Smackdown vs Raw 2011

[The Buscher]

There are a LOT of unlockables this year. A staggering 18 male characters are locked at the start:

-All 7 legends that come with the game

-Druid

-Vince

-Team Future Endeavor (Shelton and Knox)

-Finlay

-Most of the WWECW alum (Ryder, Yoshi, Regal, Jackson, Kozlov, Goldust)

Plus some divas are locked too although I'm not sure which.

I think I will work to actually earn them until good CAWs start coming up on Community Creations so I can get the whole WWE roster in tow and begin my sim fed.

[Slogger]

I'm fairly certain you're correct. 2007 had GM mode.

It does, I've still got it here somewhere - Got the achievement for finishing a year but not winning GM of the Year.

[theburninator77]

My friend and I played the heck out of gm mode in 2007. Tons of fun, but we spent a lot of our time making guys like The Boogeyman and Chavo Guerrero our world champs

[KevinStorm]

My friend and I played the heck out of gm mode in 2007. Tons of fun, but we spent a lot of our time making guys like The Boogeyman and Chavo Guerrero our world champs

GM Mode was very fun for two player games. When it first came out, a friend and I played it for hours, talking massive amounts of shit to each other, and at one point having a "McMahon-off" where we strutted around my room yelling "I'm Vince McMahon damnit!"

Ah, memories.

[The Sandman]

I pre-ordered this for Xbox, first Smackdown i've bought since 08 to Ps2. I haven't been so excited about one since HCTP i think and this looks to be best since that with all the modes: CAF, match editor, Road to Wrestlemania which has been in the last few games, but i believe it's first time with free roam, Universe mode seems to be the one i'm spending most of my time and story editor too. It's released on Friday back here, so i'll still have to wait for almost a week. :/

[DJ Ice]

There are a LOT of unlockables this year. A staggering 18 male characters are locked at the start:

-All 7 legends that come with the game

-Druid

-Vince

-Team Future Endeavor (Shelton and Knox)

-Finlay

-Most of the WWECW alum (Ryder, Yoshi, Regal, Jackson, Kozlov, Goldust)

Plus some divas are locked too although I'm not sure which.

I think I will work to actually earn them until good CAWs start coming up on Community Creations so I can get the whole WWE roster in tow and begin my sim fed.

if there's not cheats I will be seriously annoyed

[Rocky]

Did they have cheats in '10? I can't even remember. And if they did, it was probably only to unlock non-Wrestler stuff like movesets etc.

[DJ Ice]

Did they have cheats in '10? I can't even remember. And if they did, it was probably only to unlock non-Wrestler stuff like movesets etc.

They did in 09. That's all I remember

[zero]

You can also buy Fan Axxess, unlock everything and get all future DLC for free.

[VerbalPuke]

Did they have cheats in '10? I can't even remember. And if they did, it was probably only to unlock non-Wrestler stuff like movesets etc.

They did, only six, but I think they were to unlock the Rock, DX attire for HHH and HBK, something for Cena, something for Orton, and I think something for Santino Marella.

[The Buscher]

So somebody on another board I post at got this and has been giving updates. I'm still excited for a variety of reasons, but I'm unfortunately not really looking forward to WWE Universe anymore.

You can edit matches and whatnot, but the stipulations will not carry. Let's say you have John Cena vs. CM Punk as the #1 Contenders Match for the WWE Title. You don't want Cena in there, so you plug in John Morrison to hotshot him into a big push. The match then becomes just a standard match with no stipulation. Ditto for PPVs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus is set for the WWE Title. Fuck that, I want Ezekiel Jackson to challenge instead. Nope. The Title stipulation disappears and you can't get it back.

This is also true for the Royal Rumble and MITB. If you edit any of the 30 (or 6) participants the game generates, the match still happens but the stipulations don't carry over. So if you, for instance, want to get the MITB achievement for winning it with a CAW, simply inserting him in the match won't count. You have to hope the game books you there. The guy simmed all the way to WM in Year 11 before the game put a CAW in the match so he could try to get the achievement. Ridiculous restrictions.

So...yeah. I'll still play around with the mode for fun and to get the achievements/treat it as a career mode. But these unneccesary restrictions have ensured that my sim fed will be played strictly through exhibition with WWE Universe turned off. And even then I'll have to go the old school route and pretend that titles are on the line since the stupid game doesn't give you title matches without WWE Universe anymore.

[The Buscher]

More and more I feel like they purposely restrict new modes like this simply so they have something they can change for SVR12.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

That sounds fucking bollocks, if true. Might actually have to cancel my pre-order, since a functioning Universe mode was the biggest selling point for me.

EDIT - Surely the title thing is just a ranking issue? Like you can only be the top challenger to earn a title shot, ala Smackdown 2?

Example. Say Orton is champion, and Cena is number 1 contender, and the game books Orton vs. Cena for the belt. You want John Morrison to have a title shot instead. Surely, it's just a case of either getting Morrison to beat Cena to become ahead of him in the rankings (or however it'd be done) so Morrison is the number one contender OR have Morrison become directly after Cena in the rankings and book a Triple-Threat match?

[Maxx]

That's because it utilizes a ranking system. Much like regular WWE tv, they wouldn't just all of a sudden give Primo the world title without any build whatsoever, because that's completely ridiculous. You have to win matches and get your rank up. I bet if you do a month's worth of cards where Primo goes over every top star, he'll be in line for a title shot.

Now, if that somehow means that if you plug someone into the Rumble and then win and they don't get a title shot, that's horrible. Ditto for Money in the Bank.

[The Buscher]

No idea. I guess you'd have to actively play as Morrison to make sure he gets in the Number 1 Contender's Match. But it's lame that you are ultimately at the mercy of the game. I feel like I'll play around with it for the purposes of unlockables/achievements but once that's done with I might just go back to Exhibition and never look back.

At least the gameplay still looks hella fun.

[zero]

Yeah, the more I read about this game, the less I want it, or as I call it, "THQing."

Every. Fucking. Year.

[The Buscher]

Now, if that somehow means that if you plug someone into the Rumble and then win and they don't get a title shot, that's horrible. Ditto for Money in the Bank.

That's exactly what it means. I'm not sure if Rumble participants or MITB spots are also determined by ranking in some way, but changing the participants of those matches loses the stipulation entirely.

[Baddar]

This sounds strange - almost as if it's a bug.

[Maxx]

I don't know why you guys are getting disappointed, they've been talking about the ranking system in every article I've seen about Universe Mode. The goal of Universe Mode is to simulate the kind of stuff that happens on WWE TV. Jobbers aren't just hot shotted to the title overnight, they're built up to be credible contenders. So spend your time building up who you want to see contend for a title, run the WWE Universe like you would an EWR game. Along the way it's going to develop rivalries and story lines for you, still sounds like fun, it just means you have to be slightly more realistic if you want to turn a jobber into WWE champion.

I bet the restrictions will be patched out due to complaints though.

The Money in the Bank issue will be way more annoying than the Rumble. With the Rumble I assume if you get your CAW or whoever you want to win, into the top 30 on the rankings, you should get a spot in the match. No idea what the qualifications to get into Money in the Bank are, but I bet you can figure them out after the first year and have your guy positioned for it the next year.

It's a more realistic approach.

[Guest JukeboxHero]

I'm not too fussed about it, really. Sounds like these restrictions actually kinda make sense.