Onto other aspects of the game, the animations the wrestlers have are pretty much spot on. The game, for the most part, moves with a great fluidity, but some clipping issues are still there. Just like in previous incarnations, you will sometimes find your arm going through someone’s chest, or you are pinning Viscera and your body is engulfed by his overwhelming girth (though, this may have been on purpose, as I am pretty sure that is what would happen...)
The sound in the is pretty much perfect. The music choices this year are great for wrestler entrances, though in a personal preference, it would be nice to have a little more metal in it. The commentary during an exhibition match is the same tired stuff you have heard for two years now, and I swear, if anyone ever says "if wishes where fishes" in real life, I'm FU'ing them through a table. In season mode, the commentary is a little better, but not by much. Before and after a match, the commentators will talk about the current storyline, helping build the angle surrounding the match. Of course, once the match begins, it is the same tirade over and over again. The sound effects for moves are overall just mediocre, as most don't sound like they are making much impact. Some moves really stand out as brutal sounding, but most just come off as sub par. The superstar voice overs are very well done this year, including almost every single person on the current roster. However, the voice choices for the Create-A-Wrestler characters are pretty bland, but more on that later.
Also this year, GM mode makes it's return, but with nothing really new to it. It does offer a little more depth, but nothing worth really talking about. But it's my job to tell you, so I'll make it brief. Basically, now instead of just hiring wrestlers and setting up matches, you must also hire storyline writers to make the shows and rivalries more interesting. Some writers are better than others at certain types of stories. One may be good at writing stories about factions and stables, while another may be better at writing a story about a love triangle involving two wrestlers and a WWE Diva. It doesn't really do much to help expand on the idea of GM Mode. All in all, GM Mode is good to kill a few hours of gameplay once you have done everything else, not to mention getting some more of those achievement points.
The controls have gotten, in THQ's words, a complete overhaul. Not really, but that's what they say. All they did was switch some of the buttons around, but it still works. In fact, it works much better. It allows more fluid motions and a match that just flows much better. The new grapple system, which just moves grapples to the right analog stick instead of using a button, was a great idea. If you just want to do a quick grapple, flick the stick in any direction, and barring a perfectly timed counter, you execute a move that is effective and quick. For a stronger grapple, the right button is held down and you just flick the stick again. by using this method, it does allow some new and creative twists, such as the ultimate control moves. Once in a strong grapple, push in on the right stick, and you position your opponent for a powerbomb (or one of twelve other moves) and are allowed to, again by the flick of the stick, pick them up, piledrive them, or whatever else. You can throw opponents out of the ring, into the turnbuckle, or on the ropes with ease.
Speaking of the Ultimate Control moves, there are now hotspots located around the arena that are activated by dragging an opponent to them. This really brings the game to life. It allows you to beat their head into the stairs, drop them on the barrier, the announce table, or multiple other locations. It really does allow for a little more freedom, and also for some more entertaining matches. In addition to this, they also allowed a small area "in the crowd" (used loosely...) to brawl in. It's a simple little thing that allows the feeling of a backstage brawl without having to go through the whole motions of a backstage brawl. It also allows for some great high spots, like jumping off of the scaffolding and through a table, a moment that always makes you sit back in awe.
Ladder matches and Table matches have gotten a facelift this year. Not only does the table system work much better this time, it also just looks cooler. Everything from the animation showing you setting up the table, to the fact that you can now put your opponent through a table without it looking awkward make it rewarding. Also, the ability to set up a ladder horizontally on another ladder and run up it to do a clothesline is just, well, amazing. It gives ladder matches a lot more excitement, just by adding that one small little touch.
