Picked it up this morning and so far I'm really liking it. Controls are essentially the same as last year so it's easy enough to pick up, though the new out-of-ring camera isn't necessarily a good idea. It preserves the WWE broadcast presentation approach but it's not ideal for gameplay. It might be a case of getting used to it but my first impression is that it wasn't necessarily the right move to make. I haven't played a tag match yet so I can't comment on how the new tag logic and moves work out but singles matches are pretty much the same. That's fine as far as I'm concerned but others might find it disappointing. I love the new roster management functions, being able to switch everyone between being a heel and a face, assign championships and switch brands.
I've started Undertaker's Road to Wrestlemania and while it's a limited choice you can tell a lot of work has been put into the storylines and the presentaion. The WWE broadcast style really adds to the atmosphere and while the commentary isn't perfect, the storyline specific commentary during Road to Wrestlemania matches is a really nice touch. What I really like is that it continues throughout the match, so it isn't like the old storylines where there'd just be some angle specific commentator voiceovers during the entrances or in the cutscenes but they'll talk a little about the angle during the match, just as in the real WWE. I don't know how much replay value they'll have beyond unlocking things but they're worth playing through.
I'm really impressed with the loading times in SDvRAW 2009, this has long been one of the most frustrating elements of the game even on the current generation of consoles but they've cleaned that up this year. Unfortunately, no Downloadable Content is available yet, hopefully that will be coming tomorrow or within the next week. Not to sound like a fanboy but after feeling a bit underwhelmed by the game last year, 2009 already strikes me as one of the stronger releases in the series. As I delve deeper I'll probably find some things I don't like but so far, so good.