WWE 2K19 Review: A Step In The Right Direction

In case your relationship with 2K’s professional wrestling collection has been as fractured as a bickering tag group over the previous few years, WWE 2K19 is unlikely to patch up previous wounds. All of this to say: if you happen to did not like the way it performed then, you are in all probability not going to love the way it performs now. Some minor high quality of life refinements enhance upon the in-ring motion in a few particular match sorts, however past this the core system of strikes, grapples, and reversals has remained comparatively unchanged. As a substitute, WWE 2K19’s most notable additions seem exterior of the squared circle; builders Yukes and Visible Ideas introduce a deluge of latest content material and sport modes to satiate a side of the collection that has been sorely missing lately.The primary of which is a redesigned MyCareer mode. It ditches the grindy, glitch-ridden, character vacuum of the collection’ earlier profession modes in favour of a linear storyline akin to these present in 2K’s personal NBA video games. Your created wrestler begins his rollercoaster journey with a fictional indie promotion generally known as BCW, competing in entrance of roughly 30 folks in highschool gyms and parking heaps. It does not take lengthy earlier than the WWE comes knocking, however this is not the standard rags-to-riches story we have come to anticipate from a sports activities sport’s profession mode. You instantly blow your shot on the massive time on account of exterior interference and slightly sabotage. This forces you again to the indie scene for a short time earlier than you finally return to the WWE through some unconventional strategies that earn you various enemies.It is fetched and greater than slightly corny at instances, however the writing by former WWE author Sean Conaway is self-aware sufficient to poke enjoyable on the frequent ridiculousness of professional wrestling, and each story-driven facet of MyCareer is elevated by full voice performing. Every WWE celebrity (excluding John Cena) lends their vocal abilities to the sport, whereas indie wrestler AJ Kirsch brings your created character to life with an pleasant degree of authenticity. There are various picket performances that reveal these guys are significantly better at enjoying off a crowd than they’re sitting alone in a recording sales space, however simply having the likes of AJ Types, Braun Strowman, and Triple H chopping promos and interacting together with your character backstage injects WWE 2K19 with extra character and individuality than the collection has ever had earlier than.The structured nature of this linear narrative additionally permits Yukes and Visible Ideas to delve into the tropes and acquainted storylines that comprise per week’s value of WWE programming. You will end up engaged in plausible feuds and back-and-forth promos; you may conflict with authority figures, get screwed out of titles, kind unlikely alliances, and win when the chances are stacked in your opponent’s favour. The phantasm of selection in sure scenes is an pointless aspect, however this curated expertise is rather more pleasant and reflective of the product we watch on TV each week. It is a substantial enchancment over the boring, haphazard profession modes of the previous.That is to not say MyCareer is with out its faults, nevertheless. The dearth of a girls’s profession mode continues to be disappointing–a crudely ironic stance when you think about the three-man commentary group mistakenly spends your complete mode referring to each character as she and her. The ladies’s division is giant sufficient now to embody all the feuds and storylines you’d ever want, so it appears like WWE 2K19 continues to be caught prior to now when it ought to be latching onto the current resurgence in girls’s wrestling, notably when the WWE itself is lastly placing on its first ever girls’s solely pay-per-view, Evolution, on the finish of this month.Character development can also be a tad too torpid in MyCareer. By the point you are dealing with off towards 80+ rated superstars within the WWE, your character might be hovering someplace across the 50-rated mark. This does not make as a lot of an influence as you would possibly imagine–there’s by no means actually a tangible sense that your character is considerably improving–but you do spend an awfully very long time restricted to solely two reversal slots that want time to recharge. For a sport that is stringently constructed round its reversal mechanics, it is a needlessly irritating resolution, particularly once you’re pressured to win three-on-one handicap matches and eight-man battle royals, resulting in repetitive moments of trial-and-error.The best way you degree up has at the least been streamlined, with three totally different talent bushes that pertain to your chosen combating fashion, plus one additional sub-style. You’ll be able to enhance every thing from power, agility, momentum, grapple pace, and so forth, however apart from selecting whether or not you wish to be a high-flying cruiserweight or strong-style striker, amongst others, your customisation choices are extremely restricted early on as a result of much-maligned inclusion of loot packing containers.There are not any microtransactions for buying loot packing containers with real-world money–even with three totally different in-game currencies concerned.There are not any microtransactions for buying these loot packing containers with real-world money–even with three totally different in-game currencies concerned. However every thing from hairstyles, beards, wrestling tights, single strikes, entrance music, taunts–right all the way down to incremental beauty gadgets like eyelashes and eyebrows–are stuffed into varied sorts of loot packing containers. That is disheartening as a result of the creation suite is as complete as ever, permitting you to create nearly something you place your thoughts to, nevertheless it’s been needlessly restricted in MyCareer on account of this deal with randomised loot. You’ll be able to spend one of many in-game currencies on any of this stuff directly–casting additional bemusement over the inclusion of loot boxes–but the costs are so extortionate that you just’re higher off bowing to the gods of the RNG. Possibly this technique is smart in different sports activities titles, however professional wrestling video games have at all times been extremely customisable, and limiting your choices with a sport of luck simply feels mistaken. Nobody desires to spend hours with a personality they are not pleased with.Outdoors of MyCareer, the beloved Showcase mode makes its return after a two-year hiatus. WWE 2K19’s charts the endearing, heartbreaking, and triumphant story of fan favorite, Daniel Bryan. You could not decide a greater celebrity for Showcase’s return: he is not solely an exceptional wrestler, however an extremely likeable man with one of the crucial fascinating tales within the sport. Earlier than every match, Bryan himself will set the stage and supply context for why every match is so noteworthy, taking you on a journey from one in every of his earliest contests towards an up-and-coming John Cena, to his current return to the ring after miraculously getting back from an early retirement. The matches themselves revolve round finishing goals to arrange the strikes and large spots that comprised every match. This may be fiddly at instances when the AI does not wish to co-operate, however the pleasure of Showcase mode has at all times come from recreating memorable moments in WWE historical past, and it achieves that right here.2K Towers riffs on Mortal Kombat X’s Residing Towers, difficult you to finish a collection of themed matches that chart a rambunctious course by way of varied opponents, with myriad match sorts and modifiers retaining issues recent. You would possibly end up in a gauntlet involving British wrestlers that culminates in a match with the British Bulldog, earlier than shifting onto one other that pits you towards supernatural characters like Bray Wyatt and The Undertaker. It is a enjoyable solution to run the gamut of match sorts, and the modifiers maintain issues attention-grabbing by often altering the way in which you’d normally play. There are additionally some outlandish twists like massive head mode and an Eight-bit filter to cope with.Of these match sorts, each metal cage and Hell in a Cell matches have seen some welcome tweaks. The latter introduces extra choices for escaping the cage, together with yelling on the referee to easily open the door, and new animations allow you to scale the construction and navigate throughout it in ways in which make for extra thrilling matches. In the meantime, Hell in a Cell has been reworked in order that it is a lot simpler to interrupt by way of the metal edifice to the skin, with context-sensitive actions eradicating a number of the awkwardness.Past this, Payback is a brand new mechanic that provides every celebrity two highly effective talents. These would possibly grant an instantaneous finisher, supply the flexibility to utilise soiled ways like low blows and poison mist, or allow you to play possum to catch an opponent off guard. On paper, every capacity appears like a possible game-changing transfer that may alter the movement of a match, however WWE 2K19 continues to be far too depending on reversals for them to have a big influence. The timing on reversals is slightly simpler this yr, however it could nonetheless be good if there have been extra dynamic defensive choices on-hand. The one different mechanical change comes from an incremental enhance in pace. This is not instantly palpable, however the quicker animations do give every hard-hitting transfer some additional heft and influence.The web code, whereas not at all times good, is sweet sufficient that your timing for reversals and pins isn’t compromised, whereas commentary is as egregious because it normally is. The interactions between the three-man sales space are stilted and repeatedly out of context. Throughout Showcase, for instance, they repeatedly reference occasions years sooner or later once you’re enjoying matches from the previous. There are additionally some notable absences from the roster, which may be rectified to a point by downloading the neighborhood’s incredible creations. But you are presently out of luck if you happen to did not pre-order and wish to play as Rey Mysterio or the present Uncooked Girls’s Champion, Ronda Rousey. Glitches are a semi-regular incidence, too, although they are not as unhealthy as in earlier years, usually leading to moments of physics-based hilarity relatively than something game-breaking.Regardless of its flaws, WWE 2K19 is a step in the precise route for the long-running collection. After two years toiling away with a dearth of attention-grabbing single-player content material, the introduction of an interesting profession mode is a welcome sight that lastly captures among the character professional wrestling is partly constructed upon. The in-ring motion continues to be inconsistent and might be as divisive as ever, nevertheless it’s simpler to abdomen when the sport surrounding the wrestling motion offers you extra causes to play. WWE 2K19 won’t attain the lofty heights of wrestling video gaming’s heyday–or perhaps that is simply the nostalgia talking–but it is 2K’s finest effort up to now. Possibly subsequent yr we’ll be on to a real title contender.