THQ Superstar Challenge in Chicago tonight [update 1]
by Dan Choi 
{ Mar 30th 2006 at 6:28PM }
WrestleMania 22 may still be 3 days away, but that isn't stopping WWE Superstars from taking to the virtual squared circle tonight in Chicago.
The fourth annual THQ Superstar Challenge will begin in less than an hour at 6 PM at the House of Blues. It'll be SmackDown vs. RAW on SmackDown vs. RAW with reigning Challenge champ Shelton Benjamin defending his gamer title in a 16-player bracket-style tournament.
If it's too late to snag $20 tickets to the opening WrestleMania weekend event, perhaps you can hang around until tomorrow, when THQ will "announce the next addition to the WWE video game family." Would a next-gen announcement be too much to hope for before E3? And will the Undertaker continue his undefeated WrestleMania streak? Answers to your manly soap opera questions will be coming at ya this weekend.
[Update: It turns out that the new game's already been confirmed--WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007 will hit the PS2, PSP, PS3, and even (a non-Sony system for once on) the Xbox 360. 10 "next-gen" screens of the game to hit later this year are also available via the Update link. Thanks, Master X 24!]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Not Impressed (Dmitri) @ Mar 30th 2006 7:06PM
THQ and WWE will be making an official statement tomorrow confirming the next WWE videogame, WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007.
This will become the first wrestling game that will appear on the next-gen consoles Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game will also be available on the PlayStation 2 and PSP. Not only does this mark the first time in the franchise's history that a SmackDown! title will appear on two consoles at once, but the first time that the game will appear on a platform other than Sony.
Credit: IGN.com
Dan Choi @ Mar 30th 2006 7:18PM
Thanks for the word, NI(D), but I got the next-gen heads-up from Master X 24 just a bit earlier than I did from you. The comment's still much appreciated, however! =)
Not Impressed (Dmitri) @ Mar 30th 2006 7:42PM
Yea sorry. I didn't see the update until after I had posted. Still nice to have direct quotes though.
Master X 24 @ Mar 30th 2006 8:23PM
Im just happy the xbox 360 will get a good game cuz the ones on the xbox sucked but WW 21 did look good
The ZeroCorpse @ Mar 30th 2006 10:19PM
Hallelujah! FINALLY THQ has seen the light and realized that separate game franchises for different consoles was a waste of time! While PS2 had the Smackdown series, which consistantly nailed what a wrestling game should be, the Xbox suffered with the dispicable RAW series, and the GameCube suffered through Wrestlemania games.
The RAW series was TERRIBLE. It looked OK, but played like crap. Wrestlemania had rotten season modes, and iffy controls. Smackdown was the only playable wrestling game for years.
Now, with the most recent Smackdown Vs. RAW, THQ has all but perfected the wrestling genre. I still miss the season mode of Smackdown 2 (never-ending, allowed you to play any match, or skip any match, and set up matches randomly, but based on rankings and sort of based on feuds), but you can't deny the playability of the Smackdown Vs. RAW engine.
Now, on the 360 I humbly request the following features to Smackdown Vs. RAW 2007:
Customizable entrance music from the 360/PS3 hard drive!!!
More spoken names, in combinations, for the ring announcers (ala RAW 2 and Legends of Wrestling).
How about having the ring announcer say CAW/CAS weight and hometown, too?
Volume control so we can turn off in-game music (there's no music playing during a real wrestling match) but still hear entrance music ANY time it's meant to be playing (end of match, sudden entrance, etc.) (In fact, if it were up to me, I'd say kill the in-game soundtrack completely. Do they even have in-game music for other sports titles?)
Just because a wrestler won't do voice-overs, don't omit them from the season mode. Make a "generic" season mode that doesn't rely on cinemas or voice so that we can play through multiple, organized matches and work up the roster rankings as our favorite Superstar, no matter who they might be.
If you cheap-out on the name combinations for created wrestlers, at least make a name selection that can apply to ANYBODY so we don't have to have our wrestler walk to the ring being called something that doesn't fit at all.
How about some obscure legends and real old timers? We've had Andre in several games, but how about Harley Race or Gorilla Monsoon? How about Jesse the Body or Billy Graham? Give us the wrestlers, or the tools to make them! Look at Fire Pro, which managed to give us a roster of almost every major wrestler in the world without messing with licensing! Do the same with parts and names, and let us supply the music.
Example: So you can't license Kerry VonErich. So let us pick the first, middle, and last names. Give us the name choices of "Kerry", "Von", and "Eric" and let us arrange them in the order we choose. Let us assign music from the hard drive, and let us have modeling tools like the last Smackdown vs. RAW (or like in Oblivion, which is excellent for facial modelling!) and viola! you have the best wrestling game EVER.
As long as the gameplay is similar to the current SvR engine. If you try to change it to resemble the gameplay on RAW, or (goodness forbid!) No Mercy, then You Suck.
TxdoHawk @ Mar 31st 2006 4:17PM
Meh, I'd be more interested if they change up the gameplay engine a bit. Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 was definitely the best Yuke's engine game so far, but the Yuke's engine at its best still can't hold a candle to Fire Pro IMO. Unfortunately, nobody cares about any wrestling game that doesn't have the WWE license, which is unfortunate.
I'm hoping the TNA game will breathe some fresh life into the genre, but I'm not entirely confident Midway can pull it off. We'll see.
ps2-files.com @ Apr 1st 2006 11:47AM
I used to love wcw on the N64. That game rocked hard core. You cannot beat Hollywood Hogan baby!
Dean R. Peters @ Apr 7th 2006 9:38PM
I was a photographer, covering the THQ SuperStar Challenge. You can see my page of uncorrected proofs for this as well as the Wrestlemania 22 Press Conference at http://www.maddigitalscientist.com/wrestlemania/wmcsheet.html
I hope you like them. I certainly had fun taking them.
Eduard @ Nov 27th 2007 5:19AM
I wonder when tickets will be available online. Judging by this blog entry, http://www.lyricsroom.net/london-show-tickets.html
it will happen quite soon