A new(-ish) preview from our friends at IGN (http://xbox.ign.com).
To show our gratitude for letting the article be posted here I will link some parts of the article to IGN's Xbox site.
WWF Raw
A dozen hot new movies and more than two dozens fresh screens of wrestling bliss.
January 4, 2002
Wrestling games have slowly taken the world by storm. Creating as big a fan following as any hardcore fighter in the business, the tight-wearing toughmen of the WWF have invaded our video game collections just as powerfully as they have our Monday nights. Love them (No Mercy, Wrestlemania 2000) or hate them (Royal Rumble), THQ and its brand of wrestling know-how are here to stay.
That said, Xbox fans will be happy to learn that THQ's first attempt at Microsoft goodness will follow the more wrestling-faithful path of its Nintendo 64 brethren in the form of Raw. Heavy on the simulation and light in the arcade department, RAW is drawing some heavy attention from Wrestling fans that are always looking for the next level in both graphics, gameplay, and WWF style entertainment experience.
Features
+ TV-style presentation with in-game cutaways and "Double Feature" replays, dynamic lighting effects and fully scaled arenas.
+ Thousands of WWF signature moves and animation
+ Assault wrestlers on their way to the ring. A first in wrestling games.
+ Create-a-Wrestler
+ Multiple modes including six man Royal Rumble and King of the Ring tourney.
+ Authentic entrances with Titantron videos
+ Four player tag team, handicap and triple threat matches.
The Box Art is Cool
Developed by our boys at Anchor, Inc. (makers of the super-excellent Ultimate Fighting Championship for the Dreamcast), the game features an unbelievable amount of background depth, and some pretty innovative character detail. There'll be over 150 items to use on other characters, everything from chains and chairs to pieces of the actual staircase around the match. Opening intros straight from the show are being reproduced using in-game graphics, including Undertaker's motorcycle entrance, and more. You'll get all your favorite matches, plus in-depth character customization tools, and a full selection of modes to choose from.
Besides the normal campaign modes, you'll be able to pick from matches like Triple Threat, Single Tournament, Fatal 4-Way, not to mention the welcome return of the Challenge mode, which was originally not going to make it in the game. You'll be able to compete for the full set of titles, including stuff like Euro, Hardcore, and Women's. The create-a-wrestler features are immense, and will fill your evenings when you're not trying to win the Women's belt with Molly Holly. You can tweak the size, shape and thickness of every body part, segmented into joints. Hair isn't just a texture, so you can change the width, color and general dimensions like any other part of your wrestler. Weird costumes and masks abound, including more surreal additions like a hook-hand, or hand puppet -- and yes, there's a good selection of Mexican wrestling masks. Once you've finished your character design, you can pick your opening intro, selecting from a set of lighting and firework designs, with the option to combine them and make your own. Maybe it's a little overkill, but if you want to smash your friends, don't you want them to know their deaths are coming the second you walk into the arena? Because of the hard drive, you'll be able to store a myriad of your own wrestlers, and transport up to 16 of them using your memory card.
The actual list of wrestlers is being kept top secret, with a majority of the cast hidden in shadows, but stars to appear in the game will include The Rock, Chyna, Stone Cold, Jericho, Angle, Kane, Triple H, and the Undertaker. While obviously not all wrestlers have made the cut, you'll have a huge range of brawlers to choose from, each detailed with full opening entrances, signature moves, and special extras like sunglasses and clothing that you can actually hit off them, and even steal.
Speaking of cut, there's going to be a heavy flow of blood. With all manner of ways to destroy your opponent readily available, you can smash them in the ring, out of the ring, and even backstage. Even cooler is that the backstage areas will be randomly generated from a set of 10 different environments, ranging anywhere from boiler rooms and parking lots, to the entrance ramp and waiting room venues. And for those of you who are curious about what kind of specialty matches are in store for the final, the unfinalized list includes cage matches, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumbles. WWF fans... rejoice!
If the folks at Anchor can keep the same effort of excellence they gave to UFC, and the animation and character models can continue their juicy path of digital goodness, then Xbox gamers the world over are in for a real treat come this fall.
