THQ's latest PS2 wrestling opus, SmackDown Vs Raw 2006 is shaping up to be a barn burner for numerous reasons, but the most important thing about it, at least in these eyes (and I just got a new pair of glasses) is a visual treat that most people won't notice, that being the engine's ability to keep wrestlers in the ring during other superstar entrances.

Previous 3D wrestling titles don't have the horsepower capable of retaining a wrestler after he or she's made their way down the aisle, so if Triple H hits the ring, he'll parade around and disappear as soon as his opponent arrives. It's something I really despise because I know full well that the ring, hell, the ringside area shouldn't be empty. So you can imagine my surprise when, as the Undertaker approached the ring, I saw his opponent, Hulk Hogan waiting for him. I literally jumped out of my chair and paraded around the room. Yeah, the game plays great, there's more match types than you can shake Macho King's scepter at, and the online play has been given a huge overhaul, but it's all about seeing your opponents chillin' as you're making your way down the aisle. It's without question the single biggest presentational advancement in wrestling games that I can remember.

Actually, there's another really minor improvement to this game that is just as cool, if not cooler than seeing guys in the ring. Just like in some of the other wrestling games you can create and wrestle for championships. My brother and I do this quite a bit, and we actually have a scorecard where we write down the names of the title holders. But we won't have to do that in this new SmackDown Vs Raw because it tracks who's won which belt. So if I defeat my little bro for the WWE title the game will make note of that and the next time I play as that character he or she will come to the ring wearing that belt. Not only does this save on pencils and paper, but it just looks really friggin' cool.

When it comes to options, this game is about as packed as the Pontiac Silverdome during Wrestlemania III. You want superstars? How does 55 plus sound? John Cena, Batista, Scotty 2 Hotty (why THQ, why?), The Big Show, Chris Masters, Muhammad Hassan (who is sorely missed on TV), Triple H, Ric Flair, JBL, Rey Mysterio, and Chris Benoit are but a few of the superstars at your disposal, and the legends have returned in grand fashion. Andre the Giant, Bret Hart, Junkyard Dog, the British Bulldog, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, Jimmy Hart, Mankind, The Rock, Steve Austin, The Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase, the three different versions of Hulk Hogan (Hogan 80s, Hollywood Hogan, and current gen Hogan-all with different attributes) round out quite an impressive list. It kind of sucks that the WWE hasn't allowed THQ to toss even more classic wrestlers into the game (Owen Hart deserves his spot), but I'm impressed nonetheless.

Then there's the match types, of which there's just too many to list. Hell in a Cell, Submission, First Blood, TLC, Backstage Brawls, Table, Ladder, Iron Man, and Steel Cage (that features the normal as well as classic blue barred cage) are but a few of the different matches you can partake in, and of course, there's triple threat, fatal four way, tag team, and special referee options. There's also a new edition, Buried Alive, where you have to drag your opponent over to the Titan Tron and shove him into a casket, which is just not as easy as it sounds.

I'm also giving props to Yukes for keeping the Royal Rumble fun. In Day of Reckoning 2, once you're eliminated that's it, you're gone. You have to watch the AI battle it out and that's just stupid, but in this game you'll get multiple opportunities to win the match, providing there are still some wrestlers left.

By and large, the game plays almost the same as last year's version, so if you're a veteran you'll have very little trouble gracefully maneuvering about the ring and exploring the intricacies of the grappling system. Also, like the previous games, you can pick up numerous types of weapons and use them to bludgeon your opponents, except this year, and similar to Day of Reckoning 2, wrestlers will actually bleed all over the mat, which is a very nice touch.

What really separates this game from the competition are the little things that have tremendous impact starting with the revamped stamina system. In Day of Reckoning 2, your wrestler can run out of energy and you'll need to remain idle in order to replenish it, but in the new SmackDown, you can actually regain stamina by pressing Select. Standing around still works, but you'll just get the crap kicked out of you, so it's best to just walk away from the action and quickly refill your meter, then get back to whoopin' some ass.

I'm also fond of how the developers handled finishing moves because it's much more realistic. Rather than fill up multiple meters and bust out three specials (and decimating someone in the process), you can only execute one at a time, but what's especially cool is the ability to store these moves for later in the match. It adds a bit more strategy to the game because an opponent will never see it coming, yet, and this is really interesting, your finisher won't have as much impact if you hold it for a while, so Hogan's leg drop will be devastating if you use it right away as opposed to several minutes later.

It's also cool that the developers have packed the Clean/Dirty tactics system and the momentum meter into one compact...umm...meter! Before a match the game will ask you whether you want to fight clean or dirty (face or heel), and you'll gain momentum depending on whether you play by the rules or smash them to bits. If you're a face, for example, you'll gain momentum if you fight fair, perform your signature grapples, execute diving attacks, or refuse to tap out even though your arms and legs are seriously damaged. Conversely, you'll lose momentum if you use weapons, complain to the ref, remove the turnbuckle cover (exposing the cold steel underneath) and other devious acts.

When it comes to being heel, you'll want to be the dirtiest player in the game. This means you'll not only expose that steel but Irish whip people into it. You'll also bitch a great deal, bust out weapons, and refuse to break a submission move. There are far less ways to lose momentum when you're the bad guy, making it easier to pull out all the stops in order to get the victory.

Then there are a lot of other sweet touches that impress me. I dig being able to complain to the ref about the 2 count, keeping someone in a submission longer than necessary (to the point where the ref has to use the dreaded 5 count), and watching the commentators battle back and forth at their announce table.

Actually, the announcing is one area that I'm a bit disappointed with. THQ went out and got Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler for Raw events and Michael Cole and Taz for SmackDown sponsored shows and the acting is pretty bad. To make matters worse, neither duo ever establishes a consistent flow. One guy says something, the other may respond, no one will talk for several moments, and then someone will mutter something that's out of place.

Yukes has managed to squeeze just a bit more from the PS2, making SmackDown Vs Raw 2006 the most attractive game in the series. The visuals aren't as sharp as Day of Reckoning 2's, but the character models look fantastic (save for Randy Orton's scary eyeballs) and the mo cap used for ring entrances fleshes out even more realism. The crowd is still just a bunch of block people, but they still look good providing your focused on the ring, which is probably what you should be doing anyway.

SmackDown Vs Raw 2006 is without question the best looking and playing wrestling game to date and I'm hotly anticipating its November 14 release. Expect the real worlds champion review in the next couple of weeks.