E3 IGN LOOK AT WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009

E3 LOOK AT WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009 FROM IGN

HERE IS THE ARTICLE ON SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009

Well, last week I wrote my first WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 hands-on report, and I'm already sick of waiting to get my hands on the full game. Sigh. Thankfully, I didn't have to go too long before THQ gave me another hit of the good stuff. This afternoon I got a couple of matches under my belt -- including a fierce Inferno Match between Chris Jericho and John Cena -- but the main event was a falls count anywhere match between Randy Orton and the Undertaker. On the surface, the match looked and played a lot like last year's. True, Orton an 'taker looked more detailed and sharper overall, but the chairs that were around ringside still had the same satisfying steel-to-skull sound and the controls stick with the tried-and-true thumbstick format. However, as the match wore on, the little tweaks began to shine through.

One of the first things I noticed as I had Randy wail on the Undertaker is that the game's now differentiating between finishers and signatures. When my momentum meter was full and the Phenom was down, words popped up under Orton's HUD that said tap the button for his "Signature Move." Not "Finisher." That's new. I hit the button, and Orton stomped all over 'taker's body. Also interesting is the fact that Randy doesn't have an RKO from the standing position -- today I had to drop the Undertaker to the ground and do a stalking RKO. A big shakeup -- in my opinion at least -- is that in addition to the Tombstone Piledriver, the Undertaker now has the gogoplata as a ground finisher. Also new -- at least for him -- was when I had had Orton pull off a chair grapple. With a full momentum meter, Randy poked 'taker in the belly, dropped the chair to the mat, and DDTed the dead man on the chair. Aside from that, we brawled about the Raw arena like you'd expect. I had Randy, who was rocking black tape around his wrists, remove the turnbuckle cover, but it turns out you can now stop this process if you're in the Undertaker's shoes -- you don't have to just sit there and watch your opponent work. Eventually we fought our way to the steel stage beneath the TitanTron, and Undertaker -- who was controlled by a developer -- Tombstone pliedrove the legend killer right there on the grating. I was pwned, but it was a fitting end to the match.

Legend killed.

With my E3 THQ appointment in the books, I'm left to stare at the SVR 09 screens and videos below while dreaming about Road to WrestleMania, online matches, and Tommy Dreamer. I'll have updates from the SmackDown front whenever they become available, folks. Oh, and if you're wondering, the Walls of Jericho looked great.