Time to get that spandex out of the closet and pretend you can’t see a certain wrestler; WWE is back and brings in some new stuff! We were very happy with the 2K16 version and were hoping that the 2K17 version was even better. Too bad the developers made some strange decisions and made it feel like the game just isn’t finished yet. Do we really need WWE games every year? Time to find out.
Strange cover star
Brock Lesnar is this year’ cover star and that’s a rather strange decision, to be honest. Lesnar only fought around seven times this year and his popularity is quickly declining in the industry. Even more absurd is the cancellation of the Showcase mode due to the cover star. The Showcase mode was one of those newer modes that gamers really appreciated. They liked playing as the cover star, reliving the epic battles in a virtual environment. Since a lot of Brock Lesnar’ opponents aren’t in the game, the developers decided to cut the Showcase mode entirely, since they couldn’t create an experience that feels real. Our advice? Don’t make a wrestler a cover star if you can’t create a decent mode around him.
Things get worse when you know there will be a Showcase Mode later on as a DLC pack. This Showcase will revolve around other characters but it doesn’t feel fair to charge your players some extra money to get their beloved Showcase Mode. It’s a very strange decision and it’s something I’m having a lot of trouble with accepting. This just feels like a cheap and easy cash-in.
The combat remains fun
Although it’s a bitter pill to swallow, we need to look beyond the point of disappointment and see if the game has some fun to offer. The actual fighting remained extremely fun and the team even managed to include some great additions to the already great fighting engine. First of all, it’s worth mentioning that the game has a lot of new animations, resulting in a very fluent fight. Creating a game like WWE isn’t like any other sports game on the market. Since WWE is all about deception instead of real damage, the developers really need to make sure that it doesn’t look too realistic, you still need to be able to enjoy the spectacle instead of the violence. That’s why the game doesn’t look as good as other sports games but the animations are on point in this year’ entry.
Less fun than WWE 2K16
Reversals are the key mechanic in this entry. Where you had to rely on a button and random luck in previous WWE games, W2K17 uses a new meter to perform a reversal. You’ll need to keep a close eye on that meter since it represents the stamina of your fighter. In order to perform reversals, your fighter will need to have enough energy. Rolling outside the ring to catch your breath is one way to do so. That’s right, the developers finally found a good reason to leave the ring.
Other improvements are the melee weapons. I personally had a lot of trouble grabbing an object in the older WWE games. In W2K17 I grabbed chairs, ladders and more with ease. It’s great to be able to grab those without real trouble since it results in a very fluent fight without losing the momentum. You can also take the fight backstage or in the crowd to make it more intense. Those are the improvements we can truly appreciate but it’s a shame the rest of the game isn’t as polished as this.
Make your own promo video
Another new and shadier mechanism is the Promo Engine. With this, you can create custom introduction movies for your own fighter. You can select out of different dialogue settings to insult your opponent. It’s great on paper and one might wonder why this feature took so long to be integrated into the virtual world of WWE. The only downside about it is that it’s very random. You can never predict the effect of your rants since it sometimes destroys friendships between wrestlers or creates new, unexpected ones. It would be great to see the actual effect on the roster but like it’s now, the system is a bit too random to really add something to the game.
What do affects the game are the taunts during a match. You can now taunt your opponent during a match, resulting in a small ego boost and a bit more strength. This system results in a new way of wrestling since you’ll be able to boost your strength for short periods of time.
Some modes
So aside of the free fighting offline and online, you can enter some of the modes. MyCareer Mode returns but it feels less impressive as last year’ career. The big problem with it is that you’ll need to grind forever before you can team up with the real stars and perform some signature moves. Before you get to that point, you’ll be battling a lot of random characters, you’ll even fight the same one a lot, in order to increase your level. There’s nothing fun about grinding endlessly just to get some in-game cash to spend.
The biggest problem is the cancellation of the Showcase mode but this got replaced with the Universe mode. A mode with a lot of RPG-like elements that don’t really feel at home in a WWE game. The loading times are a bit too long in this mode and it the mode doesn’t really make a lot of sense most of the time.
If you ask us, you’ll find the most fun in the regular battles against the strong AI or online players. That’s where WWE shines and really shows what this 2K17 is capable of.
Conclusion:
WWE 2K17 is a worthy entry in the franchise but it made some changes we regret. Dropping the Showcase mode isn’t a good idea and the endless grinding of the MyCareer mode isn’t fun to play. That being said, the new animations and reversal mechanism results in fun fights during the free fight modes. If you’re a fan of wrestling and would like to play a good wrestling game, this is a safe bet although the 2K16 might be a better and cheaper alternative at this moment.
