After four painstakingly crafted offerings under the 2K Games banner, WWE video games have been nothing short of promise failing to meet reality with ideas & ambitions suffering from an engine that has been outdated for at least two gaming generations and a yearly development window. Modifying the gameplay style, upping the graphics & even creating a new mode focusing on the journey of a created WWE Superstar hoping to become the World champion helped each recent entry in the “WWE 2K” library to be entertaining for a short while, but numerous bugs and poor planning have hurt the franchise from maintaining the high standard of quality the series once had. In an effort to make good on the promises laid out game after game, 2K declared this entry would be the most fun “WWE 2K” experience yet. Understanding that grandiose marketing is a necessity to promote an upcoming game especially during such a busy release season, I took the developer’s words as a grain of salt when picking up the game for another potentially fun, yet problematic time.
Did I Complete “WWE 2K19”?
As per the norm, “WWE 2K19” provides a lengthy trophy/achievement list demanding the player take part in all the modes including its online offerings and testing out some of the new features & roster additions associated with this release. One of the most exciting additions to “2K19” is the returning “2K Showcase” featuring an abridged look at the WWE career of Daniel Bryan that lasts around four hours. To compliment “2K Showcase” is a new take on “MyCareer” mode that sees 2K take a page out of the THQ playbook by crafting a story based around a created character working his way up to the top of the WWE ladder through some unconventional and, at times, cheesy means that comes across as a narrative in some ways better written than the modern day WWE product. “MyCareer’s” story can take a player at least twelve hours to finish, but most likely will last about fifteen or more hours considering the necessities to finish certain sections & the difficulty level. There is also the returning “Universe” mode, a new implementation with “2K/MyPlayer Towers” that act similar to “Mortal Kombat X’s” Towers and the pair of online modes, but nothing fills the completion quota better than the “2K Showcase” and “MyCareer” modes.
Did “WWE 2K19” Live Up to the Hype?
Though one of the biggest promotional points attached to “WWE 2K19” was the fact they were making the game “fun” again by adding new modes, gameplay options and people to the roster (though the greatest sports entertainer alive Tommaso Ciampa is somehow left off the game), the gameplay itself is mostly the same from the last four iterations featuring a more simulated style of wrestling unlike the arcade nature of the earlier “Smackdown!” games during the Playstation & Playstation 2 eras. A majority of the implementations from the other “WWE 2K” games returns here including the reversal meter (which can be turned off in Exhibition and Universe), stamina meter, chain wrestling, the carry system, submission system (both the wheel and button-mashing versions), manual targeting by tapping the right analog stuck, OMG moments, taunt buffs & Breakout options where a wrestler can attack their opponent before or after a match in Exhibition & Universe modes. Other than a majority of the animations being redone to make things a little faster when the bell sounds and continuous striking not causing automatic reversals without a reversal bar being used by the AI, the only new addition to the gameplay is the “Payback” system. When a character is beaten down continuously one of two icons beside the health & stamina bars will fill. Depending on the “Payback” and “Overcharge” abilities chosen by the player beforehand, a character can pull off special attacks by holding the right bumper button and tapping the left bumper that range from spewing poisonous green mist to calling for illegal interference with some attacks such as the “Power of the Punch” causing disqualifications in regularly ruled matches. Some “Payback”/“Overcharge” abilities are solely attached to “MyPlayer” and the created wrestler made for “MyCareer” mode which is a little disappointing considering those are some of the most absurd & entertaining “Payback” abilities in the game.
Like the gameplay, a majority of the stipulation matches that gained adjustments or modifications such as Table matches getting a meter that grows each time a person hits a table, or the button-mashing implementation in the Royal Rumble/Battle Royal matches, flow into “2K19” from “2K18” for good reason as they really helped a lot of those stipulation matches run smoother and more effectively. There are very few new stipulation matches other than the Wyatt Compound arena that is essentially a less interesting Backstage Brawl environment. Hell in a Cell this time feels claustrophobic as the characters oddly move around the cage as if they’re stuck in a small corridor like when the action spills into the crowd. One of the biggest flaws from “2K18” was the return of eight-person matches for non-PS4 Pro/Xbox One X owners as the game struggled with keeping a consistent frame rate compared to any other match featuring six or less wrestlers on screen at one time. While the frame rate in eight-person matches is consistent, the overall match speed is slowed down by half and ruins the reversal timing.
Creation enthusiasts are in for a treat yet again. The creation of a wrestler is helped by one of the most robust facial transformation systems in WWE game (and maybe even gaming) history, as well as the return of importing a picture of someone’s face to place on a generic CAW to almost instantly put that person in the game; and being to download creations by others from across the globe. There are plenty of options in regards to clothing and hair including the ability to stack shirts & pants, and dyeing hair without much changing from last year’s iteration including body shaping that still isn’t as good as the version seen three games ago (though the addition of “Minecraft” style characters is very cool). The other “Create-A” modes are getting better with each iteration of this generation including the reformatting of “Create-A-Entrance/Show/Arena/Championship/Video” from “2K18” returning and a great feature where the player can change the color of any piece of clothing in a separate section of the HUD without going through the layers area. “Custom Matches” also return, but lacks the ability to let someone’s imagination run wild like having a steel cage inside Hell in a Cell. The only real new thing about creating in “2K19” is the ability to make a special “Money in the Bank” briefcase that can be assigned to any character & used in Exhibition mode – making the always-exciting moment of seeing someone fight for the biggest prize in WWE at any given time even more memorable. Optimization is disappointing when creating definitely needs improvement and some of the limits on how much a player can do including stacking clothes.
Modes are what really make “2K19” standout. First there’s the new with “Towers” mode spread across two sections while having the same structure in both areas. Like “Mortal Kombat X”, the player takes a character through a series of matches featuring various stipulations & modifiers such as winning only by submission in a match sped up with the intent of earning virtual currency to buy locked wrestlers, title belts, arenas (a lot less arenas this time than in “2K18”) and the loot packs attached to “MyPlayer”. Each “Tower” has a specific difficulty, set amount of opponents & changes frequently to keep things fresh. “Towers” is an interesting concept, but lacks the absurdity of what “Mortal Kombat’s” version provides while reminding the player just how of a slog the game can be when a player is forced to wrestle twelve matches in a row in one sitting with the hope that something terrible doesn’t happen & the tower progress is reset.
For the first time in three games “2K Showcase” mode returns focusing on the relatively memorable WWE career of Daniel Bryan. Not modifying the formula established years ago, “2K Showcase” demands the player to complete certain match objectives such as damaging a wrestler to a certain level before going for the pin to initiate a cutscene that may or may not feature a quick time event. Those who got tired of the “2K Showcase’s” limited structure won’t find anything to praise here other than the narration done by Bryan himself – adding a nice level of authenticity not seen in previous “2K Showcase” offerings that needs to be the norm going forward if “2K Showcase” is utilized in future iterations. “2K Showcase” is a nice return to give something else for a player to enjoy for a short time. There are some obvious omissions from Bryan’s story, but it’s understandable considering certain people like AJ Lee can’t be used without them using some odd replacement like they did with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s “2K Showcase” three years ago.
“MyPlayer” is the overall banner for a “Towers” mode solely made for the “MyPlayer” created wrestler, online competition for people who want to take their fledging created wrestlers online, and “MyCareer” mode. The latter is what really shines as, for the first time since implementing the mode, “MyCareer” stays on a focused narrative that sees the player take a created wrestler (male only, unfortunately) from indie wrestling darling to Universal champion. The mostly-fully voiced mode (except for John Cena who is played by an obvious actor) doesn’t take itself too seriously, pays homage to the past and creates one of the best narratives seen in a WWE game ever without forcing the player to wander around backstage to have useless conversations while the returning side quests boil down to fights backstage. Unfortunately the action & busy work outside of the story is what hurts the overall “MyCareer” and even “MyPlayer” experience thanks to the return of loot packs & a very grind-heavy skill tree. With each completed chapter of “MyCareer” or during certain moments of the mode, the player is given another type of currency that can be used to purchase loot card packs that will provide clothes, moves, performance additions such as taunts & entrance options, and even boosts like having a stored finisher at the start of an online match or Tower.
Loot packs are very affordable & can only be purchased with the aforementioned in-game currency. Unfortunately the luck of the draw can leave a player getting double items and stuff they don’t want with the only option of purchasing specifically locked creation items is by spending VC at outrageous prices. This is coupled by the fact “WWE 2K19” uses the “NBA 2K’ strategy of making the “MyPlayer” created character a weakling at the very start with a skill tree that is not only laborious in terms of seeing any type of progression, but is also attached to the overall ranking a player earns in “MyPlayer” by participating/completing “MyPlayer Towers” or “MyPlayer” online matches – meaning a gamer’s “MyPlayer” created wrestler won’t reach his maximum potential without doing some extensive work outside “MyCareer”. For those who enjoyed the “MyPlayer” structure from last year will feel right at home here, but others may be disappointed that by the end of “MyCareer” their hand-crafted character isn’t up to a player’s intentions.
“Universe” mode where the player can somewhat be Vince McMahon by making rivalries & running the respective brands including their own created versions has attained some nice fixes including making it easier to manage Superstars on the brands and rivalries, but still feels like it’s stuck in the same template presented almost a decade ago. The usual online modes are also available outside of “MyPlayer” for those who simply want to play as a WWE Superstar, but there’s still that problem with laggy connections causing issues with the pin system where the person getting counted down can’t kick out; not to mention the reversal timing being inconsistent from match to match. The graphics look just as good as last year’s featuring great lighting showcasing inconsistent character models and animations that, at times, can be very stiff & robotic. Technically, the game is still problematic. Beyond the frame rate issues in eight-person matches are graphical glitches, moments when a player can’t attack a downed opponent, and even weird warping of characters around the screen.
One of most egregious errors is attached to the commentary as the team featuring Michael Cole, Byron Saxton & Corey Graves will ramble on about people not even involved in a match and, most frequently, call wrestlers outside of their gender. In regards to “2K Showcase” and “MyCareer” there is one glaring flaw connected to both: a lack of mid-match checkpoints. The lack of mid-match checkpoints (something that could be perfectly triggered after one of those QTE cutscenes) will see a player having to go through an entire match or sequence if things don’t go right including glitches & crashes like what happened to me during an Ironman match with Bobby Roode that saw the game crash right before my character won 3-1.
For the first time since “WWE 2K16”, a WWE game feels like it’s taken a large step in the right direction. While the gameplay itself hasn’t evolved that much and players who haven’t enjoyed the change in style in regards to the bell-to-bell action won’t be too happy yet again, the mode offerings & overall fun factor is reminiscent of the late era PS2 games where the franchise, arguably, hit a highpoint that hasn’t been overcome. This is easily the best WWE game to be released since “2K14”, but there’s definitely a lot of room left for improvement.
Should You Play “WWE 2K19”?
After several years of the “WWE 2K” games being showcases of ambition & potential being hindered by the engine, a lack of developmental time, and ideas not executed very well, wrestling video game fans finally have a WWE game that is worthy of this generation with plenty of modes, some modifications to what’s been around for years, and a refined “MyCareer” mode that is mostly fun from beginning to end. There are definite flaws with this game including the grind to get a “MyPlayer” wrestler up to snuff, creation option limits, certain items seen in last year’s game being removed or unchanged for the better and a gameplay system that has divided the fan base still being at the core of everything that happens. But for all the problems & issues associated with this game and the ones that came before it, this is easily the most satisfying WWE experience for eighth generation consoles for those who have enjoyed the gameplay from the past four games. If the gameplay style that started in “2K15” isn’t your forte, all the modes & improvements won’t mean a thing in terms of this being the most electrifying WWE game in sports entertainment today.
