15 Brand Spankin new WWE Raw 2 Pics!!!!!

[Blaze]

[Blaze]

Also, here's some info!!
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September 23, 2002 - Ever since The Rock and Bill Gates first got together a few years back, it's been understood that the Xbox would be getting the best pro wrestling experience THQ and developer Anchor could create. For this next installment in the Raw franchise, Anchor is implementing most of the features all of those loud-mouthed WWE fans have been begging for since WWF Raw debuted in February of 2002. With that boatload of improvements in tow, coverage of WWE Raw 2 should garner heaps of attention from those loud-mouth whiners, the hardcore wrestling fans and true wrestling gamers...in that order.

Features

Updated roster of at least 45 superstars including Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam and DDP

Match types include Fatal 4 Way, Triple Threat, Battle Royal, King of the Ring and TLC

Enhanced season mode will allow up to 4 gamers to challenge for the WWE title.

Customized soundtracks can be used during character entrances.

Multiple backstage areas

Enhanced create-a-wrestler mode

The most important new feature of any WWE game is the roster of talent assembled and the timeliness of that cast. Right now, Anchor and THQ are throwing around the number 45 as the minimum number of playable characters but our money says Raw 2 will top 50 total superstars. As far as who will make the cut and who won't, well we've got several months of storylines, injuries and behind the scenes politics to get through before we'll know much. But we all know the roster is only a big concern to those who wonder about the less visible "super" stars making the cut. We know Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Booker T and Jeff Hardy will be in there, but Rico, D Lo Brown and Steven Richards could be on the missing in action list. Although it's not a big deal now, having the NOW and Hollywood Hulk Hogan was big news back in the spring when Raw 2 was announced. Now that that particular storyline has pretty much come and gone, you can look for the Hulkster in the gold and red by the time Raw 2 actually ships. That is unless something else unforeseen happens.

We don't know if it was the biggest complaint about WWF Raw or not, but the slim selection of match types will be addressed in Raw 2. Back are the Fatal 4 Way, Triple Threat, Battle Royal, King of the Ring --hopefully they'll actually work correctly this time-- but they'll be joined by Table, Ladders and Chairs and, judging from early screens, the good old Hell in a Cell match. Functional TLC and HIAC matches will do a lot to close the ground between Raw 2 and WWF No Mercy on N64, which is still regarded by many as the best wrestling engine ever.

If the lack of match types wasn't the number one gripe about Raw, then the single player championship mode was. In Raw 2, Xbox owners can expect the ultimate open-ended WWE experience, just like the television programs. In Season mode you'll essentially set a season in motion and your actions determine bookings, relationships and outcomes throughout that season. And the four player season? All that means is three of your buddies can "drop-in" to the season you've set in motion and they'll have the same options and controls as you. But those actions, options and controls of yours are what will make Raw 2 a potentially revolutionary title.

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More in next post.......

[Blaze]

In Season mode an event will come up such as Smackdown (new arenas eh?) and you'll see the lineup of matches including yours. Your character will be able to choose from 10-15 actions to be performed during each of the matches that you're not in. Actions such as resting, encouraging a particular wrestler, manipulating and stealing items such as Stacy Kiebler's panties will all have direct and indirect consequences for your character. Keep messing with Triple H by interfering in his matches and breaking into his dressing room and not only will you make an enemy out of The Game but the crowd and other wrestlers in the WWE will start to regard you as either a heel or a babyface. This won't necessarily be a bad thing, just a fact of life. What's to say your antagonizing efforts against Triple H won't make you a friend to The Undertaker or The Rock? It might be wise to help them out whenever you get the chance that way you stay in their good graces until the next Pay Per View event. The point is, doing something during other superstars' matches will literally open up hundreds of branches of storylines during Season mode and you'll get cinemas --created in the game engine-- showing the consequence of your actions. You can kiss up to and piss off every superstar and everything between those two extremes and do it to each individual character in Raw 2. The beauty of it is, each action will mean something. The beauty of Xbox indeed.

Squeezing four human players into such a setup is going to be a tricky part of the equation. At the very least you and three of your buddies will be able to hop into the same season at the same time, in real time and mess with each other's matches the same way you'd mess with CPU controlled matches. Running into a match, manipulating CPU wrestlers against your buddies, all of that stuff should be in there. One element that hasn't been settled is the issue of presence. Is your season going to be held back if some or none of your buddies can't show up? We'll have the answer for that soon enough.

You'll be able to start factions and forge alliances and pick fights as you see fit during Season mode so that your WWE eventually may look nothing like what's on TV. The other characters in Raw 2 will have their alliances and dispositions based on whatever is happening on the TV shows a few weeks before the game is released. As you poke and prod and start s**t during your season all kinds of new friends, enemies and alliances will become possible. You could be the catalyst for Rock and Undertaker becoming allies in the above example, all because you stoked their shared hatred for Triple H.

The promise of the all new Season mode kind of makes the custom soundtracks, backstage wrestling and improved create-a-superstar mode seem like chicken feed. But they'll all be there and each of those enhancements will only make the new single player season more exciting.

IGN will have plenty more on WWE Raw 2 including movies, screens, interview and more previews in the weeks, months, days and hours leading up to its release because we do this. You'll have to go elsewhere for old crappy screens.

-- Aaron Boulding
( xbox.ign.com/articles/371/371940p1.html )

[Bruce Bolt]

That's awesome. But is it just me or does it look like the graphics are not as good as the first RAW or the RAW 2 screens from May (at least the last three screens above)? They look like PS2 Smackdown graphics. Oh well, at least we have a HHH that actually looks like HHH this time!

Blaze, are you "Frost2002"?

[Blaze]

Yeah I am Frost 2002, but I never post there anyways, lol. Why did you want to know?

[Bruce Bolt]

Blaze said:

Yeah I am Frost 2002, but I never post there anyways, lol. Why did you want to know?

Well, it was weird. I saw this post then I went to the Gamefaq board looking for some more news and info. I saw a post with a link to a place where some guy posted all the screens and info. I followed the link without looking at it and it took me back to this post. That's when I guessed it was you on the other board. Just some weird little coincidence I guess.

[The~Next~Big~Thing]

Is it just me, or do they look like [glow=red,10,300]ZOMBIES?[/glow]

[Genetic_Freak]

And it looks like the undertaker has a mouthpiece..

[Blaze]

Well, this still is gonna be the best looking wrestling game that is coming out....Besides, they have a lot of time to fix that kinda stuff. I'm gonna make sure I get this and Smackdown: SYM.

[CandyKANE]

Genetic_Freak said:

And it looks like the undertaker has a mouthpiece..

That was my first reaction when I saw it too!