Make your Move! The Next Generation of WWE Gaming by Bernardo Saldana-Garcia

“Oh my God, this can’t be possible. A Triple Power Bomb to the World’s Largest Athlete! The power of the Shield is simply dominating and incredible.” Many insane stunts can such as the previous can be done all with the thumbs and game controller. It has been a few weeks since the release of World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) newest game, WWE 2k15. The game was just released on October 28, 2014 in the United States. I will be going over the game’s improvements, how it can be improved, the quality of the playable storylines, and how it compares and contrasts to last year’s WWE 2k14.

            The game 2k15 offers an astounding new experience for the player. Most people would argue that the game is simply a copy of last year’s WWE 2k14. Although the two games in appearance are similar, new gameplay features are added in the game such as almost realistic graphics which makes the player almost feel like they too are in the game. The characters have actual face expressions like when they are in pain or are fatigued. Speaking of fatigue, the stamina meter is included which determines if the superstar is still willingly able to compete or too exhausted to continue the match. There is also a chain grapple mini-game within the match in order to try and game the upper hand against the opponent. The probability of gaining the advantage is the same probability when playing paper-rock-scissors. The purpose of the feature is to make the game seem more like wrestling instead of simply beating each other up like most games have shown to do.

            New characters are available in this year’s WWE game while others are available only through downloading or are additions with the game if it is preordered. Although new characters are added, there aren’t as many playable characters as there were in 2k14 which included multiple retro versions of present day characters and numerous Legends who were icons and main entertainers back in the late 20^th Century and early 21^st Century. Some retro versions of versions are included with 2k15 but not as many as one would expect. Despite that, new grappling systems, OMG moments, and more Catching Finishers were available to more characters which improved gameplay by adding more pressure on the player as to whether the opponent will knock them off in an instant or drag the battle onward to an all-out war.

New experiences within the game include 2k Showcase, which allows the player to experience two of the most heated rivalries in WWE history, and Who Got NXT (exclusive to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) or MyCareer (exclusive to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The two playable storylines on 2k Showcase, called Best Friends, Bitter Enemies (the rivalry of Triple H and Shawn Michaels from 2002 to 2004) and Hustle, Loyalty, and Disrespect (the story between CM Punk and John Cena from 2011 to 2013) proved to be worth playing as there were 2 years filled with a variety of matches and opponents in each of the 2 storylines. The mode, Who Got NXT, gives more attention towards the five exclusive NXT rookies in the game. MyCareer mode is similar to Career modes back in Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 and in the early Smackdown! games. In MyCareer mode, the player has to make his or her way to becoming an official WWE superstar by starting out in WWE’s NXT, which is where all new WWE rookies start out in order to make their way into the major leagues and eventually into the WWE Hall of Fame. However, the actions they perform or decisions they make impact their future on becoming.

In WWE 2k14, storyline modes included 30 Years of WrestleMania which walked the player through the WWE’s biggest event of the year: WrestleMania. The player was able to play out main event matches from WrestleMania 1 in 1985 to WrestleMania 29 in 2013. The player would also have a chance to proceed onto WrestleMania 30 and challenge The Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania 21-0 streak. One final mode also included in 2k14 was WWE Universe Mode where the player controlled the WWE universe: its matches, title changes, rivalries, etc.

The game’s new features, controls and advanced realistic-like graphics are impressive but there a few many improvements I may add in order to make it more enjoyable. For example, I would update most of characters to what persona they currently take and add in more uprising characters to give the player a broad choice of who to play as and if their abilities are impressive or lacking skill. What I mean by updating the characters is by giving them their current look or position in the WWE. For example, the three members of The Shield, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose, each went their separate ways back in June of this year but they’re still a team in the game and they paved their own personal paths for some time already. Another issue that has gone on from previous games was the lack of original commentary from the commentary announcers, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Michael Cole. There are many lines that have constantly been used since the first Smackdown! game back in 2000. I’m not saying that it’s completely terrible, it’s just that I feel like it needs some more originality because I feel like I don’t want to hear “That’s it, he’s done.” or “What impact that steel chair had!” in future WWE games 20 years into the future. Despite the suggested changes, I highly recommend the game to any fans of wrestling or teenage gamers interested in a war-waging battle.