WWE 12 Review: Perfect Features for WWE's Best Video Game Yet

The long-awaited release of WWE '12 has finally arrived. The company has been hyping the newest version of its game from THQ for weeks, claiming it's the most realistic wrestling game ever and a must-own for all WWE fans.

While it will be a couple of weeks before we find out if the WWE Universe agrees, there's no doubting that some of the new features should revolutionize the game play. As long as it's an upgrade from last year's edition of Smackdown vs. RAW, gamers will be happy.

Here are the five most intriguing things about WWE '12.

Deep Roster

The most important aspect of any sports (entertainment) game is the roster. If the game's characters don't match up with those you see on television every week, it's a bit disheartening. Luckily, WWE '12 has a huge group of superstars, divas and legends to choose from.

John Cena, Randy Orton and CM Punk are all there. So are emerging superstars like Sheamus, Wade Barrett and Zack Ryder. Divas Champion Beth Phoenix is included along with rivals Eve and Kelly Kelly. Even Kharma, who is on pregnancy leave, is a downloadable character.

Some of the more exciting legends include MMA star Brock Lesnar, Randy Savage and Mick Foley. The Rock is also available, so you can watch Cena vs. Rock on your television months before their epic encounter at WrestleMania.

Arena Creation

One of the most disappointing facets of previous games has been the lack of arenas. You had generic RAW and Smackdown setups and the previous year's pay-per-view lineup. Without any variety, the presentation became bland.

That problem should be eliminated by the new Create-an-Arena feature. There is a boatload of different options to help gamers create new places to play. Whether it be a WCW-themed ring or graphics on the mat, there are seemingly endless possibilities.

Even though this might not seem like a big deal at first, diehards will come to love the feature because it will help keep the game fresh for an extended period. If you get bored with one set of arenas, just go back and create new ones.

Road to WrestleMania

Road to WrestleMania has been a feature in the past, but it's been redone to make it more in-depth. Instead of a quick journey with a single wrestler that most people could knock out in a few hours, it's now a three-tiered mode that will take a much bigger chunk of time.

A mode like this can really take a game to the next level. It keeps gamers coming back to their system to advance further in the quest, which features Sheamus, Triple H and a created superstar.

By featuring a heel, face and unknown character, players will get to run the full gamut of wrestling types and the actions associated with them. This is also a good way to start for people who don't have a strong knowledge of wrestling to help them understand different roles.

Predator Technology

Just about everybody who has played a WWE game in the past has commented about some of the unnatural movements in the game. By introducing Predator Technology, WWE '12 will go a long way in limiting those concerns.

It gives the game that dose of realism that WWE has been talking about so much lately. By making the moves more authentic, gamers should have no problem pulling off their favorite maneuvers without having to jostle the joysticks around until the character is in perfect position.

While it's impossible to make the movement perfect, the preview videos that have been released appear to show major strides since last year.

WWE Universe 2.0

Previous WWE Universe modes were repetitive. The decisions a player made seemed to have a minimal effect on the long-term outcome of the feature, so it was difficult to enjoy playing it more than once without having déjà vu.

WWE '12 makes it so that whatever decision a gamer makes can lead to different events. This will allow WWE Universe to have some staying power and it will serve as a nice compliment to Road to WrestleMania.

Hopefully the video game lives up to its hype. Based on these features and several others, it has a chance to make the company's claims of greatness ring true.