WWE 2K17 Review – Great gameplay held back by series’ legacy of problems
A great improvement in some fields overshadowed by some poor choices and technical difficulties that still persist. This is what WWE 2K17 is about, but will it have enough meat to get you into the arena once more? This is what you’re about to find out.
WWE 2K17 is the latest wrestling game in the annual series, released for PC, PS4 and Xbox One today. As it is with every new iteration we’re left with mixed opinions between fans of the game. Being an annual release it is indeed hard to present tangible changes in such a short amount of time, and 2K17 is sadly one o
For starters, 2K17 comes with a host of problems most of which are returning from previous games, but perhaps the biggest blow was the removal of one integral part from the last few years which is the “2K Showcase” mode. Have you enjoyed reliving great moments with Steve Austin last year? Tough luck, you won’t be able to do so again with this year’s Brock Lesnar edition. It is by no means the studio’s intentions as the cancellation was because Brock doesn’t have many opponents laying around inside the game, so of course a lot of his battles couldn’t be recreated here but still. As of the other problems 2K17 isn’t short of any from having a trash can stuck inside a wrestler to weird, disoriented faces and graphical designs that won’t just cut it anymore in a next gen release. For every excellent John Cena model there’s an ugly and muddy Dolph Ziggler screaming PS2 graphics.
We would love to go on talking about all the negative points. From the terrible commentary to the lack of voice acting and the hot mess of a multiplayer, WWE 2K17 really didn’t learn from any of its predecessors. However, fighting games are.. well.. about fighting,aren’t they? And to our own surprise 2K17 might just have the most refined gameplay of the series on current consoles so far. Punches are weighty, the new targeting system is a whole lot better with one button press, “roll out” system that makes your character leave the ring after taking heavy damage to refill stamina and perhaps most importantly, a new submission system that gives an option to stay away from the clunky 2K16 one signaling a stepping stone in a more refined experience overall for future games.
Making your own wrestler never looked so good. With extensive customization options you can create any character, moveset, stage, entrance and more in perhaps the greatest and most detailed custom creation tool in a wrestling game to date. It’s this amount of creation what makes Universe mode fun and engaging more than it ever was, and it makes you really feel sad for what this game could have become if not barred with all of the technical glitches and shortcomes. Backstage brawls are also the best the ever were and they make you feel just as good if not better than fighting in the ring with many tools to beat your opponent with.
Lastly we have to mention the biggest roster in WWE games history to date. 2K17 comes with a huge amount of distinct characters amounting at 150 wrestlers ranging from old school to the newest kids on the block. This year’s addition might not have been the best but it sure is building enough upon the formula to serve as a starting point for future iterations. Until then, 2K17 is sure to give you some fun in one way or another provided you aren’t bothered by the usual problems
Final Score:
7/10 – Good with some prominent problems that should be fixed in the future
