A NEW ROAD TO WRESLEMANIA (Officially written article revealing the details)

WWE '12: A New Road to Wrestlemania

First the gameplay, now the story mode. First details on THQ's revamped single-player vision.
US, October 18, 2011

"Once again with WWE '12, THQ is starting from scratch. The publisher's
mission, alongside developer Yukes, has been to recreate its core
wrestling franchise, eliminating what has grown stale and tired after
years and years of incremental upgrades and adjustments. To say this
game marks a major milestone in THQ's approach to WWE games is an
understatement. It's launching a new brand. It's completely overhauled
its core gameplay. Now it's rethinking how it provides a core single
player experience. The Road to Wrestlemania idea that you've known from
years past is dead. Say hello to a new era.

THQ is making a bold decision right out of the gate - you'll play as three different
characters throughout this new Road to Wrestlemania storyline, and two
of them are pre-determined. Considering previous years allowed you to
select from a variety of different and popular superstars, I wouldn't
blame you for being surprised or frustrated. However narrowing the
game's focus has actually afforded the developer a great deal of new
opportunities.

Previous storylines for WWE games were limited to about three months of in-game
time. You'd start around the Royal Rumble, a January Pay Per View, and
end with that year's Wrestlemania at the end of March. Now the story
mode represents about 18 months of gameplay that, while encompassing two
Wrestlemanias, isn't actually focused on WWE's seminal annual event.
It's focused on building characters, feuds and storylines that quite
honestly sound a great deal better than most anything the WWE does on a
weekly basis.

The story mode is split into three acts, each focusing on a different superstar
who occupies a different "role" within the company.
For example the first act features Sheamus, who occupies
the role of a villain. Playing as the so-called Celtic Warrior, you'll
crush the good guys and generally wreck havoc on the WWE until you reach
the second arc focusing on a "hero" superstar, Triple H. What's most
remarkable about these arcs is how THQ transitions between the two. Your
run with Sheamus will literally be interrupted as Triple H ambushes
him, getting revenge after an injury at the hands of the bad guy months
earlier. Playing through the second arc will lead you to the most
customizable portion of the single-player storyline - the third and
final act allows you to select or create a custom superstar, who will
run through an "outsider" storyline.



Road to Wrestlemania is more than just a series of matches. If all you want
is to simulate weekly battles between superstars, you're far better off
selecting the WWE Universe mode, which will also return this year in a
very familiar form. The focus of Road is telling a story. The game's
designers realized that simply being focused to win match after match
after match could get stale, so they've thrown a number of variables
into the mix. Some bouts are more objective-based, pushing players to
adapt to different circumstances to continue the storyline. Other
sequences focus on timed button presses to add some interactivity to
scripted sequences. Different concepts are mixed into the fold depending
on what needs to be accomplished. The end goal here is to add some
variety to the 10-12 hour experience.

Controlling which wrestlers appear in the storyline has the huge advantage
of allowing THQ to meticulously lay out a complex narrative. It also allows
them to do extensive voice acting. Though not all of the superstars were about to
provide voiceovers, many have. You might be wondering how that applies
to the created wrestler in the third act. In a very clever move, THQ
hired current TNA star Austin Aries to provide dialogue for your
character, who will also go by the name Jacob Cass during the storyline.
It's yet another bold move in a series of bold moves, but it could pay
off in a big way if handled right. The ability to design your own
character while still retaining all of the key traits a full-time, real
superstar would have? Not bad.



During my demo, THQ filled me in on a variety of other details that grabbed my
attention. Backstage sequences are being retooled to be more
straightforward and less about aimless wandering. The storyline will not
only touch upon original concepts, like Sheamus creating a stable with
Wade Barrett and William Regal called the United Kingdom, but older
ideas like the reformation of WCW. The publisher is working closely with
WWE for small details as well. That U.K. stable? It has its own theme
song and entrance video.

To be honest with you, I don't know if THQ has found all the right answers
with Road to Wrestlemania. I won't know until I've played through the entire
storyline. The notion of being committed to a dozen hours as Sheamus,
Triple H and my custom character makes me a bit nervous.
Neither superstar is someone I'd immediately select to play through a lengthy
storyline like this. But I like THQ's vision here. I like the fact they're willing
to risk everything for the sake of finding a fresh direction. So far that type
of change has paid off - WWE '12 has a core gameplay that is downright addicting.

Will the same prove true for its single-player mode?
We'll find out on November 22."

IGN.com

Sounds promising to me. I like it. Sheamus I probably wouldn't play a season as but HHH I would. Bummer about your CAW having a pre-selected name but that's not that big a deal. I can live with it.

TBH I'm more looking forward to creating & playing the CXA roster than RTWM. This will be a nice distraction I'd imagine but not so important to me. Good post Michael, +1

By the way, this is for David... Looks like you're going to have to put up with the CAW being a good guy again.

Cory Lesesma: "IGN article had a small mistake. Triple H is the "Outsider" and the CAS is the "Hero". Just to clear things up."

There ya go. Caw is stuck as a face again.

Actually, going by the article, for RTWM, I even think the CAS already has a predetermined name. "Jacob Cass".

Oh well, there's still Universe Mode for your CXA shenanigans, I suppose.

I've just read this article on IGN actually. I actually really like the look of RTWM this year. I think its going to pretty fun to play.

The CAW RTWM portion doesn't bother me really. I'm going to treat that as an entirely stand-alone segment of the game, different from the CAWs I'll create to do WWE Universe mode with and recreate the CXA. In fact, what I shall probably do is create an Austin Aries CAW and do it as though he's signed with the WWE and they have given him a new name. If it makes for a more detailed and involved storyline, that's OK with me. Besides, I get to do hellish stuff as Sheamus anyway.

I'm loving the United Kingdom stable, and the fact that the video on the site clearly shows Sheamus wearing the European Title. If they have specific music and entrances for that stable as suggested, then its definitely getting recreated as a stable in Universe mode.

Except for one thing - Sheamus won't be in my version of the United Kingdom stable, on the grounds that he's from the Republic of Ireland, which unlike Northern Ireland is not part of the United Kingdom!