Genre: Combatant Sports
Developer: Yukes
System I Played On: Xbox 360
Year: 2013
That’s right, fuck the Rock’s cover, I went with this one. Anyway, the WWE franchise seems to go through changes less consistent than other sports games. First the series went from the Smackdown vs. Raw franchise to just WWE. And just as they seemed to start their formula, THQ ends, and now 2K looks like they’re going to be running the series from now on. Either way, the name clearly doesn’t affect the work going into the next game. 2K14 is the next step in the franchise, and replaces the old Attitude Era for a Thirty Years of Wrestlemania mode where you relive the events of the each Wrestlemania. Not all of them, just the obvious ones. I liked the Attitude Era a lot, and this new storyline equals it pretty easily, so that’s a big feature for the game. Besides that, you get your usual updates. Roster updates with new characters (The Shield are finally in the game) along with the improvements, which sometimes aren’t always improvements, but they don’t look like they got rid of anything I liked yet. But to be honest, my main problem with the game was the fact was they didn’t push the barrier as much as I would have liked. I don’t like the idea of yearly games, but I think as long as they do enough, I’m okay with it. But there are still so many gaps to fill. The commentary is still bad, the belts still look kind of crappy, and oh my god, I hate the ending animations, and how few there are. I loved WWE 13, and maybe because I didn’t play ‘12, so I was getting a lot of new stuff. But I feel like I don’t need this game because I already have ‘13, and that’s it’s main problem. I feel like this game doesn’t separate itself enough like ‘13 did when it added the Attitude Era. But let’s get the good out, I do like this game. Wrestlemania mode is very bad ass, and I liked learning about old classic matches I didn’t know about, and reliving the ones I did. The streak mode, I really hope they keep it in every game, because it really is a nice feature that wouldn’t hurt anything. You know, besides my vocal cords when I’m screaming at Undertaker because I can’t win. Also, the little things over the years that have stacked up. All the things you can create, customize, and do with your universe. But again, I have this in ‘13, and don’t really need a updated version for sixty dollars. But another good thing, 2 player was really fun for me in this one. I just took more advantage of it, and my brother and I had a lot of fun. Another thing I can compliment is the roster. I still wish they would just keep some old characters (I wish they would have kept guys like Hawk, Animal, and X-Pac) but at least they’re trying with brining guys like Batista and Goldberg in one game. But still literally as I write this review I can hear Biker Undertaker’s theme in game, but no Biker Undertaker!) But the roster I’m still happy with, despite how much I wished they’d just keep going up, and not up and down with each game. And before I talked about the customization, but in this I noticed a lot more. Not a lot as in the stage and belts. But when I made my superstar and gave him an entrance, I found myself able to way more than I thought I’d be able to. I wasn’t sure if any of it was in the last game (for instance all the cool entrance movies, animations, etc.) but I really took advantage of it this time. Anyway, I feel the WWE series is harmless. I love wrestling, and it’s a sports game that I can get behind more. But I just hate the idea of paying sixty dollars for a better version of a game, when so many games out there are really unique. But I can’t deny it’s a good game, and I had a better time with it than a lot of games I consider unique, but still not good. (For instance Brink, my last review) But in the end WWE looks like they’re finally going to keep their formula, and maybe they’ll get some good games. Maybe fans will finally get what they want on some features, I just hope 2K15 will be a little better, and some of the many things I have found annoying for years will finally go away. But with the jump to the next gen systems, I see no reason why that wouldn’t happen. Who knows what the future will hold for the series.
WWE 2K14 Review