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WWE 2K14 Review for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

WWE 2K14 Review for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

More WrestleMania, More of the Same

Last year, WWE 13 dazzled us with its commitment to wrestling history and narrative. Its Attitude Era story mode let us replay some of the biggest moments in WWE history, reliving them right down to the original audio lifted straight from each event. In fact, WWE 13 was so well received, Yukes and Visual Concepts simply decided to do the whole thing again in WWE 2K14 . While Attitude Era’s replacement, the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode, is still as fun as ever, the rest of the game has barely changed. Unfortunately, this has made more than a couple flaws come to light that we didn’t see in WWE 13 because we were too busy staring into The Rock’s perfect, chiseled abs.

Let’s start with the good. The 30 Years of WrestleMania mode is essentially the Attitude Era mode from WWE 13 , but it’s greatly expanded. Here, you’ll get to relive some of the greatest moments of WWE history by playing over 46 of the most memorable WrestleMania matches. You’ll take control of classic wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, Sargent Slaughter, Andre the Giant, The Macho Man Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, and more.

Once again, the dedication to wrestling history here is second to none. The announcers speak with the exact same audio clips that were recorded when the event first aired. Special events happen both in and out of the ring that perfectly recreate the way the match went down. Crowds and rings mimic the scenery of the time period, right down to cheesy 80’s TV overlays. Even the camera swings to the exact angle the footage was originally captured in.

However, the narrative of the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode is far more staggered than Attitude Era’s story. Because the mode covers so much of WWE history, you never really get to see grudges and rivalries play out. Instead of a single coherent story, 30 Years of WrestleMania is a lot more like a clip show, which is cool for anyone old enough to remember these classic matches, but a lot less engaging for anyone who lost touch with professional wrestling somewhere down the line.

WWE 2K14 Screenshot

The Undertaker is the headliner of the game this year, so there’s also a new mode specifically dedicated to defending or ending The Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania streak. You’ll probably spend a lot less time here than you will in 30 Years of WrestleMania, but it’s still fun. When fighting against the Undertaker, you are essentially going up against an ultra-difficult boss, and when fighting as the Undertaker, you are basically going through a balls-to-the-wall endurance match. It’s a cool little addition that isn’t all that well fleshed out but doesn’t really detract from the game.

The series’ creation modes are back and are more flexible than ever. You can make just about any type of wrestler you want, tweaking multiple costume layers and fiddling around with body types till the cows come home. I can’t tell you how many fat men in their underwear I made here. WWE Universe also comes back, if customizing rivalries and events is more your thing, and it too has expanded. So if you are all about the user-generated content, WWE 2K14 will still please you.

WWE 2K14 Screenshot

Finally, the game has gotten faster, and this is partially because of the new graphics system. It’s hard to deny that WWE 2K14 looks far smoother than previous titles. Characters collide better and grab each other more realistically. Suplexes and power bombs are executed through the use of dynamic camera angles that make matches look like you were actually watching them on TV. Even the rings and crowds look better this time around.

So there’s a lot that is good about WWE 2K14 , but unfortunately, one of the most important parts of the game isn’t one of them: the gameplay. WWE 13 has some questionable gameplay choices, and WWE 2K14 does nothing to fix them. The game still revolves around counter moves, which you have a short window to perform every time the opponent tries to do almost anything to you. Unfortunately, timing never really plays into these moves, so you’ll find yourself just mashing on a trigger any time the enemy gets their hands on you. Not only that, but the AI has a superhuman countering ability, meaning almost every single throw or hold you try will be turned against you.

WWE 2K14 Screenshot

So, to avoid these counter moves, you will be relying on strikes throughout most of your matches. Unfortunately, the striking game isn’t very fun. It’s about as button-mashy as you can get, as you throw your arms and legs at your opponent and hope he doesn’t do anything to stop you. The AI also fails here, as a little bit of running in a circle and a few strikes are enough to take down many computer opponents to the danger zone. Of course, they will counter you as soon as you grab them, so all that striking doesn’t mean a whole lot.

Even against another human opponent, the pace of matches in WWE 2K14 is stale and slow. You don’t get to see the awesome back and forth swings that you do in actual wrestling matches. Instead, wrestlers play this awkward tootsie game with their strikes before someone grabs someone; both wrestlers spend ages just jockeying for position as counters are traded, and then, finally, someone gets a throw off… or the hold just anticlimactically breaks. You also don’t get the cool cutscenes and cinematic moments from the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode in normal matches, which does reduce the game’s spectacle a bit. Not to mention, any mode with more than two wrestlers in it is bound to have plenty of moments where you whiff grapples because you aren’t perfectly facing the character you wanted to grab.

Overall, the best way to play WWE 2K14 is the 30 Years of WrestleMania single-player mode on a moderate to low difficulty. This way, the opponent won’t counter you much, and you can lose yourself in the classic WWE footage and storylines. It’s also worth it to fool around with the character creation a bit, but after taking your custom wrestler into a match or two, you’ll probably get bored. Simply put, this isn’t the next big VS game sensation, and after the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode is complete, you’ll simply be left with the same options you had in WWE 13 again. The replay value of WWE 2K14 is dubious, but it’s still a decent game nonetheless.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.1 Graphics
The game moves far smoother than before, both due to the graphics and an overall speed increase. 3.0 Control
The controls haven’t changed since WWE 13 and the game is worse off for it. 3.8 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The game uses the original audio from WWE matches just like WWE 13, which is still pretty cool. 3.5 Play Value
The 30 Years of WrestleMania mode is great, but everything else is way too similar to WWE 13. 3.7 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 – 1.9 = Avoid 2.5 – 2.9 = Average 3.5 – 3.9 = Good 4.5 – 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 – 2.4 = Poor 3.0 – 3.4 = Fair 4.0 – 4.4 = Great 5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

  • Features The Rock.
  • Predator Technology 3.0 – Experience the smoothest, most authentic and engaging WWE gameplay to date, including all-new player navigation, an improved reversal system, catapult finishers, new OMG moments and hundreds of new moves.
  • Creation Suite – Explore the franchise’s renowned creation and customization tools to develop Superstars, entrances, arenas, finishing moves and much more.
  • Universe Mode – Control the virtual WWE experience from a career-driven point of view, with individual decisions dynamically affecting alliances, rivalries, matches and unpredictable moments along the path toward WWE Championship glory.

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