WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2008 - hands-on style showdown

Each style enables one primary and several secondary abilities. The way these interact is a bit confusing, but we'll try to explain it plainly.

First the secondary abilities. Every style has two-to-five of them, and they're logical and specific. For example, a High Flyer has an evasive roll move, some springboard attacks, and a turnbuckle leap frog maneuver, while a Showman can steal an opponent's taunt and momentum. Most importantly, you can use the secondary powers of both your major and minor styles.

Now, the primary ability - you can only use the primary ability of your major style - not of your minor style. And you can use it anytime your momentum meter is maxed, which you accomplish by beating on your opponent. You can also "store" the primary move if you want to save it - this is different from the finishing moves, which require a full momentum meter but cannot be stored.

These primary moves are the real difference-makers in the game; a High Flyer can play possum, essentially feigning an injury until the opponent gets close enough to ambush, Showman fighters can literally steal their opponent's finishing move, and a Powerhouse can enter a rampage state in which their grapples are irreversible. We'll have a full list of all the various primary and secondary styles soon, but we get the gist: not everyone will feel the same from now on.

As for other improvements, we already mentioned the smoother animations, and there's a cool new stuggle system based upon the attacker's grip. The grappler can can wrench the defender more tightly to do damage, but must occasionally rest so as not to lose his grip; the defender, meanwhile, can struggle to try to break that same grip and wiggle out of the hold.

Other benefits are tied to specific consoles; the PSP has a few extra wrestlers, the 360 version enables custom soundtracks, and on PS3, players can tap a shoulder button during the entrances to be switched into first-person view. Once there, you can look around by tilting the Sixaxis and feel what it's like to see a cheering crowd from the eyes of a WWE superstar. No word yet on a code that will let you get freaky with Torrie or Melina, but it's shaping up to be well worth a play-through anyhow.

Editor's note:
Hey, this wasn't the only version ofWWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2008 we got our hands on. The PS2, PS3, PSP and 360 versions are alike, but we've got unique screens for each - and wait until you see our previews of thestreamlined Wii and totally crazy DS versions. Click below and know the 'ledge.

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