WWE, in both its real and digital form seems to be at a bit of a crossroads right now. While both still pull in the numbers (either in terms of viewers or players), and certainly have a loyal fan base, neither is quite as big as it really wants to be - and neither really seems to know how to get any bigger. When ratings start to slip, they fall back into a familiar format - call out the old guard, get the nostalgia buzz going, and win back lapsed fans. But as WWE 2K14 shows, that nostalgia can only last so long.
An authentic recreation of the razzmatazz, muscles and spandex of the real thing, WWE 2K14 takes the million dollar showmanship of the WWE and compresses it down onto a sliver of silver. Letting you take control of your favourite wrestlers from an impressive line-up that takes in the stars of yesteryear to the biggest names of today, you'll be able to pit Randy Savage vs CM Punk, The Rock vs Andre the Giant, or, er, Jinder Mahal vs Goldberg, with plenty of recognisable names and faces in tow.
The old matches even have a cool film grain effect to make them look like the real thing
Keeping the simpler control system that was introduced in WWE '13, things are easy to get to grips with, too - if not as straight forward as beat 'em ups like Dead or Alive. With an awkward reliance on a "minimal" interface that means important things - targeting indicators that let you know who you'll be attacking; momentum bars that show you how close you are to being unable to unleash your finishing move; and even count indicators so you don't have to rely on hearing the ref yelling "FOW-UR" until his throat's sore - get left behind, although a quick trip to the menus lets you turn them all back on again.
Using X to punch/kick, A to grapple, and the Right Trigger to reverse (at least, on the Xbox 360) you'll instantly notice that things are quite a bit trickier this year. While your enemies can't take much more damage, they can reverse things a lot easier - including your finishers. Staggering their moves so they're less rhythmic (and therefore less easy for you to intercept with a quick reversal), the computer opponents will give you more of a run for your money this year, even if they do seem to do it by being cheats rather than through any semblance of skill.
The big new feature for this year is the 30 Years of Wrestlemania mode, which feels like a logical extension of last year's Attitude mode, and is essentially a story mode that takes you through 46 of the most popular, or note-worthy matches in Wrestlemania history. Letting you recreate some of the most talked about moments in wrestling history, whether it's body slamming Andre the Giant as the Hulkster, making Stone Cold tap out to the Sharpshooter at Wrestlemania XIII, soaking in the atmosphere as Hulk Hogan vs The Rock at Wrestlemania X8, or, moving to more recent times, forcing Ric Flair to retire at Wrestlemania 24, it certainly ticks all the boxes of wrestling lore - although the matches play out in a slightly different way.
So electrifying, even his trousers conduct lightning.
While going out there and beating your opponent as quickly as you can is still an option, in 30 Years of Wrestlemania, you also have the chance to unlock new wrestlers, arenas and outfits by completing certain special objectives, which usually make your virtual match tie-in more with the real thing. Whether it's whipping someone into the ropes to trigger a special cutscene, or simply pinning someone in a certain way, most objectives are a secret to begin with, but will be slowly revealed as the match goes on. We're not a fan of the Wrestlemania Moment quick time events, that ask you to press a button that flashes on screen as quick as you can, but in general, the bonus objectives work - and give you a nice excuse to delve back through the matches if you haven't unlocked them all.
In fact, the only real problem here is that the matches sometimes aren't all that well explained. While certain events have video packages explaining the history and build up to each match, most are simply explained with a few pictures and some text, which doesn't do quite as good a job of filling you in - especially if you're a more recent fan, who isn't all that hot on the older stuff.
Another new mode is "The Streak", a mode which revolves around the Deadman himself, The Undertaker, and asks you to either break, or extend his famous Wrestlemania undefeated streak. When you're defending, you'll face off against a never ending stream of WWE wrestlers old and new in a gauntlet match for the ages. After working your way through a certain number of wrestlers, you'll regain some health/become slightly less damaged, but it's certainly a war of attrition against bigger, better, and badder wrestlers. Even if our streak was ended by Heath Slater. Defeating the streak, meanwhile, is substantially harder, as you face off one on one with t'Undertaker, who's seemingly had his stats boosted to infinity, and can take more than a licking and keep on ticking.
Beyond the new modes, though, there's little else that feels fresh or new - and that's one of the biggest problems. While 30 Years of Wrestlemania at least follows a different storyline, WWE Universe mode is essentially the same as last year - which wasn't all that different to the year before that. Universe mode essentially creates a never-ending line-up of matches, storylines, and shows that you can customise as you see fit. You can move wrestlers from one show to another, change the champions, create your own match-ups, and even rebrand the shows themselves, in a mode that you can be as hands-on, or hands-off with as you'd like. You don't actually play as any one character, but we usually like to make a faction with a few friends and play through to see what havoc we can create.
But it's this aspect that doesn't really work as well as it should. While the mode supports up to four players, it could be so much better. Even if you're part of a faction, the game will regularly book one of you in a one on one match against an opponent - and when it does that, there's almost literally nothing for the other players to do. If you want to play the match, there's no way for those who've been "left in the back" to press a button and interfere (as would happen on TV when things started looking like they weren't going to plan). Instead, you're expected to simply sit a twiddle your thumbs as someone takes part in a match, with no option to interact for yourself. It's a disappointing oversight, especially as it's essentially been the same since the mode was created as WWE 24/7.
The facial expressions are sometimes pretty creepy.
And that's the thing about WWE 2K14. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with the game - in fact, a lot of it's quite good. The 30 Years of Wrestlemania mode is interesting, with some inventive challenges, and the roster has a good mix of young and old. But underneath, it's the same game it's always been. The graphics are the same, the controls are the same, the problems are the same, and nothing's moving forward. Now they've brought the old guard back for one more game to drum up interest, what next? They can't do Wrestlemania all over again - and seemingly a game that relies on the "new school" isn't that appealing a prospect. Perhaps a WCW themed storyline could be in store? Either way - with the "next-gen" now on shop shelves, and a whole lot more power on the new machines to play with, the time has never been better for a reinvention - a reboot - of the series that's essentially been the same game for the past six years. With a new engine, and most importantly, new ideas, hopefully WWE 2K15 will be able to take the series to new heights.
Format Reviewed: Xbox 360
