Wrestle Reviews
WWE 2K14
Release
2013
Format
Sony Playstation 3
Xbox 360
Background
I have waited a while to review this game because I wanted to put some serious time into it before I gave my opinion. WWE 2K14 is the start of the relationship between 2K Games and the WWE. It was 2K Games who after much speculation when THQ sold off their assets who got the rights to make games based on the WWE. While 2K is the publisher it is still Yukes who is developing the game. One fun thing about the game is that the box art is reversible. On one side you have The Rock and on the other you have Daniel Bryan.
Some speculated that there would be no WWE game in 2013 as it would take a while for 2K to get their first one out. But the yearly game is a huge source of revenue for the WWE so no matter what I am sure 2K were told there had to be a game out in 2013. This is perhaps why 2K kept Yukes as the developers for the game. Who knows for WWE 2K15 we may have a whole brand new style of wrestling game.
Presentation
Let me just say right away that this game pretty much looks like WWE13 from last year. The character models still have the exact same look to them. This is not me putting the game down as some of the character models are still very impressive, but do not go into this one expecting a whole brand new graphical engine. I am sure that 2K are saving that for next year’s game on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One. One thing that I really hope the next generation of consoles can fix is the hair. Now I know that it sounds odd me complaining about wrestlers hair, but in contrast to the rest of the character model the hair just stands out so much because of how bad it looks.
One thing that the game has really improved on in its presentation is the way that you can customize the wrestlers. Superstar Threads has been around for a few years now and for those that do not know it lets you edit the attires of the wrestlers. Well now you can also edit their entrance attires and in general you seem to be able to mess with more stuff. Add to this is a thing called Superstar heads. This lets you put a wrestlers head on a create a wrestler body and make a new attire from that.
The main game mode this year is 30 Years Of Wrestlemania and this mode has some really amazing video packages that tell you the histories of specific matches, but in this mode you really get to see Yukes at both their best and their very laziest. To me a game based on nostalgia has to get as many of the little details as right as possible. But while there is nothing majorly wrong there are lots of little things that really bugged the hell out of me. Shawn Michaels still after a few years has that god awful stupid entrance that just looks so awkward. Diesel wrestles with his entrance vest on. Paul Bearer in Wrestlemania 11 has his Wrestlemania 14 character model. This may not seem like huge things, but there really is no excuse for all these little things to be wrong. It’s like for everything thing Yukes get right they have to mess another up. Hopefully 2K will be far more strict than THQ were with things like this.
Game Play
WWE 2K14 is not reinventing the wheel for the most part this is the exact same game as WWE 13. Which is really not a bad thing as I had a ton of fun with WWE 13. There are though a few little changes here and there. The main thing I noticed that was different was the reversing. Now this is done the exact same way as it was in WWE 13 by hitting the R trigger (on Xbox 360 not sure what corresponding button on PS3 is sorry) at the right time. The timing though feels a little different. It’s not bad, but it did take me a little while to get the hang of the timing.
It was always going to be tough to top WWE 13’s Attitude Era mode, but I feel that Yukes really did try. What we have here is the 30 Years Of Wrestlemania mode. Here you will play matches from the past 29 Wrestlemania’s. In each one you are required to do specific objectives in order to progress to the next match. This is a really fun mode and its great reliving some of these classic matches, but it just does not flow like last year’s Attitude Era mode did. It’s really just a random selection of matches that are thrown together.
One thing really bugs the hell out of me in this mode and that is despite the game having Macho Man Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior as part of the roster. The 30 Years Of Wrestlemania mode does not feature there block buster match from Wrestlemania VII. How on earth did Yukes not include this match? It honestly blows my mind that they did not put this match in here. It may sound crazy, but knowing how lazy Yukes can be I wonder if it was left out so they did not have to re-create the Ultimate Warrior’s elaborate attire he wore for the match.
There is an awesome new Undertaker themed mode called Streak Mode. For those of you who do not know the Undertaker is undefeated at Wrestlemania since he made his Wrestlemania debut back at Wrestlemania VII in 1991. This mode lets you try and defend his streak or try and defeat the streak. I love this mode it is like a throwback to the Slobberknocker mode that used to be in the old Smackdown games. To me this is the best mode that Yukes put in WWE 2K14 and I would love to see a similar thing implemented in next year’s game.
2K said that WWE Universe mode would see some improvements and for the most part I think that the mode n general just seems to work better. It was said that there would be more cut scenes this year and while I have heard some people say they never get any cut scenes I can say that I personally have had way more than I had last year. WWE Universe I think just needs a little more work and it really will be a spectacular mode.
Final Thoughts
I think you have to give 2K games a pass this year. They had an already established development team doing what they have been doing for years and for the most part it looks like 2K just kept their noses out of it. I hope that next year though they do step in and shake things up a bit. In all I have had a great deal of fun with WWE 2K14. While the 30 Years Of Wrestlemania mode may not be as much fun as last year’s Attitude Era mode it still is decent. The new Streak mode though to me is the best thing this game has going on. WWE 2K14 is worth checking out just do not go into expecting anything majorly new from last year’s game.
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