wwe 2k17

The WWE Games series has come a very long way. From the days of the NES to now the current generation of video game consoles and PC, it is not going away soon. I enjoyed WWE video games for years especially the early years of the Smackdown! and Smackdown vs. Raw series along with cult classics such as WWF No Mercy, WCW/NWO Revenge, and WCW World Tour. I loved them and at this time, each series improved over another in great ways, but there are some changes that i myself including many fans did not like. I am here to count down the top 10 changes in WWE video games that nobody asked for.

10. Ridiculous Camera Angles (Smackdown vs. Raw 2009)

I start this list with a decent entry to the series even though there were a few major flaws. Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 was built around the new tag team engine but that did not stop them for having a good idea with poor execution. One of those ideas were the outside the ring camera angles. This feature made the game play irritating on where to locate the superstars and even though I liked that they wanted to have a visual presentation to what it looks like in real life, the results were not the same when that feature was implemented into this game. Have they saw other games with poor camera angles before deciding to go with this?

9. Removing GM Mode for Career Mode (Smackdown vs. Raw 2009)

General Manager Mode is a popular mode among Smackdown vs. Raw veterans. Although today’s Universe Mode is good, it is not as in-depth as General Manager mode so when fans found out that this mode is going to be removed in Smackdown vs. Raw 2009, the entire community was very angry. What they did was added a Career Mode and trust me, it is very dull. You chose a brand, your superstar, your match of the week and try to build attribute points and repeat. This mode was so repetitive that you will get bored with this mode after one hour.

8. Promo Engine (WWE 2K17)

We all thought that this engine would change WWE Universe Mode in this game but we were so wrong. Want to have Bray Wyatt say something like “i will defeat you at the next show” or “me and my friend John Cena will team up tonight”? Well that is the promo engine for you. Every character has their own way of cutting promos on television in real life. In this game on the other hand, it is as robotic as a Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar match. There is no life to these promos and it was a huge waste of time trying to create segments with the superstars too. Did i forget to add that the promos are in on screen text instead of voice overs?

7. Fighting Styles (Smackdown vs. Raw 2008)

This game is considered the worst of the Smackdown vs. Raw era and it shows the moment you play this game. There was a new feature that included fighting styles and your superstar had a choice of having two out of eight different styles. This decision was very poorly received because this game had far too less moves and limited down how many moves a superstar can do. Good thing that this feature was removed in next year’s game and turned those styles into a variety of abilities that your superstar can have.

6. Removing 2K Showcase Mode (WWE 2K17)

The 2K Showcase mode goes way back to The Attitude Era mode way back in WWE ‘13 and to see it being removed in 2K17 is a huge mistake. The only way you can play this mode is by DLC but in 2K18, this mode was not brought back. You cannot sell a video game with no base story with it.

5. Not Including Many WCW/ECW Superstars (Smackdown! Just Bring It)

Lets keep this in mind that i said “many” because this game was released at the height of the WCW/ECW Invasion storyline. The likes of Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Hurricane Helms, Mike Awesome, Tommy Dreamer, DDP, Lance Storm and many more huge names were absent from this game. It is the first WWF game on the PlayStation 2, but it was a disappointment by fans despite the fact that the game actually looked great. The roster was extremely outdated and there was no excuse for this since Smackdown! 2: Know Your Role had a very stacked roster a year before.

4. Very Minimum Content (WWE 2K15)

2K15 was a graphical improvement since it was running on PS4/XBOX ONE hardware and that is all it was. Removing many content such as multiple match types, the ability to create custom soundtracks, Create a Superstar, Match Creator, Entrance Video and other content was just very jarring for a WWE Video Game. You would think that you would have multiple options and decisions in this game when it is first announced but I along with many other fans learned the hard way and that is, when there is not much announced before a release date, then there is something that they are hiding that does not want to come to light and this game is a prime example of that. The last WWE video game I have enjoyed was 2K14 and that is almost 5 years ago now.

3. Character Models (WWE ‘12)

This game has some of the worst modern character models for a WWE video game at the time and it was a shame to see the downgrade of graphics compared to the previous game’s graphics engine. I will say no more other than Look at Booker T in this game compared to others.

2. Merging GM Mode With Season Mode (Smackdown vs. Raw 2008)

“Why did they do this” comes to my mind when i first tried it out at a comic book store when i was still in high school back in 2007. This is another idea that sounded good on paper, but bad when you see it. The ratings system is extremely broken, your selected superstar burns out quick within a few matches, the ECW Brand would lose every time and so on. There is more to be said badly about this decision and I am glad that they never did this again. The last game to have a good GM mode was Smackdown vs. Raw 2007.

1. Adding Loot-crates (WWE 2K18)

In the age of Loot-crates and micro-transactions, this one takes my number one spot because when gamers hear those words, there is trouble to come. Of course you cannot use real world money to buy those crates in this game, but i have a bad feeling that it will happen in the next game since 2K Games did it to a few of their game lines such as NBA last year. Loot-crates are for My Career only, but nobody should have to rely on randomized boxes to increase stats and etc. We saw how this damaged EA’s and Bungie’s reputation and i have a bad feeling that 2K will get that reception too on this year’s game. This is a feature in every game that NOBODY asked for and that is my main reason why this takes the number 1 spot.

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After playing the game for about 5 days, I can honestly say I’ve played enough of this game to give some final thoughts on it. I doubt anyone personally cares what I think, but I decided “hey it’s the internet so ill post it because I can”. I’ve divided everything up into a few sections so can individually go over everything with some detail. prepare to read huge walls of text as i begin my review.

MY CAREER MODE

Out of everything that was hyped for 2K17, My Career Mode took the cake. The addition of Promos and the Paul heyman guy challenge shown in the trailers seemed to show us that the game was heading in the right direction. Upon actually playing the mode, however, you find out that its just as bland and grindy as the last two games. The lack of progression feels so awful when your fighting the same people every week, putting on the best matches you can with the likes of Fandango and Bo Dallas, attempting to create 5 star watches with jobbers just so you can move up the ranks. My career mode feels like a crappy version of Universe Mode where you have to grind until the end of time to increase stats, attributes or even to buy a decent finishing move pack. Overall, it’s a huge disappointment.

GAMEPLAY

Throughout all the wrestling games ever made, the last 3 have had the best gameplay by far. The addition of Roll outs, a better ladder setup system, new mini-game for ladder matches and the new OMG moments, have all created a very realistic feel to the game that is much needed. Many glitches do occur here and there and the overall pacing of the matches still seems a little too fast for my taste, none the less it’s the best gameplay we’ve had thus far.

GRAPHICS

This one seems to be a very debatable issue as certain aspects of the game look great, while others seem to fall very flat. I noticed pretty quickly that certain characters had more attention to detail then others, as if they just couldn’t afford a budget for other characters. The likes of Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Finn Balor and some others have amazing lighting, attention to detail and overall great textures/models. Other characters, however, have gotten the “PS2 Graphics” treatment where they look like they were made in the character creation tool but look far worse. I’m not entirely impressed with the graphics nor am i really that disappointed in them as these most sports games have meh visuals.

UNIVERSE MODE

Out of everything that is wrong with 2k17, Universe mode seems to be what saves this game from being put in the bargain bin. Universe mode provides endless customization, playability, and overall player control. Where Career Mode seems to have its faults, Universe seems to provide the fix for them along with providing loads of content.

INTERFACE

Usually, this is something I could really care less about in most games, however, this interface is just awful. Universe mode specifically seems to be harder to navigate through, not to mention that once you start a show, you can’t go back to change any universe settings, check the calendar or reach basic universe functions like who holds the current title.

FINAL THOUGHTS AND VERDICT

WWE 2K17 provides more content then the previous game and delivers gameplay that certainty out matches any of the previous games. However, i don’t think this should be something 2k should be praised for. Many of the “New additions” aren’t even new at all. Backstage brawling and crowd fighting were done long ago with even more content included with it and in much more detail. The creation suite has loads of content to deck your character out with, however, past games have had a pretty fair amount of customization until 2k15 came out with its new gameplay engine. The honest truth is that a wrestling game like SVR 2007 and 2008 had loads more content then the current games do and even delivered massively in the My Career mode with full-voiced characters, customizing locker rooms and the ability to go through a full-blown story with a created character or current WWE Star. WWE 2k17 is playing a long game of catch up with older games and that’s disappointing. The only area 2k17 seems to evolve and capitalize on is its realistic gameplay, even then though it has trouble keeping it afloat. I will give this game an final score of 6/10

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