In a perfect world Wrestle Kingdom 360 would make its way to US shores where it would be greeted with open arms. With high quality character models, a huge amount of customizability, tons of game modes, the wrestling engine behind SmackDown, and online play its tragic that even Yukes newly opened US offices might not even bring this one stateside. So essentially if youre looking at a sneak peak at next-gen SmackDown this is the import to get.

To defeat an opponent in the ring you have to target certain areas of his body to wear him down. When you execute a move an icon on the bottom of the screen will indicate which portion of the wrestlers body youre hurting. If you continue to hurt that area through several moves that area will eventually be covered with an X signifying that youve done enough bodily harm to that particular area. The wrestler will then show that that area of his body is in pain from time to time by doing things such as limping or making faces. Once you have a few areas hurt you can try to TKO, pin, or just beat him into submission.


Get ready to rumble.

Entire Match - Video
The controls at your disposal let newcomers button mash but require finesse to beat tough competitors in the single player campaign. One button kicks and punches, one grabs, one taunts, one runs, and all of these used in combination with the analog sticks allow you to pull off some really cool moves. After youve beaten on your opponent for awhile your finishing move meter will also fill up. You can then activate it with the right analog stick after which time any move executed with X+A will be shown in slow-mo with a cinematic camera and do extra damage. Push your enemy into the corner, hit that finish button, and watch one of the extravagant corner moves in slow-mo for a treat.

Once you have your hands on the other wrestler you can do all kinds of things with him depending on where you are in the ring. If youre on the other side of the ropes you can smash his head into the ropes, if youre behind him you can throw him back over your head, and if hes on the ground you can grab any of his extremities and pull on it. You can also pull items out from underneath the ring and beat your opponent with them; its just too bad that if you do it too much you get disqualified. Although, its worth it when you manage to give him a broken nose and a short cinematic plays where blood drips down his face. Thats the thing about Wrestle Kingdom, just when you think youve seen every move and scenario there is, then something else shows up. There are so many situation dependant moves that Im sure its easy to not see every move implemented in the game.