HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR WWE 2K14 FROM IGN
Step into the ring of the '14 edition of the WWE wrestling game.
HERE IS THE REVIEW FOR WWE 2K14 FROM IGN.
Somewhere deep in the heart of every hardcore wrestling mark, there's a
rowdy little kid recreating their favorite matches with six-inch plastic
figures. They're pitting the irresistible forces against the immovable
objects. They're dropping elbows and raising eyebrows. They love
reliving old memories, but they're hungry to create new ones, too. WWE 2K14
gives that wrestling fan in all of us the tools required to do both.
Though it continues to suffer from many of the same AI and commentary
issues that have plagued the series for years, it also builds on its
many successes, delivering a sports-entertainment extravaganza that can
easily steal dozens of hours of your time.
Last year we saw WWE ‘13's fresh approach to story mode, The Attitude
Era, which felt like the start of something special. This year's greatly
expanded version, 30 Years of Wrestlemania, collects 46 of the most
memorable matches to ever grace the event, leveraging historically
accurate objectives to make bouts like Ric Flair’s retirement match
against Shawn Michaels feel like more than just another fight for the
old 1, 2, 3. Developer Yukes has outdone itself with its faithful
curation of WWE history here, utilizing tons of archival footage,
photos, and historical accounts to frame each match. Even the TV
overlays and ‘80s film grain are accurately represented.
There's also an Undertaker-centric section called The
Streak in which you can try to either defend or end The Phenom's 22-0
Wrestlemania run, but it isn't as entertaining as I'd hoped. The latter
approach works fine as a sort of optional boss fight, but defending the
streak is oddly handled through a slobber-knocker match, which any
wrestling fan knows has nothing to do with ‘Taker’s streak. While it’s
entirely functional, it clashes with the sense of tradition and
reverence to history that otherwise permeates the mode.
That mild disappointment aside, 30 Years of Wrestlemania is
still a meaty and varied single-player mode that would justify my
purchase all on its own. The choice to lean so heavily on the Fed's
history is a savvy one, allowing older fans to reconnect with their most
gleeful wrestling memories while giving new fans a fun, interactive way
to experience what they've missed.
Reviewed on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
→
October 28, 2013 Somewhere
deep in the heart of every hardcore wrestling mark, there's a rowdy
little kid recreating their favorite matches with six-inch plastic
figures. They're pitting the irresistible forces against the immovable
objects. They're dropping elbows and raising eyebrows. They love
reliving old memories, but they're hungry to create new ones, too.
WWE 2K14
gives that wrestling fan in all of us the tools required to do both.
Though it continues to suffer from many of the same AI and commentary
issues that have plagued the series for years, it also builds on its
many successes, delivering a sports-entertainment extravaganza that can
easily steal dozens of hours of your time.
Last year we saw WWE ‘13's fresh approach to story mode,
The Attitude Era, which felt like the start of something special. This
year's greatly expanded version, 30 Years of Wrestlemania, collects 46
of the most memorable matches to ever grace the event, leveraging
historically accurate objectives to make bouts like Ric Flair’s
retirement match against Shawn Michaels feel like more than just another
fight for the old 1, 2, 3. Developer Yukes has outdone itself with its
faithful curation of WWE history here, utilizing tons of archival
footage, photos, and historical accounts to frame each match. Even the
TV overlays and ‘80s film grain are accurately represented.
Pro wrestling is nothing if not a form of physical theatre,
and having the option to play along with the true-to-life highs and
lows of each historic match honors that
element of performance without
hamstringing player freedom. Following the script accurately nets you
some nicely done mid-match cutscenes, as well as some unlockable
goodies, so there's incentive to play along even if you aren't old
enough to mark-out over Hulk vs Andre or even Rock vs. Austin.
There's also an Undertaker-centric section called The
Streak in which you can try to either defend or end The Phenom's 22-0
Wrestlemania run, but it isn't as entertaining as I'd hoped. The latter
approach works fine as a sort of optional boss fight, but defending the
streak is oddly handled through a slobber-knocker match, which any
wrestling fan knows has nothing to do with ‘Taker’s streak. While it’s
entirely functional, it clashes with the sense of tradition and
reverence to history that otherwise permeates the mode.
That mild disappointment aside, 30 Years of Wrestlemania is
still a meaty and varied single-player mode that would justify my
purchase all on its own. The choice to lean so heavily on the Fed's
history is a savvy one, allowing older fans to reconnect with their most
gleeful wrestling memories while giving new fans a fun, interactive way
to experience what they've missed.
While there aren't any monumental changes to the way it
plays this year, there are some notable tweaks and additions. For one,
characters with catch finishers can now set them up by thrusting running
opponents up into the air first, which looks especially awesome when
big guys like Brock Lesnar use it to pancake helpless little
cruiser-weights. Strike combinations have been sped up dramatically, and
with the elimination of those endless reversal cycles from last year,
fights have gotten smoother and snappier.
Perhaps a bit too snappy in some cases. The increased speed
makes striking a lot more strategically viable,
but it can also make
them look like they're playing in fast forward, robbing them of weight
and impact when compared to the more methodical grapple moves. It's a
good change in terms of playability, but still something I'd like to see
smoothed out visually for next year.
But there are plenty of other things on that fix-it list,
including some age-old issues that have dogged the WWE games for years.
The slightly improved AI still has a habit of standing there slack-jawed
even when it has you dead-to-rights, collision detection gets dodgy
when more than two wrestlers are near each other, and the commentary
continues to be overly broad and disjointed. I grew up listening to JR
and Lawler call matches, and knowing how much they can add to the
experience makes it all the more disappointing that they take away from
it here instead.
It's easy to complain about a few trees, but this forest is vast and dense.
WWE 2K14's
creation suite, for example, is dizzying both in terms of breadth and
detail. As ever, you can tailor nearly every minute detail, from game
balance to rosters and venues to your whim. You can sync up camera cues
with custom pyrotechnics for wrestlers’ entrances, create dudes with
pink hair and devil horns, or give Chris Jericho a tattoo he should
never, ever get in real life. You can even use the powerful story
creator to plan, write, and direct branching plotlines for existing
shows, or just create your own shows to go nuts with.
Custom character storage space has doubled to a whopping 100 slots,
which you’ll be thankful for since you can now use existing WWE
superstars as templates to build from directly, as well as fully
color-edit their ring attire. Don’t like the version of HBK that’s in
there? No problem, you can make your own in minutes. Improved rivalry
management, pay-per-view options, and championship belt customization
round out the highlights this year, but yet again, it's the way all of
your creations come together in the never-ending, randomly generated WWE
Universe that make 2K14 such an enjoyable sandbox to flop around in.
And with the ability to share and download other people's creations as
well, you'll have a regular stream of new content right up until 2K15
inevitably comes out.
It still lacks the brains to deliver competent AI and commentators, but
WWE 2K14
has more than enough brawn to make up for it. 30 Years of Wrestlemania
provides the strongest campaign backbone the series has had in a long
time, the in-ring action is faster and more fluid than it's been in
years, and thanks to
WWE 2K14's
continually expanding creation suite, we’re swimming in more options
than we ever knew we wanted. It is indeed “time to play the game.”
