of the presentation focused on Create-A-Finisher. Although Ledesma prefaced the video by saying the option was a work in progress, it still looks pretty damn impressive. As of now, the feature looks similar to the creation features you know and love -- on the left side of the screen, the green guy does whatever moves you're selecting from the right side of the screen. Along the top of the builder is a set of numbers from one to ten that let you know what step you're at in creating your masterpiece. There's also a fraction tracking how much of your 100 percent of move memory you've used.

Down on bended knee.

Each of the moves on the left-side laundry list -- grapples, piledriver positions, etc. -- has a speed attached to it that players can modify at will to make it more dramatic or snappier. In the THQ video, creation focused on creating an F-U Brainbuster and a cradle piledriver for John Cena. The piledriver, a seven-step move, started with the green guy putting the red guy into position, green guy kissing his biceps, green guy lifting the red guy up and rotating just and bit, the green guy cradling the red guy, and then the inevitable drop on the head. Once the moves were completed, they were given to Cena and demonstrated against Orton.

That might not be the most interesting thing to read, but it sure looked good. Although there were cuts in the video so load times and such were impossible to get a read on, the step-by-step addition of moves and adjustments of speed all blended together seamlessly to make the mode seem like it'll be really easy to get into and in-depth with. Your created moves will work in any mode with every Superstar -- created or legit.

When the videos were over, the new news wasn't. Ledesma let us know that there will be an additional 300 motion-captured animations in SVR '09, that Road to WrestleMania will focus on the three months leading up to the big event, that the new tag features work in all tag matches (six-man tag matches were mentioned), and that he's not too worried about that "other" wrestling game coming to the market.

"We're looking into it," he said. "We're not really worried about it"

Ledesma then proceeded to show a photo of a THQ coffee mug sitting on The History of TNA: Year One DVD.

Ouch.