WWE 2K17

For most annualized franchises, 12 months is barely enough time to add new features that will entice fans to return to the series year after year. With WWE 2K17, however, developer Yuke’s decided to subtract instead of add. Rather than bolster a bloated feature set, WWE 2K17 ditches the popular Showcase mode in favor of polishing existing systems. But while the core combat has improved over last year’s entry, Yuke’s grappling skills still aren’t strong enough to make anyone other than hardcore WWE fans take notice.

Most of WWE 2K17’s combat improvements are incremental. Wrestlers still dish out the same basic attack combos, still have the same stamina management system, and still use the same pin/kickout mechanics. However, reversals now feature a larger timing window, which makes it easier to take control of a match. Taunts give you mid-match buffs that are a great way to catch your breath while your opponent is about to go down. You can also perform post-match run-ins to interrupt a wrestler’s victory celebration, which is great for fueling new rivalries. And for the first time in years, you can take the action into the crowd and into backstage areas. I loved throwing my opponent through AV trunks and finding other interactive objects to smash over their head. None of the tweaks to 2K17’s action are game-changing, but they’re all welcome.

Unfortunately, 2K17’s incremental improvements only help expose the greater flaws in Yuke’s wrestling series. The in-ring action is as sluggish and plodding as ever. These WWE superstars move like rigid action figures, which tends to drain most of the tension from each match. While 2K17’s reversal windows are widened, the reversal cues are still disconnected from character animations, so the only thing clueing you into a reversal opportunity is a button prompt that appears over your wrestler’s head.

Many matches feel like drudgery as your opponents almost always kick out of your first pin. You often have to build up and use your finishing move once or twice before getting a three count. Conversely, if you’re really bad at WWE’s timed button minigames, your opponent could count you out even when your character’s health is in the green. Even when you’re completely overpowering your opponents, 2K17’s action feels like a battle of attrition rather than the exuberant display of athletic prowess that fans have come to love about WWE. It’s a shame WWE 2K17’s core mechanics are such a grind, because most of the content surrounding the in-ring action is sure to please wrestling fans. The creation suite – which lets you customize your own wrestlers, championships, and arenas, among other things – is as deep as ever. MyCareer mode simulates your created wrestler’s journey from the performance center through NXT and a string of championship belts to the WWE Hall of Fame. This experience is repetitive, but it is so deep that it allows you to create your own promos and manage your merchandise sales.

Meanwhile, the WWE Universe mode is basically a manager mode that lets you organize WWE shows, plant rivalries, and build championship dynasties. You can even see how you stack up against other players online in a variety of exhibition matches, and I experienced almost no lag while duking it out with real opponents. All of these modes are meaty, but the Showcase mode, which let you relive some of yesteryear’s most glorious smackdowns, was always the most polished and presentation-heavy mode. Its absence is sorely felt. After previous publisher THQ folded and 2K took over this series with WWE 2K14, I had hoped the WWE games would see a slow crawl out of mediocrity, and that wrestling fans would eventually have a wrestling game they could be proud to show non-wrestling fans. Unfortunately, the 2K series has carried forward with the same by-the-numbers combat we’ve seen for years. 2K’s next WWE game doesn’t need to check off a list of incremental improvements – it needs a complete overhaul.

I am a huge wrestling fan, playing the WWF games dating back to the days of the NES so when WWE 2K17 was released I was all in. The thing is, any annual release style game never gets the chance to reinvent itself. The previous year's game had one of the best single-player modes (featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin) since 2K took over the license, but for this year's game, it fell kind of flat.

Replacing It With Nothing

I have to get this out of the way. The previous games in the WWE 2K series featured a main single-player mode called WWE Showcase. It let you play out the events of a classic feud or in the case of WWE 2K16 the career of Steve Austin. For WWE 2K17, they took that mode out and replaced it with nothing! Not only that, they then tried to reintroduce that mode and expect us to pay for it via DLC!

My Career

The main mode in this year's game was My Career. Although if you played this on the Xbox 360 or PS3, this mode is missing! The idea of My Career is great, you create your own wrestler and you start off at the bottom of the WWE as a trainee. The goal is to work your way up to legendary status.

It is a fantastic idea and in some ways, they do pull it off. The mode is a tad slow, but if you get a connection to your created wrestler, this mode can get you pretty invested in what is going on.

WWE Universe

The other main game mode in WWE 2K17 is WWE Universe. This lets you take control of the WWE. You get to decide what the rosters for each show are, create your own shows and PPVs and decide what the storylines will be. I love WWE Universe mode and while it may have the odd bug here or there, as a wrestling fan this is a mode that I spent a ton of time with. Also, if you are playing the PS3 or 360 version, this is your only single-player mode!

So Close To The Real Thing

Visually when WWE 2K17 gets it right it knocks it out of the park. Some of the character models in this game (and the series in general) look incredibly lifelike. However, others can look flat out disturbing. There is also an issue with hair clipping through the bodies which has been happening since the days of Smackdown on the PS1 and it is still not fixed. The game also has incredible production values, the wrestler entrances show off the character models and the incredible arena designs too. You have a great roster of modern and retro starts and the ability to create your own wrestler and download one’s others have made is here too.

It’s Like Being In The Ring!

By the time we got to WWE 2K17, I feel that 2K had developed a decent in-ring formula and decided to just stick with it. The gameplay here is fine, it is very, very similar to WWE 2K16 and the following years 18, but I have always had fun with these games. There is a massive selection of match types and sometimes a match can have some awesome back and forth action that gets you heavily invested in the action. However, they really did not try to add anything new for this year's game and that made a lot of people mad!

Pros:

• The roster is stacked
• My Career has some good ideas
• A great selection of match types
• Matches can be very exciting on some occasions

Cons:

• Removing Showcase Mode was a bad idea!
• The whole game feels very half-baked