Upfront admission is that I'm a passionate lifelong fan of professional wrestling and the attempts to replicate the experience onto games consoles. Grown men in tights dancing around the ring is a common point levelling at the sport. Some people enjoy watching soap operas; others stay glued to reality television shows such as Big Brother or I'm a Celebrity... The World Wrestling Entertainment industry is a culmination of soap opera, reality television, talent shows, pantomime and sporting entertainment.

Since 2K Sports took the helm to create the ultimate experience; versions of each game have improved with great strides especially with the introduction of a free-form universe mode and MyCareer mode. However, the latest version has been plagued with game bugs and a game experience that feels stodgy particularly in the MyCareer Mode version.

MyCareer mode allows the user to customise and build a new superstar from physical makeup, attire, entrance music/video and also their moveset. The journey allows the user to shape their superstar as a babyface who plays by the rules or a go-getting heel that's despised by fans and superstars alike.

The issues with the MyCareer mode have been fully documentated including rivalries taking longer than necessary (sometimes 1+ year), slow ranking increases, lack of cut scenes or story buildup. My first superstar was locked in a rivalry with Kofi Kingston for 9 months which is a long arduous process especially when you are achieving victory on at least 95% of occassions. Being locked in a rivalry also prevents championship opportunities unless locked in with the champion himself.

The promo mode was a welcome addition for those wishing to add context and realism. However, the promo options don't show the full content of what is due to be said; has little impact on the rivalry itself and also it is not voiced. Instead, the user reads the response plus there are limited options - self-promotion, call out opponent, turn heel/face and breakup/make a tag team.

WWE 2K released a patch to address some of the minor crowd and commentary issues. Commentary is atrociously repetitive and also some of the match introductions do not match up. For example, my superstar was taking on The New Day as a handicap match. Michael Cole introduced it as a a one on one match. It must be noted that the download patch has failed to install onto my own system - I have checked with several users who are experiencing similar issues. As the patch is not installed - this prevents network access to online matchplay mode.



This may seem a loaded negative review of the game. I was disappointed. There is a massive roster available including VC purchases and downloadable content. The matchplay options are as expansive as possible. The gameplay and graphics appear more realistic without being too mesmerising. Needless to say, I deleted my superstar and retried. This time around, I earned a championship within a month and was on the road to being a Paul Heyman guy.

If you interested in checking it out - Buy Now