WWE2K17- Another year...

lastplace09

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It's that time of year again and although most of you don't give two rat patoots about this game--I'm going to tell you what I think about WWE2K17! Also--I'm iterating on last year's review so I don't want to hear any guff about copying and pasting... :p

First off--it is about as good as last year with a few improvements and missteps.

Create a Wrestler - This seems even deeper than last year. You can get as granular or as high level as you want. I made Starman and some other wrestlers from the old NES game last year, but I don't think I'll be doing it again. I was hoping to import my characters, but that doesn't seem to be the case. That's a huge bummer because I spent a stupid amount of time creating my wrestlers with love and care.
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"Play" - This is like an exhibition mode and although it's fun, this is not where the REAL fun begins. Not much to say. All the matches you want are there. Nothing really different this year.
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My Career - I spent most of my time in this mode last year with few gains. I really liked this mode, but I didn't feel like I progressed fast enough. I don't know if the interviews from last year are on this year's version because I didn't get into this mode. I think I'm just going to stick to universe mode anyway.
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My Universe - This is what I remember it to be from the previous year. This mode allows you to play the game as if you are in the show. You can pick which matches you want to play and/or simulate. Going from match to match seems a little more seamless this year, which is nice. Last year I stuck with career so I didn't really get to play as all of the wrestlers I wanted to so this year I'm going to spent most of my game time here.

There's also an extra twist to this mode--a strange little promo mode. Your wrestler walks to the ring and you can choose some dialogue from a selection menu. You get rated on how how fast you select things and how the crowd reacts to it. It is by far the most irritating part of this game. I respect what they are trying to accomplish with it, but it really disrupts the action. (Kinda like crappy promos in the actual product) oh--and it's silent. There's no voice acting, just on screen text and the sound of the crowd. I just simulate these now.
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Unlocking and Progression-Since the showcase mode no longer exists, they had to come up with a way to let the player unlock wrestlers, titles and moves. They do this by using "VC Points." Just about everything you do, will earn you these points. You can then spend them on things you want. Honestly--I think the accelerator DLC pack is worth the 5 bucks to not have to bother with unlocking crap in a game like this, but that's just me.

Some other notable elements in no particular order--

Roster--The roster is robust again. And say what you want, but it's missing Hulk Hogan (for obvious reasons) again and it just doesn't feel right without him.
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Character models--The character models are better, and the hair is better too! DDP's awful hair is slightly better this year. I know it sounds silly, but if you saw it last year, you'd know that it was horrifying. This year Dana Brooke looks like a ghoul. Most of the other characters look great though. The facial expressions look like a little funky at times though.
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Sound--Again, this year--the curated menu music--turn that sh** off. Bleggh. I prefer hearing the entrance music and you can easily set it to play on a loop in the audio menu.

The announcing is okay. There's no Mauro Ranello and I could have done without Lawler's gross female unfriendly commentary on the women's division matches.
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Load times--Like last year, load times are long in some places, but they are manageable.
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Entrances--Like last year, the wrestler entrances seem a little off, but they are pretty accurate.
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Camera--Some of the camera angles are different and kind of awesome...I can't decide if they get in the way yet, but it feels more like the show.
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Realism--They didn't update the game to reflect the brand split. I was pretty disappointed about this, but given some time you could force it to work. I'm sure someone has already made a universal title.
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Also missing--No cruiser weight division this year either...expected it, but I'm sure it will make it into next year's game.
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Submission system--they have an alternate scheme which I think is better than the right stick system where you move it around like a crazy person. Found in the gameplay settings, you can choose to mash the corresponding face buttons to submit wrestlers. I actually kind of dig it.
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All in all, wait for a sale if you have 2K16, otherwise a solid entry.

7 / 10
 
I read there is not a true story mode where you play a preset character all the way through. I think a year or two ago you played as hhh Is this true?
 
I read there is not a true story mode where you play a preset character all the way through. I think a year or two ago you played as hhh Is this true?


You'd be referring to showcase mode.

Last year was Steve Austin. This year it doesn't come with a formal showcase mode as far as I can tell.
 
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