There's a reason that this review is such a long time coming. It is hard to criticise something harshly that you really, really want to love. WWE games have inarguably been sub-standard for years, but highly enjoyable because passion for the brand, the style of game, the level of creation, a million and one things drove the player to find enjoyment.
When 2K brought production in-house after THQ flew to pieces, there was a lot of hope. So much potential was brought to the playing field with big things promised for next gen versions and the MyCareer mode holding the most excitement. But was the addition of an updated game mode in the style of the successful career modes of yesteryear enough to bring this title up to scratch?
Certainly, the game has had a decent graphical upgrade, mostly. Character models do look more detailed than they were previously and there is a distinct difference between previous and current gen textures. Also, the cardboard cut-out crowd has gone, being replaced with a more diverse set of faces with individualised actions.
However, a lot of the glitchiness with hair and clothing clipping through anything they're put near is definitely still present. Hair will freely dip into skulls and clothing will still partially stay stationary while other parts whip around like they're in a miniature tornado. It's really jarring and shows a low level of attention to detail. Along with this, there is a lot of bad interactivity between character models and the environment, causing increasingly bizarre warping left, right and centre. Also, this occurs within a firm limit of 6 bodies in the ring at a time. Quite a low number for current gen consoles. This is demonstrated extremely well by our very own NewLegacyInc here:
The final note around the graphical upgrade is that the fully scanned textures for WWE superstars jar even more alongside the user created characters than ever before. Now, it really does look like you have dragged your Create-A-Wrestler from another universe and plonked him into the middle of another game entirely. You can appreciate the reasoning behind this but it looks bad nonetheless.
Some of the new modes work extremely well. The 2K Showcase mode, demonstrating snapshots of the WWE's history are extremely well made, challenging enough to be fun and are peppered with actual live footage of events that happened. It helps you take a heady breath of nostalgia for those that have been following the brand for years and gives newcomers a good vantage point to see some of the best storylines, rivalries and brawls that have taken place over the years.
Something that is nice to see, but executed less perfectly is the Who Got NXT story mode. This follows the rise of some of the new faces that have fought their way up from the developmental NXT territory of the WWE. While it's fantastic to see some recognition for some of the 'little guys', all of these storylines consist of sparsely narrated 4 match clusters for each character. There are some great competitive stories here that are effectively glossed over and it's a real shame to see that happen (Sami Zayn's rivalry with Cesaro immediately springs to mind).
Finally, there is the MyCareer mode put into place, allowing you to create your own character (male only, as the Diva division is given little to no notice as per usual) and push them through developmental to NXT and beyond. The lofty goal of headlining Wrestlemania is dangling in front of you throughout and titles provide a real push for you to progress.
There is a nice edge given to this with a granular level of stat distribution to create your own style of wrestler and a form of experience given for taking part of matchs, performing well in them by creating an exciting match and completing mini-objectives throughout.
You are also given various choices throughout your career that can lead to you becoming a heel or a face in the eyes of the crowd and a whole bunch of storyline options. This is a nice start to what will in future become an interesting and fun play style. Unfortunately, it seems to be just that. The building blocks on which the series will grow from on current gen.
The Creation Suite addition for next gen versions is very nice, adding a far higher level of control over nearly every pixel on your creation. Be it arena, character, set, title, you can customise it to your hearts content to ensure that it looks just how you'd like it. One notable omission, however, is the facial scanning technology that is placed into NBA 2K15, which could have been a nice (albeit somewhat buggy) addition. Presumably, the fear of incredibly high detail scanned penis faces that are sharable via the online functionality was the main detractor from including this.
Unfortunately, there is another gripe to be had here. There have been some fairly prominent removals from this section of the game from previous iterations which truly added a large amount of replayability into the mix over time. Again, it's painful to mention these, as there was so much potential for growth in the series here, but they are as they.
Firstly, there is a steep limitation of how many characters you can create and save. There seems to be more or less no reason for this as you should technically be able to save as many as you have hard drive room for. You are stuck at 16 maximum for now, although it is reportedly being worked on to patch this out to a larger limit later down the line.
Secondly, you can no longer create and share your own storylines. Admittedly, the majority of these were absolutely terrible, but they really added the ability to have some fun and creativity within the universe. It seems bizarre to have a suped up, brand new title for the latest generation of consoles and remove some of the features that made the title fun in the first place.
“Decent, but not the experience everyone was hoping for.”