M圜areer has taken inspiration from some earlier franchise entries by offering a career mode that continues after you complete the story. The only real downside is that Hell in Cell matches are frustrating, with exiting the cage being overly complicated and weapons having been removed. This is a dedicated WWE game so we’d expect nothing else other than the ability to wrestle in everything the WWE universe offers in terms of matches. You can have a standard match, tag-team, Hell in a Cell right through to the Elimination Chamber and almost everything in between. Match types are varied as you would expect. Once again an impressive line-up of wrestlers are included and the baddest woman on the planet, Ronda Rousey is playable, albeit as DLC. Yes we know his story but having commentary that talks about it when you are playing early in his career destroys what is otherwise an immersive journey through his career. The only let down is the commentary, especially playing the early days in Bryan’s career where they talk about future events in his career. You’ll play through his most early days in wrestling right through to his triumphant post-retirement return to in-ring wrestling.
The moments where Daniel Bryan talks on camera about his career are genuinely candid and endearing and compliment the comprehensive playable journey through his career. The amount of detail 2K have packed into Showcase. Showcase mode is back once again and this time around it’s all about the ever popular Daniel Bryan! Daniel Bryan’s career is the sole focus this year and showcase is all the better for it. The result is that I’ve actually lost matches trying to pull off a Payback move when I should have won it and I suspect I won’t be the only one that happens to. You see, the buttons can change based on the move you are attempting. However that combination of needing to meet the conditions and pressing the right buttons gets messy. The system is designed to offer perks that can be activated after certain conditions are met in a match and can turn the tide in a tight match. The idea is sound but the implementation falls flat. In an attempt to freshen up the in-ring action, 2K have implemented a Payback system. The mini-games in a Ladder Match now offer a representation of when you’re going to grab that coveted belt or the briefcase. Fans of the Ladder Match will also enjoy hearing that these matches are a hell of lot less random now. Tweaks come from a faster paced experience inside the squared circle and simpler submission mini-games. If you’re a fan of the WWE 2K franchise you’ll be pleased to know that core gameplay has been largely retained. Which way does WWE 2K19 go? Skip to the bottom if you don’t wanna read my poor attempts at writing, read on if you actually wanna know a bit about the game. It’s had some hits and it’s had had some misses.
Suffice to say I know the WWE 2K franchise pretty well. That fandom means that I’ve been playing WWE video games well before Xbox and PlayStation even existed. I have been since I was a kid and I ain’t about to change now. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a wrestling fan.