FINALLY……
A single word, not holding much meaning, unless, of course, you are a fan of World Wrestling Entertainment. The WWE is based on telling complex stories with intricate characters, with sprinkles of surprises (some good, some bad). On Monday, October 6th, on Monday Night Raw in Brooklyn, NY (I was there), the big, bad Russian heel, Rusev, called out Big Show and started laying into how crappy America is. Rusev was met with a sea of boos as Big Show never came out and Rusev began to gloat. And then, the music hit. “IF YA SMELLLLL, WHAT THE ROCK, IS COOKIN.” The arena erupted. The Rock had been missing from action since WrestleMania 29 (I was there for that too), when he tore his abdominal muscles facing John Cena. Many people have been long awaiting The Rock’s return, some younger fans really didn’t know who he was, and others simply forgot to remember that they wanted him there. The same can be said about WWE 2k15.
With 2K Sports now 100% behind the franchise, and having a full year to develop a game, the initial news and announcements about the features of the game were pretty basic; updated rosters (as in with all sports games), completely overhauled graphics (thanks to the next-gen systems), and a single-player mode to rival WWE 14’s “30 Years of WrestleMania” mode. Unlike the NFL, NBA, or NHL, the WWE actively promoted this game: from making a cover-reveal ceremony for John Cena on Raw a few months ago, to having a star-studded panel of wrestlers, active and legends, to announce the roster for the new game, which they showed on the WWE Network for only $9.99/month (you can thank me later Vince.) What people didn’t know while watching the roster reveal, was that they would announce something that many wrestling gamers have been waiting for for a long time; 2k My Career Mode.
What We Know
WWE 2k15 is set to release on 10/28/14 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and 11/18/14 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Here are some of the things we know about the new title, as well as some of the things we are hoping for:
Pre Order Exclusive
WWE announced, with help of an amazing commercial, that WCW legend and Icon, STING will be an exclusive pre-order character. WWE had great success with last year’s pre-order exclusive character “Ultimate Warrior,” but this is a game changer. Every wrestling fan knows that Sting was loyal to WCW, and never once stepped foot into a WWF/WWE ring. Having signed a WWE Legends contract, WWE is now able to use him whichever way they can. Having him as an exclusive pre-order will guarantee huge pre-order figures.
2K Showcase Mode
This single-player mode looks to be the successor to the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode that had great success last year. Showcase mode will differ in the fact that it will feature 2 rivalries that you can re-enact: HHH vs. Shawn Michaels (2002-2004) and CM Punk vs. John Cena (2011-2013). Along with being able to play these moments in history, there will be video packages, WWE footage, cinematic cut scenes, and even WWE Superstar commentary. This will most likely be more focused than the 30YWM mode, which could mean more details to how each rivalry unfolded.
MyCareer Mode
In my opinion, this is the biggest “oh by the way announcement” I can remember for this franchise. WWE 2k15 will feature a MyCareer mode. 2K had great success with the MyCareer mode in their NBA franchise, so it only made sense that they incorporate it into their WWE franchise. The general idea of having a career mode in a WWE game is awesome as it is, but once more details were released about this mode, people started getting very excited. Here is what we know far about MyCareer Mode:
- Users will create a player from scratch in a very in-depth customization suite.
- Your wrestler will train with Bill DeMott in the WWE Performance Center, doing a series of objectives that will eventually lead to a roster spot on NXT.
- Several NXT Superstars have been added to the roster, including: Sami Zayn, Rusev, Bo Dallas, Adrian Neville, and Corey Graves
- Once your wrestler hones his skills in NXT, he will get a call to join the WWE main roster. Vickie Guerrero acts as the General Manager and will set matches and objectives that will shape your wrestler’s career.
- Over the course of your career, ever decision can affect your career. You can form alliances and rivalries, compete for titles, and even jump from heel to face, all while upgrading your wrestler’s attributes and unlocking new abilities, moves and attire.
MyCareer Invasion
A blockbuster announcement was made regarding MyCareer mode with the addition of Career Invasion. This will allow gamers to import their friends’ created wrestlers into their own single-player career. You will be able to import up to 5 of your friend’s characters. The best part, once they’re imported into your career, you don’t know when or how they’ll come into play. For example, you could win a title at a huge pay per view, only to have your friend’s character show up and lay you out, or come in for a save when you’re getting your ass kicked. This could revolutionize how single-player modes in sports games are played. Can you imagine if your friend’s Center could be poster-ized by your Power Forward in NBA? With the incorporation of the Invasion feature in MyCareer mode, as well as the many career paths you can take your character, the single-player replay value has never been higher for a sports game.
Season Pass
An announcement was just recently made regarding a Season Pass for WWE 2k15 for downloadable content. Last year’s title had a decent amount of DLC; 19 wrestlers, 30 new moves and new creation parts. This year is offering another Season Pass, which GameStop is listing at $24.99, which will include the exclusive character, Paige. One major DLC that will become available in the Season Pass will be additional rivalries to play in 2k Showcase mode.
What We Want
Improved Commentary
Anyone who has played WWE games in the past, know how quickly the commentary gets repetitive. Rumor has it that the announce team has put in a lot of extra time and work to limit the repetition of commentary. This doesn’t really affect the gameplay all too much, but it would make it a lot less annoying.
Improved Collision Physics
Sports games are taking full advantage of the next-gen consoles with their graphics, and WWE already is showing the same promise, but where the other games like Madden or NHL have shown great increases was the collision physics of characters. I understand that with wrestling being a very contact-driven sport, that the collision physics are harder to duplicate realistically compared to a football tackle or a hockey check. But with the next-gen systems, and showing that other sports franchises have shown it’s possible, I would love to see a big leap of realism.
Large Selection of DLC
While we have the information of some of the DLC that will be available, it would be nice to see a large selection of additional materials. Downloadable characters will be huge to keep the roster fresh and updated, although I would not be opposed to having some legends available for download either.
All in all, WWE and 2K have the potential to be a ground-breaking, blockbuster of a sports franchise tag-team (see what I did there?) The pieces are all in order; let’s just hope that they can deliver.
HYPE METER: 9/10