Developer: Yuke's, Visual Concepts
Publisher: 2K Sport
Platform: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Windows
Tested on: Xbox One
WWE 2K17 – Review
For those not familiar with wrestling, let me paint a quick picture: two muscular men in colorful tights (and on occasion even a cape, mask and feathers) enter the arena. The crowd goes wild while both men flex their muscles and taunt each other from across the ring. By now the commentators have gotten warmed up as well and they start to whip up the crowd even more. A decent part of a wrestling lies in the show surrounding it. That being said, make no mistake there will be pain!
Story
Like any good sports game there is an annual release schedule and WWE 2K17 is no exception. This year we receive a great lineup of some of the greatest wrestling stars both male and female. Each equipped with an extended set of moves and special moves/finishers and attributes. This year around there won’t be a showcase mode, in which you replay a series of historical matches with a chosen superstar.
However in the universe mode and the regular single player mode the player can take full control of the story. Will you play as your favorite fighter and recreate some of his/her greatest victories or get a rematch of a lost fight by manually selecting the right opponent and fighting ring. Or will you carve your own path with your custom made fighter in career mode? If all of these items still doesn’t tickle your fance, there are a great deal of options to create your own fighter.
Graphics
Visually the game looks good; the characters are recognizable even from a distance nonetheless close ups reveal some flaws (mainly) in the hair department but overall the graphics are of a solid and decent quality. The animations on the other hand look amazing as many of the moves were motion captured which really pays off in terms of realism. You can really see the violence and the pain that your character endures when you get a hit. It’s really entertaining as we humans love violence even though we pretend to be civilized. A video game crowd often tends to get dull after a while but this crowd manages to stay interesting, the referee and the judges are all well animated. Besides that the environments look good, the menu’s are not dull. There is a screen with smoke and every now and then a super champion will appear do their signature entrance move which is quite entertaining.
Sound
The in-game soundtrack is selected by Sean “Diddy” Combs aka Puff Daddy who did a good job of selecting songs from different genres created by emerging as well as well established bands. it adds to the overall excitement of the fight. The boo-ing or cheering of the crowd is a nice touch. The commentators are doing a good job of following the match, sometimes it gets a little repetitive but nevertheless adds to the overall feel of the game. The commentary can give subtle hints to change up your moves once in a while so it doesn’t get boring, the show must go on after all.
Gameplay
WWE 2K17 is sport simulation fighting game. For gameplay there are several campaigns. They all have their specific rules that you have to obey in order to win the match.The game offers several different modes, each with their set of rules you’ll have to live by if you wish to come out as the victor. Expect many traditional wrestling settings, but also a mode that supports cage fighting, which got us completely riled up. Fans of the wrestling scene will know that fights are often taken outside of the ring. This allows you to slam your opponent on the judges’ table, knock him out of the ring, or simply go backstage and start the fight early. The action is divided in offense and defense but you have to time your actions properly. Even though the setting might be attractive to start bashing all your buttons, the game is rather unforgiving for those who try this approach. All of this requires a tremendous amount of effort, but it certainly hits a sweet spot when you nail the timing of your counterattacks. Your adrenaline will start pumping in many of the scenarios, and it will create a certain drive for you to keep pressing on. After a while you get rather attached to your walking, talking chunk of testosterone, giving you an awful feeling when he bites the dust.
The strategy to win your game is try to get first punch, kick or grab in, you will definitely have the advantage. If not, it can be hard to get up if you are not used to playing this type of game. Remember just like in real life when you get a punch you need some time to recover. Better have a look at that stamina bar. If you didn’t get the first blow in, you might find yourself at the receiving end of the pain you can work your way out and get back on top by countering your contestants attacks at the right time. Being on the ground is the worst thing in this game, it’s difficult to get up and when your pinned down a mini game to break free appears.However if you’re lucky and can perform several chain attacks, your attacker will be dazed, disoriented or rolling on the floor in pain. Once your adversary is down, you can attempt to pin him down and close the match early or climb the rope and attempt to inflict even more pain by leaping on top of your already downed opponent. You can also taunt the pubic and/or your enemy for a boost. This adds to the overall sensation of wrestling. Skill is required to execute the moves but in between there is time for show. Taunting is necessary and we do so gladly.
Conclusion
WWE 2K17 is a great game for the fans of professional wrestling and a decent game for anyone looking to get into the fighting genre. This title isn’t for the fainthearted and players who are new to the genre might be discouraged at first, seeing this title is rather brutal and unforgiving. Nonetheless, players who show perseverance and patience will come out on top, and find the very joyous aspect of this realistic fighting game.
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