Xbox One Review: WWE 2K15

Wrestlemania?

I haven’t played a WWE game since THQ’s last entry in the series, so it’s been a while. I have to say I was glad that 2K landed the license, but wondered what they could do with it that THQ haven’t already done. I got my hands-on and found out…
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When I booted up WWE 2K15 I was stunned to see many of the modes that I have seen in past WWE games had gone, vanished, kaput. There are standard modes that you would expect like career modes, create a fighter and so on while editing belts and arenas are some of the casualties in this year’s game, much to the dismay of the WWE fan base who have grown accustomed to these modes.

Combat itself feels more of a simulation now than before; it’s definitely slowed down from its predecessors. The controls themselves feel different, but it’s not the leap that I would have liked to see. It did come across as flawed throughout and on top of the game’s missing modes; it felt like another blow to what was a well-balanced series. Sure, it had its issues before…but 2K15 seems to just move them to one side instead of making them work.
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The good news is that WWE 2K15 has had a nice visual leap from the past games as it’s the first on the next-gen systems. I was playing it on the Xbox One and the game looks pretty decent. It’s still not 100% making the most of the hardware; I expect that in 2K16. I did come across the odd visual glitch, nothing as major as in past games though. So the game itself functions a lot better than under THQ, but somewhere along the lines it feels like it’s lost its focus.

The Verdict

WWE 2K15 should have been the defining entry of the series, what with the new hardware. Instead it strips away old modes while showing off a better visual engine than before, but it’s just not good enough in my book. The controls still need a lot of work and the lack of content is disappointing for any WWE fan. I’d personally wait till next year for them to tweak the engine more and polish the controls, but if you’re looking for a new WWE game this holiday then this is for you.

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