REVIEW: WWE 2K15

YES! YES! YES! FINNAALLLLYYY a WWE game makes it onto current gen consoles thanks to 2K. So I might be nearly 30 years old but I still love watching wrestling, my wife gets her stories from soaps, I get mine from sports entertainment both scripted and entertaining in their own ways. I also admire the talent who put on some great demonstrations of pure athleticism to only add to the storylines.

WWE in ring action is fast paced, back and forth and hard hitting. All things WWE games of the past have struggled to mimic but have given a good enough representation to become one of the most popular annual games over the last decade.

WWE2K15 is publisher 2K and developer Yukes first venture onto the new gen consoles. It’s fair to say it carries a lot of expectation from fans of the series. However, the last gen WWE2k15 which was released a few weeks before was a bit of a disappointment when compared to WWE2k14. Visuals looked untouched, the roster was smaller as was some of the options for match types and creation which we all took for granted. This could mean that 2K were concentrating on the new generation versions …. maybe?

The first thing I did when I loaded up WWE2k15 was I immediately looked to check if the same decisions were made for the Xbox One version that were missing on the Xbox 360 game. Sure enough, the roster reduction was the same, no I Quit or Inferno matches and no create-a-finisher to name but a few. Ok not all great losses but still enough to make you wonder why they would have been removed giving us less options than last year.

You have several modes to play through…

My Career – Lets you take a created superstar from initiation at the performance centre, through the proving grounds of NXT, to feature on the flagship show RAW all the way to Wrestlemania title glory. All while earning credits to upgrade your superstar where the decisions you make in game effect how the crowd like you and even if they follow you on social media. You’ll get involved in storylines along the way but expect a lot of grind as you’re constantly thrown into match’s that either have no ultimate goal or make no sense. I recommend using these matches to perfect your style, earn credits and master any new moves you may have unlocked.

2K Showcase – With ’30 years of Wrestlemania’ having ran its course last year we now have the option to play through some of the best rivalries in the last decade or so in WWE. We’re given two to choose from, the Shawn Michaels v Triple H rivalry from the early 2000’s and the CM Punk v John Cena rivalry from only a few years ago. More Showcases will become available as DLC and there is a season pass to have them all. You’ll have a series of matches that mimic the storyline as it happened with certain objectives to follow as it was played out in real life. This will trigger a range of unlocks to use in the main game and the storylines are supported by a mix of TV spots, real clips of the shows at the time and carbon copy animations giving you a historic yet meaningful feel to the matches you play out. Prepare for some predetermined outcomes in the matches though, we are playing out a story rather than attempting to change history.

Universe – The tried and trusted Universe mode makes a return where it’s all in your hands how the shows play out. You have full control over the roster, the schedule and pushing rivalries but the exclusion of create-a-storyline hurts the Universe mode the most. I still feel more could be done with this mode but if we didn’t have My Career and 2K Showcases I’d probably push my point more but for those wanting full GM control, Universe mode is perfect for you.

Thankfully though the strength of a WWE mode is based on its gameplay, presentation and career modes and all have impressed my candy ass. So I decided to go straight into a one and one match between two of my favourite superstars, CM Punk and John Cena. Time for the entrances, and boy the graphics look beautiful, the crowd look generally excited when your superstar enters the arena and the presentation feels like an authentic WWE broadcast in 1080/60 glory.

This is where I found a flaw, 2k have boasted that they have scanned the WWE superstars and made the wrestlers look lifelike. In the case of John Cena they have done a fantastic job at this, already sweating, his entrance gave me goosebumps with how close to real life he was. Every detail was spot on but then CM Punk came out and suddenly I was confused. For those who do not follow WWE, CM Punk quit the WWE in January 2014 for various rumoured reasons, but his inclusion in WWE2k15 gave a lot of grieving fans joy to be able to play as CM Punk for one last time. Due to his now severed relationship with WWE would have obviously meant he was not available for scanning like the other superstars, and it sticks out like a sore thumb in the game.

CM Punk looks like a port from WWE2k14 on the last gen consoles, there has been some improvements but as soon as he stood side by side with freshly scanned John Cena there was an unavoidable and unforgiving clash. It looked like I was playing both last and current gen games at the same time and looked a little awkward. Unfortunately it seems a few other characters were unavailable for scanning too like the Undertaker and Stone Cold. Surely they could have been polished a little more without the need to scan?

The action itself was noticeably slower than previous games but this suits the new gameplay mechanics. You can now get involved in opening grapple sequence to decide who starts with the advantage. When you first grapple your opponent you’re given three options to decide your next move, you opponent also has these options. Welcome to WWE’s version on rock, paper, scissors. To take control you must choose wisely and hope your opponent choses the wrong option, once you do, you then have another mini game to keep your opponent on the ground where you have to find a pressure point with right stick before your opponent does. It genuinely feels like the early exchanges of most WWE matches, as though your wrestling with your controller.

Once you’ve gained (or lost) control of the matches opening sequence the gameplay opens up from there and I must say that the game is very fluid. The controls are easy to master with movement and choosing the next move you’re trying to do, all while preparing to counter any attack coming your way. Each move is hard hitting, it looks and sounds real and you can see the level of detail that’s been put into the core wrestling mechanics. From seeing the pain on the superstars faces and them generally looking exhausted as the match goes on makes it feel more genuine. My biggest issues with WWE games of the past was if you had different sized wrestlers, you’d see a lot of arms going inside your opponents body when trying to grapple. WWE2k15 seems to have addressed that issue with a new contact system which in the most part stops superstars merging.

I found the new health and stamina system a fantastic addition as it means you can’t just simply pummel your opponent, lift a guy twice your weight above your head and pin 1,2,3. Every move takes a certain amount of stamina to perform, you do regenerate, but it stops you from performing 5 suplexes back to back without falling to your knees with fatigue. There is an element of pace, taking your time to control the match and this I absolutely love. Signature moves and finishers are earned once you’ve built up enough offence and you can even use a targeting system to damage a particular part of your opponent’s body. For example as John Cena, you can target your opponents head and neck and then once you have built up a finisher, use can apply the STF and have more chance of making your opponent tap.

You can have some really entertaining matches on WWE2k15, there are moves for nearly every situation and position around the ring to discover and perform and the crowd feels like they can really get behind you. The commentary is mostly the same but have added some good little Cole and King arguments to enjoy along the way. (Where’s JBL???)

Create-a-Superstar was easy but can take a while, you do not have as many clothing options as you’d become accustomed to but takes elements of NBA2k when creating your body to look freakishly realistic. We are however let down by Create-an-Entrance as you are very limited to only a handful of current superstar music, movements and video. Although I did have fun selecting from a very generous helping of pyro and lighting effects.

DLC – WWE2k15 will have a host of DLC available which include the below:

Accelerator: Players will gain instant access to all unlockable content available in the game (excluding downloadable content)

2K Showcase: One More Match – Story focused on the rivalry between WWE Superstars Randy Orton and Christian in 2011

Playable WWE Superstars: Christian, Randy Orton, Edge, Mark Henry and Sheamus;

Playable arenas from 2011: SmackDown, Extreme Rules, Over the Limit and Capital Punishment.

2K Showcase: Hall of Pain – Story focused on top matches for WWE Superstar Mark Henry

Playable WWE Superstars: Mark Henry, Big Show, Kane, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Sheamus, The Great Khali, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan and Ryback

Playable arenas: SmackDown (2011), Vengeance (2011) and WrestleMania 29

2K Showcase: Path of the Warrior – Story focused on the career of WWE Hall of Famer Ultimate Warrior

Playable WWE Hall of Famers: Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and Sgt. Slaughter

Playable WWE Legends: Honky Tonk Man, Rick Rude, Macho King and Colonel Mustafa

Playable WWE Superstars: Undertaker and Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Access to WWE Hall of Fame ring announcer Howard Finkel and WWE managers Jimmy Hart, Bobby Heenan, Paul Bearer, Sherri, Sid Justice and General Adnan;

Playable arenas: WrestleMania VI, VII and XII; SummerSlam (1988, 1990 and 1991);　Saturday　Night’s Main Event XXIV and Madison Square Garden

WCW Pack – Playable WCW Superstars: Fit Finlay, Lord Steven Regal, Bam Bam Bigelow, Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger

NXT Arrival – Playable NXT Superstars: JBL, Adam Rose and The Ascension (Konnor and Victor)

Playable NXT Diva: Emma;

New Moves Pack – Moves Pack: More than 30 new moves, including an alternate version of Sister Abigail and Multiple Gut Wrenches

Season Pass – Players will have access to all of the upcoming 2k Showcases, The two versions Hulk Hogan (NWO and Hulkamania), Accelerator and WWE Diva Paige. Paige is only available with Season Pass and won’t be sold separately, The Diva will be available to download soon after launch. The pass does not include WCW, NXT or new moves pack’s but will receive a discount for these.

Overall despite the elements that have been removed and the obvious clash between created and scanned superstars. WWE2k15 is a fun game, The Career mode is fun to play through, the Showcase are fun to relive and just creating your own WWE experience is what makes this game great to play.

The visuals are stunning at times, the presentation is spot on and the action is explosive. This is a must for all fans of WWE. It may seem there is less content then WWE2k14 but the gameplay and presentation are better. Let’s just say 2k’s first WWE venture on current gen is a fantastic start for the consoles and can only get better and better. They just had to take one step back with content to go two steps forward with gameplay…. And that’s the bottom line!!!

@Villz85