Smackdown vs Raw 2011

[TCO]

All these little nuances and needless restrictions just reinforce how jaded I am with these games. On top of all these nasty little revelations that has become a THQ trademark at this stage, I've never been able to strike a balance with the gameplay, it's always either reversal fest by the CPU and run-spamming or else no response by the CPU, with me wailing on them in 2 minute matches.

Rental or a used copy for me this year I think.

[Meacon Keaton]

If anything I PREFER the ranking system. It means if we simulate a couple months we won't have Vance Archer somehow becoming WWE Champion. We'd at least be able to see him moving up the rankings before we could let such a travesty happen. I like the idea. Make your CAW and whoever else move up to the IC/US level before the WWE/World. It's realistic.

[Rocky]

I actually like these restrictions in writing... Come to playing it, I'll probably start being annoyed

I'm going to agree with Maxx...

It's a more realistic approach

[Maxx]

Hey, I want my Steve Perry CAW to be World Champion, I do. But I'm not opposed to making him earn it. There's no restrictions on how many points you can give to CAWs anymore, so it's not exactly going to be hard to get one up the rankings.

[NM!]

It's our game though. If we want Archer as WWE champ, there should be no reason as to why we can't have him as champ. At the very least, there should be a switch to turn ranking off.

[The Buscher]

Don't get me wrong. I'm still intrigued by the mode overall since it sounds unique. Just a shame I won't be able to use it for my sim fed.

[Meacon Keaton]

It's our game though. If we want Archer as WWE champ, there should be no reason as to why we can't have him as champ. At the very least, there should be a switch to turn ranking off.

Well, then, shame on you for getting your hopes up on a Smackdown vs. Raw game?

[zero]

It's our game though. If we want Archer as WWE champ, there should be no reason as to why we can't have him as champ. At the very least, there should be a switch to turn ranking off.

Exactly. It's MY game, I paid $60 for it. If I want Santino and Primo to immediately be the WWE and World Heavyweight Champions while Randy Orton and Triple H feud over the Hardcore Title, I should be able to do that. It probably won't be a HUGE deal to me since I like to play as realistically as possible, but it's more needless, stupid restrictions in a franchise that has always been plagued by needless, stupid restrictions.

[Maxx]

So you all got excited about WWE Universe Mode, a mode THQ said was designed to realistically simulate what happens on WWE TV. But you want that mode to exist in a way that allows you to do things that aren't realistic whatsoever.

So you want a realistic down-to-earth show that's completely off the wall and swarming with magic robots?

[Meacon Keaton]

It's our game though. If we want Archer as WWE champ, there should be no reason as to why we can't have him as champ. At the very least, there should be a switch to turn ranking off.

Exactly. It's MY game, I paid $60 for it. If I want Santino and Primo to immediately be the WWE and World Heavyweight Champions while Randy Orton and Triple H feud over the Hardcore Title, I should be able to do that. It probably won't be a HUGE deal to me since I like to play as realistically as possible, but it's more needless, stupid restrictions in a franchise that has always been plagued by needless, stupid restrictions.

Right, but it works the other way around, too. Earlier in this thread people were complaining about dumb matches like Cena vs. Maryse for the WWE Championship randomly showing up. The ranking system would prevent such stupid events taking place.

[Baddar]

The ranking system isn't a problem - and should be there whilst simming. But there's no reason for the game saying a big "fuck you" when you're at the time of year you want to play from on the calendar and won't let you edit in whoever you choose for a title match. It just blows.

[Sousa]

So you all got excited about WWE Universe Mode, a mode THQ said was designed to realistically simulate what happens on WWE TV. But you want that mode to exist in a way that allows you to do things that aren't realistic whatsoever.

So you want a realistic down-to-earth show that's completely off the wall and swarming with magic robots?

[zero]

So you all got excited about WWE Universe Mode, a mode THQ said was designed to realistically simulate what happens on WWE TV. But you want that mode to exist in a way that allows you to do things that aren't realistic whatsoever.

So you want a realistic down-to-earth show that's completely off the wall and swarming with magic robots?

Yes, because it's virtually impossible in the world of pro wrestling to have someone score a big surprise win and get the WWE Title out of nowhere. That would never happen in WWE, especially not now. A guy who was in ECW and jobbing to Goldust couldn't possibly move over to Raw and beat John Cena for the WWE Title no more than a month later. That would NEVER happen. It's wrestling, there's only so much you can do to get really "out there" and "unrealistic." For fuck's sake, there's a guy main eventing a PPV tonight who nobody had even heard of this time last year, and is now in the middle of the hottest angle WWE's done in years with more guys that no one had ever heard of.

The ranking system is fine, I'm glad it's in place to prevent the AI from coming up with absurd matches, but don't limit what I can do with my game. There is absolutely no reason that you shouldn't be able to put anyone you want in a MITB match. Jack Swagger was jobbing to Santino in January and did virtually nothing for the next two months, but wound up winning MITB... judging from what I've read, you won't be able to do that in WWE Universe mode. There is absolutely no reason why titles should only be defended on PPV. There is absolutely no reason why only someone ranked as the #1 contender should be allowed to get a title shot. This isn't TNA. WWE doesn't have a ranking system, so how is that anymore realistic than choosing my own #1 contender?

[Sousa]

This isn't TNA. WWE doesn't have a ranking system, so how is that anymore realistic than choosing my own #1 contender?

WWE does have a ranking system.

It's called the Power 25.

And right now, ranked above World Heavyweight Championship "top contender" The Undertaker are Rey Mysterio, Alberto Del Rio, Edge, Big Show, and--yes--Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes.

Even WWE doesn't follow this stupid system.

[Meacon Keaton]

If they get enough complaints, you'd think they'd patch the ability to edit the rankings.

But again, this is why I never got my hopes up with this game. Everyone should be used to the whole THQ-making-things-sound-better-than-they-are pitch. It happens every single year. They show off a few new things, everyone drools, it never lives up.

[Maxx]

Ugh, do the extra work to make what you want to happen, happen. You're making mountains out of molehills here, especially since none of these shocking revelations are anything new. Yes, not being able to put whoever you want in Money in the Bank and have it counts sucks. It also sucks that you can only have one MITB a year that actually counts, but that's how WWE was doing it when the game was being developed. Last year? Winning MITB meant absolutely nothing and had no impact on the rest of the game. Now it does. Go through it and pick the most absurd guy the game puts in there for you, affect the story lines the game makes for you. If Mike Knox makes it in the Rumble, go make him win it.

It's a symbiotic relationship. The game adapts to what you give it and you adapt to what the game gives you. It's a good idea and I think people aren't going to have as big of problems with it as they think. From was Kbusch said, it sounded like whoever was playing it was just simming to see how long it takes a CAW to get into title contention. You don't have to do that, I bet you can get someone topped ranked within a month.

I'm sure next year we'll have a WWE Universe mode without restrictions, but it was probably built this way for a reason. I'm sure it generates storylines off of rankings and adding the changes you guys want, it would probably have to generate storylines off of champions. It's the first year of a new feature, how about we all play it before we decide it needs to be completely retooled.

[zero]

I can almost guarantee there won't be a patch. Unless there's something that renders the game unplayable, THQ won't bother and will just file it in the "next year" category like they always do.

It doesn't sound broken or like it will ruin the entire game, it's just one of the many things from this series that leaves me scratching my head. Stuff like PPV title defenses and not being able to change out matches had to have been deliberate design choices and I can't see anyone would ever do something in a game like this that limits the player's imagination. Of course if you want to make Santino the World Champion, there's always Story Designer to work with, but the more I hear about this game, the more it sounds like I'll be making workarounds and concessions to play the game the way I want to play it.

As for "extra work," fuck that. It's Smackdown, not Final Fantasy, I don't want to have to grind so I can do something that should already be there. That's why they took out absurd shit like having to take every CAW you make through career mode so you can build up its stats.

[Maxx]

I don't know, I think this is getting kind of ridiculous. You realize we're getting a mode where the MITB winner can interrupt your title match at any time, completely out of the blue. Where Vince can come out after a match and make you face Jake Roberts. Where you can develop a heated rivalry between your Steve Perry CAW and your Filipino Replacement Steve Perry CAW.

Even with the restrictions I think it sounds like a really cool mode, and one you're going to like Zero, especially if you play realistically. You're always going to find flaws in games if you look for them, but people are really freaking out over little things that aren't even new revelations at this point. THQ hasn't been blindly making Fable like promises, everything I've read about Universe Mode has mentioned rankings and the restrictions it brings.

[KevinStorm]

It's our game though. If we want Archer as WWE champ, there should be no reason as to why we can't have him as champ. At the very least, there should be a switch to turn ranking off.

Exactly. It's MY game, I paid $60 for it. If I want Santino and Primo to immediately be the WWE and World Heavyweight Champions while Randy Orton and Triple H feud over the Hardcore Title, I should be able to do that. It probably won't be a HUGE deal to me since I like to play as realistically as possible, but it's more needless, stupid restrictions in a franchise that has always been plagued by needless, stupid restrictions.

Do we actually own the game, or is THQ going the same route as other companies where you don't own shit and just pay $60 for a "license" to play their game?

Seriously, though, this is retarded for every reason Zero has mentioned. I can just imagine THQ designers sitting around going, "I've got it! We put in this WWE Universe mode, but we don't let the player have title matches except on PPVs, and we make the game take stipulations out of a match if the player changes the participants. Then, we fix both of those in 2012, so everyone that bought 2011 and wanted those fixes will buy the new one too!"

[zero]

I think you're right, I think I will like the game and WWE Universe. However, when I first heard about it, I thought it was going to pretty much make this the best wrestling game ever made in America, now I'm just thinking it'll be the best Smackdown. Which is fine, I'm glad they're improving the series, I was just really convinced that this was going to be THE game, but it looks like another building block on the strong foundation they had last year. My own fault for getting suckered into the hype machine, but it seemed like such an ingenious idea that it would be hard to screw up, but they have... in some respects. Won't know for sure until Tuesday, but as I've been saying for years, my biggest gripe with this series has always been the restrictions.