The writing's been on the wall for THQ'sWWE SmackDown! vs. RAW series of wrestling games for some time now, especially after last year's WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2011. Over the years, the gameplay had become stale, the features set got too top-heavy with interesting, but only sometimes enjoyable new modes, and the graphics engine felt stitched together out of too many disparate parts. This issue became even more incandescent after the release of WWE All Stars, an admittedly far more arcade-inspired game that nonetheless brought wrestling games back to their risible roots.

Perhaps sensing a sea change in the wrestling audience's tolerance for the usual rejiggerings of year-to-year releases, THQ made the audacious decision for its 2011 title to change... the title. Now re-monikered WWE '12, the series is also making some other adjustments in the realm of gameplay and design, according to a posted Q&A with longtime series Creative Director, Cory Ledesma.

Echoing the sentiments of most developers tasked with releasing a new product in a series every single year, Ledesma stated he was "pleased" with the overall reception to last year's title, but made it abundantly clear that there were a number of problems with the game. Specifically, the execution of the Road to Wrestlemania mode, and some other bugs and online issues that he felt held the title back.

Among the features and fixes he lists as new to this year's title:

• An all new animation system that allows players to dynamically break up other players' moves mid-animation. He specifically cited John Cena's "Five Knuckle Shuffle" move, which can be interrupted mid-taunt.
• A new submission system, titled "Breaking Point," where players enter into a new minigame to break up submissions, and also can now climb to the ropes to break out of holds.
• Wake-up taunts, a la Randy Orton's fist-slamming taunt, where he dares a laid-out opponent to stand up, and then hits the groggy fellow with his finisher.
• A new version of Road to Wrestlemania, which Ledesma says they "went back to the drawing board a bit" for.

Ledesma cites WWE '12 as a "true series reboot," though didn't offer up too many more details on what that actually entails beyond the info above, and a number of broad statements about "...adding new gameplay systems, completely overhauling gameplay systems and improving current gameplay systems." We do know that both longtime series developer Yuke's and THQ's San Diego studio are co-developing the title, and that Yuke's has been working behind the scenes on this new animation technology for a couple of years now.

We'll be sure to try and check out WWE '12 and its new gameplay systems, overhauled gameplay systems, and improved current gameplay systems at E3 next week, where a build of the game featuring four playable wrestlers will be shown. Based on the screenshots below, we're guessing Randy Orton and The Miz will be among the four.

Gallery

The writing's been on the wall for THQ'sWWE SmackDown! vs. RAW series of wrestling games for some time now, especially after last year's WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2011. Over the years, the gameplay had become stale, the features set got too top-heavy with interesting, but only sometimes enjoyable new modes, and the graphics engine felt stitched together out of too many disparate parts. This issue became even more incandescent after the release of WWE All Stars, an admittedly far more arcade-inspired game that nonetheless brought wrestling games back to their risible roots.

Perhaps sensing a sea change in the wrestling audience's tolerance for the usual rejiggerings of year-to-year releases, THQ made the audacious decision for its 2011 title to change... the title. Now re-monikered WWE '12, the series is also making some other adjustments in the realm of gameplay and design, according to a posted Q&A with longtime series Creative Director, Cory Ledesma.

Echoing the sentiments of most developers tasked with releasing a new product in a series every single year, Ledesma stated he was "pleased" with the overall reception to last year's title, but made it abundantly clear that there were a number of problems with the game. Specifically, the execution of the Road to Wrestlemania mode, and some other bugs and online issues that he felt held the title back.

Among the features and fixes he lists as new to this year's title:

• An all new animation system that allows players to dynamically break up other players' moves mid-animation. He specifically cited John Cena's "Five Knuckle Shuffle" move, which can be interrupted mid-taunt.
• A new submission system, titled "Breaking Point," where players enter into a new minigame to break up submissions, and also can now climb to the ropes to break out of holds.
• Wake-up taunts, a la Randy Orton's fist-slamming taunt, where he dares a laid-out opponent to stand up, and then hits the groggy fellow with his finisher.
• A new version of Road to Wrestlemania, which Ledesma says they "went back to the drawing board a bit" for.

Ledesma cites WWE '12 as a "true series reboot," though didn't offer up too many more details on what that actually entails beyond the info above, and a number of broad statements about "...adding new gameplay systems, completely overhauling gameplay systems and improving current gameplay systems." We do know that both longtime series developer Yuke's and THQ's San Diego studio are co-developing the title, and that Yuke's has been working behind the scenes on this new animation technology for a couple of years now.

We'll be sure to try and check out WWE '12 and its new gameplay systems, overhauled gameplay systems, and improved current gameplay systems at E3 next week, where a build of the game featuring four playable wrestlers will be shown. Based on the screenshots below, we're guessing Randy Orton and The Miz will be among the four.

Gallery

woah , I don't believe it. I finally got the quest. 
 
On a side note, hopefully this will be good.

Cool, a news post by Alex

These games have felt the same for so long, so even still I'm somewhat worried this will fall into the same trappings as those before it.

Can someone please put a bullet in Ledesma's head?  It's the only humane thing to do.  He's approach super douche-like levels, that only Noah Heller has attained.

"ridiculously risible"? ugh. "rejiggering" is totally fine, though.

wwe 12 doesnt sound good

I was probably gonna pick up this year's SvR as it was, but I was certainly hoping they'd be doing an overhaul. 
 
Hopefully, it actually feels different/better this year, and all these additions aren't just a load of bullshit.

I love the gameplay of these games, but I just wish they would work on the animations, netcode, customization options, and add in some kind of create a federation system so groups of people can make their own belts and ranking systems to fight in.

I really love wrestling games but im not a big wrestling fan, the problem is none have really sated my desire for full on piledriver pleasure since the N64

WRESTLEFEST!!!

DDTS AND STUFF! 

SmackDown: HCTP and SVR06 are the best SmackDown games in the series. It all went downhill after SVR08.

I like the sound of this, but what I really want is a new Day of Reckoning. As far as I'm concerned it had the right balance of arcade and sim. A lot of the stuff they're introducing in this and stuff from the last Smackdown, was done before in any of the Gamecube WWE games. I still don't understand how all the great points of the GC games never made to the main series until recently.

Not a wrestling fan but SvR 2010 is pretty good. It's the only wrestling game I have ever owned as a matter of fact.

I liked WWE All Stars, but I need this series to scratch my itch for terrible, half-finished wrestling games.

Its about god damn time. Hopefully this is legit and not just marketing rhetoric.

Maybe if they modelled the characters on how "real" people move rather than their plastic toys it would work.  

Never change GiantBomb. Bash a game before we even see it, when you didn't even like the other ones in the first place, and don't like wrestling at all.

WWE 12, I hope they change that title.

Annualized Wrestling game franchises are a thing

Never change GiantBomb. Bash a game before we even see it, when you didn't even like the other ones in the first place, and don't like wrestling at all.

I want to believe this will be a good wrestling game, but being burned by the same company again and again I cannot. :(

Never change GiantBomb. Bash a game before we even see it, when you didn't even like the other ones in the first place, and don't like wrestling at all.

Ever since Smackdown became "vs. Raw", the series went downhill.
And the season/career mode from the very first Smackdown game was the best from the franchise.
 
Also, I hope "WWE 12" doesn't imply the age of their target customers.

If they overhaul this engine and make smoother, faster and more fluid animations and gameplay and give me the 80's gold roster of the WWF I would be in heaven. Just take the rosters from WWF Superstars & WWF Wrestlefest redo them for today's consoles and release it please.

Been following this release for a while -- it's about time they made some changes to the formula.

Never change GiantBomb. Bash a game before we even see it, when you didn't even like the other ones in the first place, and don't like wrestling at all.

@CL60: Alex doesn't like wrestling? Since when?

I'll believe it when I see it.

This is not a reboot.  It will be just as lazy and bad as all other Yuke's products have been for the past six years, but will sell if you put Triple H on the cover "cuz he is da BOMB!!!"

I always rent the latest Smackdown game but it always seems like for every improvement THQ makes two more problems pop up.  I wish another company would get the WWE license just to drastically shake stuff up.  That said it will be fun to have Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio beat John Cena repeatedly.