The level of fan service on offer is staggering, and extends to taking matches and feuds beyond the ring, to the point of being able to cut promos – talk smack, basically – towards opponents, fans, and nefarious ownership duo The Authority (Triple H and Stephanie McMahon). That idea, in itself, is an outstanding one – but its delivery doesn’t match up. 

Promos come in six types: ‘self promotion’, ‘call out’, ‘turn face’, ‘turn heel’, ‘form tag-team’ and ‘break-up tag-team’. On your turn to speak, you select one of four dialogue options, prompting your character to deliver a text-based rant or insult or plea to the crowd. If your promo involves a rival, they do the same, and so on until one of you delivers ‘the last word’, and a winner is declared. It’s a simple system, deserving of credit because no major wrestling game has tried it before, but falls shorts of its ambitions simply because its dialogue is, in too many places, please-slam-me-into-the-nearest-ringpost bad.

I’ve had Brock Lesnar complaining about a bad smell backstage. John Cena calling AJ Styles a rooster and telling him to “coo-coo baby”. And, on multiple occasions, been presented with the option to tell an opponent he has a “malodorous mouthpiece”. I’ve no doubt scripting wrestling promos is hard – you only need watch Raw to know this – and don’t want to be overly harsh on a feature that adds more than it subtracts. But the verbiage needs lots of work for it to be truly be described as ‘good’.

Thankfully, the other new, beyond-the-ring elements are fantastic. Fighting at ringside feels fresh thanks to new TV-aping camera angles, and tiny details you only usually notice when watching in an arena – such as spotlights tracking each wrestler. From here, brawling into the crowd is a treat: there’s an area north-west of the announce desks loaded with weapons, where you and your opponent can re-enact ECW’s greatest hits with glee. And backstage battles are the best of the lot. You can free-roam around the gorilla position, dressing room, and Authority office, whacking your opponent every way from Sunday, and pulling off brutal ‘OMG’ finishers such as a powerbomb into an oak table. (Please, do not try this in IKEA.)

Not that WWE 2K17 needs gimmicks to make you enjoy the actual wrestling element. Those looking for a pure fighter with a ‘rasslin tinge should stick with R Mika and Zangief; anyone seeking a close approximation of what happens in a real ring will be in their element. Much like last year, gauges for stamina, momentum and reversals deliver a satisfying ebb-and-flow to each match, with attributes driving the feel of each bout. Bulky, tortoise-slow Braun Strowman against turbo-soled cruiserweight Sin Cara has an entirely different dynamic to all-rounder AJ Styles battling strong-but-pedestrian John Cena. And the feel of characters matches their attributes – you really sense the weightiness of Strowman, the daintiness of Summer Rae, and all variations in between.

The minority braying for a complete revision of last year’s engine are likely to be disappointed, and will continue to be so until a No Mercy remake is commissioned. For everyone else, a few smart in-ring tweaks are included. Targeting is easier and much, much better: simply tap R3 to switch focus to a different grappler. Reversals are more nuanced, too, coming in two flavours: minor and major. Successfully nail the latter and you lose two reversal slots, but temporarily weaken your opponent. Like most elements of the in-ring action, it means you’re constantly engaging both reactions and brain – something true of too few wrestling games over the past three decades.

The star rating awarded for each match –  a feature of career mode last year, now expanded to include all matches in all modes  – is another superb inclusion… in theory. You can raise it from one all the way up to five by, for instance, using a variety of moves, hitting signatures and finishers, and ‘heightening drama’, but that isn’t a collective ‘you’. Nothing the AI does counts. That old adage of a five-star match being impossible? Definitely accurate if only one of the combatants is being graded.

With Showcase mode thankfully tombstoned into oblivion, there are two long-haul offerings included here. One is a spectacular waste of time. Thankfully, the other is so good as to render the first redundant.

Let’s start with the bad: MyCareer. And when I say start with the bad, I mean in every possible sense: the opening hours of this create-a-manager mode saddle you with an entirely inept fictional tag partner. Mine is called Lance Xander; it might as well be Johnny Cellophane. Before you can do anything meaningful (or even fun), you need to win the tag titles with this chump, a task made impossible by a. his absolute lack of in-ring presence and b. a ranking system which makes no sense. At one point we were 4th in line for the titles, and defeated the 3rd-ranked Wyatt Family two weeks in a row. Result: a fall down the rankings, to 5th. Just… what?

Grind for five hours or so and you eventually get to the cool stuff, such as working with (and being hilariously put down by) legendary manager Paul Heyman, but the mode will have eaten your soul long before then. Five. Hours. For me, the lowest low was a tag match where I hit my ninth – ninth! – finisher, and Xander still did nothing when D-Von Dudley jumped into the ring to break up my pin on partner Bubba. “How many times is this guy going to use his finisher?” spat commentator Jerry Lawler. “It might be time to audible that game plan a bit.” I did audible my game plan. To RKOing the entire TV set off the wall.

Mercifully, Universe mode is everything MyCareer isn’t. Offering total customisation of your own shows, pay-per-views, feuds, storylines, rosters and so much more, it’s absolutely comprehensive in scope, and mostly excellent in execution. And yes, you can – nay, should – have Bret Hart as your champion forever. Corny dialogue and all, promos do add a new wrinkle to this mode in its seventh (and best) year, and smartly break up the succession of identical matches which made it hit-and-miss in previous editions. 

Storylines are more varied, too; I’ve had fun in-game months where AJ Styles and John Cena, and Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch, have seen rivalries escalated by a variety of run-ins, distractions and other chicanery of the type you see on WWE TV, with little repetition thus far. Let’s hope that remains the same after months of sustained play.

It’s the customisation options which bring Universe mode – and the game itself – into its own. There are three separate save slots, so you could have, say, three Universes on the go from different eras, and when I say you can customise shows, that extends not only to match cards, but every presentation element imaginable.

For the first time, each show in Universe begins with a wonderfully authentic TV-style introduction, followed by fireworks and a brief welcome from Michael Cole. Don’t like the Raw video package and/or theme? Change either, or both, to one of the many intros and audio samples supplied, which includes wrestler themes. I have a retro show that kicks off with a WWE Live 91 sting, soundtracked by Big Boss Man’s Hard Times. I don’t want to call it everything I’ve ever wanted from a wrestling game, but it’s close.

Across the game, those focuses on customisation and fan service intertwine perfectly. On the subject of music, for instance, you can use an in-game equivalent of Audacity to splice entrance themes together. Want a wrestler’s tune to seamlessly switch from Stone Cold’s legendary glass smashing to Zack Ryder’s ‘oh radio, tell me everything you know’ kick? Doable in seconds. And the swathe of editing suite options extend to applying any outfit to any other wrestler of the same sex. The Shield reformed in Big Boss Man garb? Doable in seconds. Dana Brooke reinvented as a Trish Stratus clone, in the same manner as kickstarted Mickie James’ career? Doable in seconds.

I could spend another four paragraphs further elaborating on the whole ‘fan service’ point – you can now save two attires to a single create-a-character slot, and there are ten different types of referee you can select for any match, and I really must stop there so as to avoid spoiling all of the numerous surprises on offer here. WWE 2K17’s new features don’t all succeed on first try, yet in many areas it delivers way beyond expectations. And, in terms of building for the future, it’s put foundations in place which are solid as The Rock.

WWE 2K17 was reviewed on PS4.

The Verdict

4

4 out of 5

WWE 2K17

A varied and fulfilling selection of pretend-o-fights, bolstered by new features which don’t all work exactly as intended – but show tantalising promise for the future.

The post WWE 2K17 review: “You and your opponent can re-enact ECW’s greatest hits with glee” appeared first on Game News.

WWE 2K17 (opens in new tab) is released on PS4, PS3, Xbox One and Xbox 360 on October 11.

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Both Lesnar and Goldberg left WWE in acrimonious circumstances after a WrestleMania 20 bout which fans booed out of the building, but Lesnar returned in 2012 – and Goldberg says he’s now open to doing the same. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: [the past is] water under the bridge. If WWE wants to make good money, and have a good opponent for Brock… hey, who knows?” 

Lesnar isn’t the only man on his list of prospective opponents, either. Goldberg also says he’s like to go one-on-one with Seth Rollins – “Captain Crossfit needs to be taught a lesson” – and reserves particular praise for a legend who he never got to wrestle during his brief 2003-04 WWE tenure: The Undertaker.

“Taker is an idol of mine,” he says. “I’ve know him since before I got into the business. I very much respect him both in and out of the ring – as a human being first and foremost, but also as a wrestler, with all he’s achieved. Going up against him would be a dream come true for me – and the fans, obviously.”

Goldberg also explained the deal he has with his nine-year-old son Gage, whereby the latter earns gaming time in exchange for real exercise. “It’s called the 100/100/100: 100 push ups, 100 sit ups and 100 push kicks for 20 minutes on a videogame,” he reveals. “As far as I’m concerned he can continue playing it for as long as he likes, as long as he continues to do that stuff, as he gets something out of it at the same time.”

GR+ spoke to Goldberg at 2K’s pre-Summerslam ‘Suplex City’ event, where fellow grappler Kevin Owens told me how much he wants to beat up (opens in new tab) Toad from Mario Brothers.

WWE 2K127 is released for PS4, PS3, Xbox One and Xbox 360 on October 11.

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With Raw on Mondays being one hour longer than Tuesday’s Smackdown, it’ll get three superstars for each two awarded to the latter. Developmental territory NXT is set to lose six of its biggest names – among them former male and female champions Finn Balor and Bayley. (No surprise both are gearing up for WWE 2K17 appearances (opens in new tab).)

WWE has released a list of eligible grapplers which noticeably doesn’t include The Undertaker (inactive outside of WrestleMania time), Ryback (contract issue), Rosa Mendes (maternity leave) and injured names such as Nikki Bella, Luke Harper, Tyson Kidd, Tamina and Emma.

Below, then, is GR+’s predicted list of how the two shows will end up. Check back in tomorrow so see how many are correct.

Before we get to the rosters, a few bold shouts:

– WWE has advertised six grapplers being called up from NXT to the main roster, but that number will in fact be seven. WWE has said tag teams only count as one slot, meaning both members of American Alpha will be drafted together. They’ll be joined by Bayley, Finn Balor, Nia Jax, Samoa Joe and Carmella.

– Asuka and Shinsuke Nakamura will shockingly not be on the list of call-ups.

– Raw’s titles will be the WWE Championship and US Championship.

– Smackdown’s will be the World Heavyweight Championship and Intercontinental Championship.

– The Tag-Team and Women’s Championships will be defended on both shows.

– The retired Brie Bella will somehow find her way to Smackdown in order to link up with newly announced general manager (and real life husband) Daniel Bryan.

– The Dudley Boyz are split, just as they were way back in May 2002. Bubba Ray channels his TNA time and becomes a badass heel on Raw, while D-Von slots into the Smackdown midcard.

Raw:
MAIN EVENT
Brock Lesnar
Chris Jericho
The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
Randy Orton
Roman Reigns
Rusev & Lana
Samoe Joe (before dropping the NXT title to Shinsuke Nakamura)
Sheamus
Seth Rollins (likely as WWE Champion from Sunday onwards)

MID-CARD
American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan) (NXT call-up)
Apollo Crews
Baron Corbin
Braun Strowman (after splitting from Bray Wyatt in the draft)
Bubba Ray Dudley (after splitting from D-Von in the draft)
Enzo Amore & Big Cass
Kalisto
Kane
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
The Usos
Zack Ryder

 JOBBER CITY
Big Show
Breezango (Fandango & Tyler Breeze)
Golden Truth (Goldust & R-Truth)
Jack Swagger
Social Outcasts (Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel & Heath Slater)
The Shining Stars (Epico & Primo)
Titus O’Neil

WOMEN’S DIVISION
Bayley (NXT call-up and title winner at WrestleMania 33)
Becky Lynch
Carmella (NXT call-up to reunite with Enzo & Big Cass)
Charlotte
Dana Brooke
Eva Marie
Sasha Banks

Smackdown:
MAIN EVENT
AJ Styles
Alberto Del Rio
Bray Wyatt
Cesaro
Dean Ambrose
Finn Balor (NXT call-up)
John Cena (likely World Heavyweight Champion from Summerslam onwards)
Kevin Owens  

MID-CARD
The Miz (& Maryse)
D-Von Dudley
Dolph Ziggler
Darren Young
Mark Henry
Neville
Sami Zayn

 JOBBER CITY
The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor)
Erick Rowan
Sin Cara
The Vaudevillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch)

WOMEN’S DIVISION
Alicia Fox
Brie Bella
Naomi
Natalya
Nia Jax (NXT call-up)
Paige
Summer Rae

You can watch the draft live on USA Network in the States (8pm EST/5pm PST) or Sky Sports in the UK (1am).

Images: WWE

The post Predicting the WWE draft: Reigns to Raw, Cena to Smackdown, Undertaker goes unmentioned appeared first on Game News.