WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008

When two males engage in a fight the signal of 'rage' or 'anger' is kept within the temporal lobe - the short-term memory part of the brain. And boy will there be a lot of short-term memory loss after stepping into the ring with the wrestlers from the up-coming Smackdown vs. Raw 2008. Us guys like to fight, don't we? We like to kick and punch and throw and push our way to primal rage. You can see why someone decided to make a sport of it and ultimately a video game.

Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 will have a few new nifty features added to it. One of those features is the different styles of fighting you now have. Players can now choose to be a 'powerhouse', 'high-flier', 'dirty fighter', 'hardcore', 'technical', 'showman', 'submission', or a 'brawler'. Powerhouse style consists of using your own strength to beat down the enemy or throw them into not-so-soft objects. High-fliers are the Wright brothers of the wrestling ring. They jump off the top of the ropes or the side of the ring into the enemy. This makes for a very entertaining battle as Rey Mysterio beats the beef out of Kane.

Dirty fighters are sweaty wrestlers who don't bathe – they use cheap ways of getting the upper-hand on the enemy. This will usually include using the referee as a human shield, faking a serious injury to lure in your opponent, or simply kicking them in the baby-maker. Needless to say, choosing your fighting style will not only reflect how you like to crush some skull but also reflect one’s personality.

One extra feature that has been added to the fighting styles is the ability to have two styles at once. In the middle of a fight the player can change their style of beating with a quick flick in the pause menu. This adds a certain strategic element to the gameplay and will most definitely challenge the player as the AI has this ability as well.

One of the other key features is the new range of wrestlers. This new range comes from - wait for it - ECW. That's right, in the playable demo players get the chance to play as 'Sandman' himself. Apparently this will be getting all ye olde' wrestling fans quite amped up. Still no mention if 'Hollywood Hulk Hogan' is going to be making a come-back though. The whole line-up of ECW wrestlers has not yet been confirmed but hopes are that a full roster will be available closer to release.

So if you are an avid fan of belting your fellow man into a coma then keep your eyes peeled for Smackdown vs. Raw 2008. The game is being released on the PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, DS, and the Xbox 360 later this year. Keep your guard up and tune in to NZGamer.com – you never know when we are going to throw a fist full of information at you.