THQ may be history but the yearly WWE wrestling game series continues with it’s new publisher, 2K Games. If you were expecting or possibly even hoping that this new partnership would result in some kind of “reboot” for the WWE series, then forget about it. WWE 2K14 isn’t radically new game beyond the title change although with the “next-gen” right around the corner, perhaps WWE 2K15 will be.
My history with wrestling games actually dates back to the mid 90′s when I used to play the crap out of WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game. It wasn’t realistic nor wasn’t it particularly amazing but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t a thoroughly entertaining title. Sometime after that I played some real shitty wrestling games like WCW Thunder on the PlayStation but it wasn’t until 1998 that I truly fell in love with one.
WCW/NWO Revenge was released in 1998 and wrestling games were never the same again, I became an “AKI fanboy” and anything else that didn’t have the AKI logo simply wasn’t worth playing in my eyes. The AKI games however were N64 exclusives so PlayStation fans got the “Smackdown” series instead which over the years has evolved into what we have today, WWE 2K14. It wasn’t as good as the AKI wrestling games back then and if WWE 2K14 is any indication, it still isn’t even CLOSE in 2013 either.
What Did You Think Of The WWE 2K14 Demo?
WWE 2K14 marks the beginning of a new partnership between WWE and 2K Games. The game itself is still being developed by Yuke’s although it appears that Visual Concepts (NBA 2K series) is now lending a hand too. Unfortunately WWE 2K14 isn’t the start of a promising future as the game is basically just another “yearly sports update” when in reality this series is in dire need of a radical makeover.
Over the years the “Smackdown” series has toyed around with various different control schemes including a failed attempt at implementing the right analogue stick for grapples. WWE 2K14 thankfully doesn’t resort to any of that rubbish and instead sticks to what works, it’s the “back to basics” approach that started with WWE 12. There’s no hud system in the game, no silly “stamina” bars to stop you from having too much fun and no stupid QTE’s mini games at the start of the match. Much of the clutter that has plagued the series in the past has been done away with and WWE 2K14 is a better game for it.
Grapples are the name of the game in this genre and WWE 2K14 features a similar system to what we saw in AKI’s N64 games. Pushing the grapple button will initiate a grapple (shocking huh?) between the two wrestlers, from this position you’re free to yet again push the grapple button alongside a directional input in order to perform a move. All the moves are logically mapped so pushing up & grapple will result in some kind of suplex whilst down & grapple will likely deliver a body slam and so forth.
In addition there’s a separate button for strikes which can be done by themselves or from within grapples. In it’s most form basic it’s fair to say matches generally consist of mixing it up between grapples and strikes. Unlike games from some years ago, WWE 2K14 simplifies the counter system by opting to only make use of a single trigger/shoulder button. Mashing on the counter button won’t get the job done however as WWE 2K14 is pretty strict with it’s timing system and is only looking for one perfect counter, not which one of your eight button taps was the correct one.
For WWE 2K14 the strikes have seen a speed increase so they will now beat out grapples and mess with your opponent’s ability to counter your strikes from a timing point of view. Even if your opponent is good at countering, WWE 2K14 has now made it so reversals result an instant offensive attacks meaning we won’t have players constantly stuck in countering limbo. Besides, counters are way more special when they’re a rare occurrence rather than the norm.
Much has been said about the game’s visuals on internet forums, the “bookert.jpeg” is a harsh reality of what this series has become over the years and WWE 2K14 barely looks any different from WWE 13 before it. The good news is that whilst the game looks horrible in screenshots, it does at least look at lot better in motion. You still won’t recognise wrestlers just by looking at them, instead you’ll only know who they are by looking at their attire. Someone like Dolph Ziggler looks fresh out of the game’s create a wrestler mode and given how deep that mode is, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where he came from.
The big feature in WWE 2K14 is the 30 Years of Wrestlemania mode which allows you to relive those classic matches from the past. This mode is actually WWE 2K14′s main attraction as you’re taken through various era’s in the WWE time periods such as “Hulkamania runs wild”, “Attitude” and “Universe”. Whether this mode is a suitable replacement for the usual “original story” mode is up to you although I personally dig it. Especially when you consider the fact it’s a great excuse to feature all 29 Wrestlemania arenas in the game alongside some unlockable video content.
I can sit here all day and tell you about every subtle change that WWE 2K14 brings with it, I bet the developers and publisher would love that but I’m not a PR guy. I’m sure everyone at Yuke’s is very proud of their latest remixed edition of WWE games and if you must really know, WWE 2K14 IS a better game than what came before it but let’s be honest here. WWE 2K14 is an improved version of something that just wasn’t very interesting to begin with.
If you’ve been enjoying WWE wrestling games for a while now then WWE 2K14 looks set to give you what you want so go ahead and pre-order it, enjoy your Ultimate Warrior DLC. To everyone else, WWE 2K14 the videogame equivalent of Triple H, from never having a great match (game) to burying new potential talent (WWE All-Stars).
Be Honest, Will It Suck?
To suggest that WWE 2K14 sucks would be a rather harsh statement considering it’s got some good things going for it. 30 Years of Wrestlemania is a nice addition for long time fans and the roster is the best it’s been in ages. In terms of customization you can pretty much edit anything to your liking and there’s certainly plenty of different modes to keep things varied. As far as wrestling games go, WWE 2K14 has most of the boxes ticked off from a content and features point of view.
What WWE 2K14 fails to do is bring over the excitement and energy that a wrestling match should deliver. The core gameplay is boring and dull, it’s not broken by any means but there’s nothing to get the adrenaline running. Whether you’re performing Undertaker’s “OMG” dive to the outside or delivering a choke slam through the announce table, nothing in this game looks or feels devastating and no amount of weird screen shaking gimmicks can hide that.
WWE 2K14 isn’t a bad wrestling game nor is it a particularly good one, it’s just a very “meh” one. You won’t laugh at someone for picking up a copy but at the same time you won’t understand why they would want to either. The really embarrassing part however is that WWE 2K14 isn’t on par with 15 year old N64 wrestling games, it can’t hold a candle to the 2D Fire Pro Wrestling series and even worse, it’s not even as good as Yuke’s very own “Day of Reckoning” series which they stupidly killed off.
When Is It Out?
North America: October 29th & Europe: November 1st
