WWE 2K17 review

Welcome to Suplex City

Xbox One tested version

For fans of the World Wrestling Entertainment the only way to imitate the exploits of your favorites is to play the series WWE 2K, which as now well known, after the bankruptcy of THQ, about three years ago, took over the brand and brought it back into vogue. The formula, proposed by Yuke's, under the supervision of Visual concepts, albeit with lights and shadows, it is the same as last year, thus bringing the title to be a sort of expansion of what was already evident in the past chapter.

The most relevant news of this year is the fact that, as happened last July in the most famous Wrestling Showcase and appreciated ever, is the implementation of the brand extension, Or the separation of the two main Rosters (Raw and SmackDown) and therefore while in WWE 2K16 all the wrestlers gave themselves a good reason without distinction of any kind, in the 2017 edition we have two clearly distinct ranks of wrestlers (and above all of belts).

With the exception of some additions, between superstars and customizations, there are very few new features and the feeling is that 2K Sports (in addition to having completed a project without too much conviction) should give a nice cut to the series and focus exclusively on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions, as wanting to bring the game also on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, seems to somehow limit the actual potential of a good title that on balance could instead be close to perfection.

Showcase? No thanks!

WWE 2K17 no longer offers one of the most popular modes for fans that is Showcase mode. For those who do not know what we are talking about, we tell you that this method, last year, saw us retrace, from its origins to its greatest successes, the glorious career of Stone Cold Steve Austin and therefore (leaving out the inexplicable choice of cutting the Showcase option in the trunk), it would have been completely sensible to allow fans of the series to retrace the stories of other legendary Superstars, (perhaps in the role of this year's testimonial: Bill Goldberg), of Brock Lesnar that appears in all its brute strength on the cover of the game or of the various John Cena, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker and why not some emerging star like Finn Balor (the first fighter to win the Universal Championship). We cannot understand the decision to eliminate the modality, precisely because it represented an intense and particular experience and to "remedy" the lack, Yuke's and Visual Concepts, have decided to expand the formula offered, thanks to the possibility to try your hand at a plurality of different matches: Hell in a Cell (which is also the next exclusive PPV for Raw's Roster), Falls Count Anywhere, Backstage Brawl (which allows you to go behind the scenes and fight without counting out among chairs, bins, boxes, lights, barriers , tables and much more), Extreme Rules, Ladder, Table, TLC, Steel Cage, Iron Man, Last Man Standing, No Holds Barred, Submission, Normal Tag Match, Elimination Tag, Elimination Tornado Tag, Triple Threat, Fatal 4- Way, 6-Man, Handicap Match, tournaments and the inevitable Royal Rumble with ten, twenty or thirty wrestlers.

Among the other modalities present, we have: My career (present in the various sports titles of 2K and Current Gen exclusive), which will give us the opportunity to create our virtual alter ego through the vast and fortunately simplified editor present within the game. There are many options present, which will allow us to customize not only the aesthetic appearance of our athlete, but also the entry into the ring, the moves, the celebrations and the movements.  Once our Superstar is created, we will find ourselves catapulted into the Performance Center in Orlando Florida and under the supervision of the Ex Wrestler A-Train (now Jason albert), we will have to go through a series of steps from time to time (ranging from trying to talk in the ring through the promos to defeating other fighters) to get, passing first from NXT, to earn that popularity that will allow us to reach the top of World Wrestling Entertainment. Our wrestler will therefore follow a well-defined path that will make him stronger thanks above all to the enhancement points (Perk) and also providing him with a wider and more varied range of moves. Furthermore, in the course of our career, we will be able to create alliances, dissolve them with a turn face or heel, challenge the Authority of Triple H e Stephanie McMahon and even try to become a Paul Heyman Guy. For the rest, career progression, albeit with some minor variations, is similar to that seen in past editions.

The mode WWE Universe, although it is substantially identical to that of WW2K16, in the absence of that Showcase, it is certainly the funniest feature of the title, as it allows the player to give free rein to their creative and managerial skills, transforming it into a real one General Manager and taking control of all the shows present, passing through the PPVs, creating new rivalries, modifying the champion titles present and with the possibility to play the matches in first person or to instantly simulate the outcome. As for instead the online mode, while last year the title was practically unplayable due to the presence of lag and input lag with delays ranging from one to three seconds, making the gaming experience anything but pleasant, this year we must say that the multiplayer sector behaves all in all well with net code definitely improved, but with still some little uncertainty in matchmaking (which still turns out to be quite slow) which should be fixed anyway. Excessive latency also prevents you from hitting the Quick Time Event, which are very important to try to avoid the opponent's moves and to carry out a counterattack. Among the game modes present we have the possibility to challenge a single player, participate in 2K Tonight events or to fight three against three.

The Champ That Runs the Camp

Il gameplay it does not present substantial novelties, it always tends to be more fluid but at the same time staid and to oscillate between the arcade and the simulative too pushed, seeking a realism that in the long run could tire as it will make the encounters too slow and not very exciting. The rhythm is marked by the right balance between stamina and the use of counter moves and sometimes the lack of balance between the two can cost very dearly, leading the user to remain at the mercy of the opponent's shots and consequently to lose the match for a rash move (especially at higher difficulty levels).  Il combat system (a bit like it also happens for NBA 2K) keeps unchanged a certain amount of complexity which could discourage novice players and especially those less patient; in fact everything is based on the inclination of the right analogy stick and depending on where we are positioned inside the ring. In doing so, Yuke's tried to make the encounters more reasoned, strategic and less instinctive.

I Counterattacks they appear to be of two types, the light ones which are indicated by a green circle and the stronger one instead indicated by an orange circle. Even pinning and submission do not undergo changes, taking up the systems already tested in previous chapters; however, it must be said that for those looking for a softer approach, there is the possibility of modifying the system and of favor pressing the keys that will appear on the screen. Note of merit for the automatic split-screen when the distance between the two wrestlers engaged in the fight is long to be shot by a single shot, a brilliant idea that replaces the camera that went too far in the past chapters of the series.

In essence, the gameplay of the title has remained strongly anchored to that of 2016 and simply an attempt has been made to smooth out those small defects present. This choice will lead the lovers of these rhythms to appreciate once again the work done, while those who love a faster and more arcade approach, may be disappointed. Personally, I prefer this approach as Yuke's has finally managed to achieve that right balance between the more action-focused component and the more reasoned and simulated one.

You're NEXT

WWE 2K17 is the chapter with the largest Roster ever seen in a Wrestling game with more than 150 Superstars (current and past), some of which can only be unlocked with VC points. Surely a praise must be given to the work done on polygonal models, treated practically in the smallest details (leaving out only a few athletes not particularly similar to the real counterpart and with generic animations), but all in all the road taken is almost practically completed: credible sweat, very fluid animations, more attentive spectators (although still far from realism of NBA 2K17) and all the elements of the contour and not extremely realistic. Also the lighting seems to be uncertain at times, with a good system of reflexes on the athletes' skin and a little less as regards the entrances and the atmosphere in the arena. We conclude by talking about the good sound compartment, which offers a truly exceptional soundtrack curated by rapper Puff Daddy; the audio commentary, entrusted to the duo Michael Cole e JBL it works perfectly (although at times still not very varied and engaging) and is further embellished by the Ring Announcer Liliàn Garcia which will accompany each athlete during their entry.