WWE 2K17

While I’ve been on the verge of giving the game the people’s elbow, especially sitting through the long load times and when I lost a match because I couldn’t tag back into a tag team match; it’s a ‘tag’ team match, and I couldn’t figure out how to ‘tag’. It’s in the bloody stupid title. But, I’m going to keep playing. I love all the bluster, all the blood, and I want to eventually get a win by submission.

This year’s WWE left me with mixed feeling. At its core it’s still a decent game and minor changes went in the right direction, but lack of Showcase mode and wasted potential of addressing the crowd held me back from being really excited. [13/2016, p.64]

Like previous versions, WWE 2K17 takes some major steps forward, but then takes even more steps backwards and unfortunately, it takes even more steps backwards than WWE 2K16. There is still plenty of fun to be had in WWE 2K17 but the nagging issues that rear their ugly heads year after year will eventually pop up and ruin said fun, once again.

WWE 2K17 should be marking a new era for WWE video games, but unfortunately it dredges up old problems from the past just as much as it improves with new content. The massive roster, excellent control scheme save for reversals, and extensive creation suite all impressed me, but the little technical nuances just kept annoying me to no end.

WWE 2K17 features a few improvements but, in the end, it feels more like a lazy product. It mostly misses the Showcase mode and all the last updates from the recent brand extension. For these reasons, our advice is to wait a little for the pc version (which includes all dlc) or price drop.

WWE 2K17 is a good game. It's worst issue is the lack of the Showdown mode, sold as a DLC. That was one of the most interesting and iconic modes of this franchise. On the other hand, the gameplay system is smooth, the WWE Universe Mode is virtually endless, and the editor is good enough to satisfy the wrestling fans out there.

WWE 2K17 is a rich and comprehensive game, designed exclusively for the hardcore fans of the WWE shows, but this year's iteration lacks the story mode and brings the same slow and cumbersome gameplay we experienced so far.

Wrestling fans will have a good time playing WWE 2K17. 2K allows gamers to play the game the way they want to play it and gives them a lot of tools to create almost anything they want. Unfortunately, the game is also held back by an outdated engine that desperately needs to be retired. And what happened to the 2K Showcase?

Has improvements, but some glitches remain. We have more creative options and movements, but we lost the Showcase Mode.

WWE 2K17 deserves the same verdict as its predecessors: it's better than before, but still far from "perfect" or even just "good".

WWE 2K17 is fun. But much like a loved one who has a substance abuse problem, I know it could be better, and I want it to be better, but it keeps messing up.

Finally, WWE 2K17 is here for current and last generation consoles. The lack of Showcase mode gave the chance to My Career to shine on its own, but instead, showed how badly prepared this mode is compared with other sports games. On the other hand, the game mechanics are slower, hurting overall and experience that need an urgent evolution so the franchise can feel fresh. WWE 2K17 must be taken as a lesson of how a wrestling game should not be.

WWE 2K17 gropes for its balance : the game is hard to understand to the newcomers and it can seem far too serious. But you have to admit than, once you got it, it reveals depth and intensity. Unfortunately, the technical limits of WWE 2K17 clearly ruin the immersion and the way you enjoy the fights.

This is a series that needs to take a few years off and go back to the locker room if it ever hopes to be taken seriously again.

Fans looking for authentic and customizable WWE action at the expense of up-to-date graphics will surely get a kick out of the impressive amount of options and realistic animations available, which may be enough look past some of the game’s other issues. But for everyone else, it’s getting increasingly difficult to rely on 2K to provide a quality modern wrestling game that the medium and its ever-expanding base of devotees deserve.

By acting as a simulation rather than embracing the promotion silliness, WWE 2K17 misses the mark wildly. What chance they had to make MyCareer a marquee game mode and a game changer was wasted by half-baked ideas.

The forward momentum from last year’s improvements already seems to be faltering, as the weight of bugs and glitches ruin many of the new features.

No matter how you spruce it up, however, WWE 2K17 isn't the substantial leap forward I was hoping for. The in-ring action is still serviceable, and refinements to various aspects of its combat make for a more enjoyable game than in previous years. But there are still a myriad of niggling issues holding it back, and the absence of 2K Showcase only compounds these problems.

For every smart gameplay change there is a missing feature or a worthless addition. The yearly release schedule is clearly making it difficult for the team to fix issues while also adding new features, so they’ll have to make a choice sooner rather than later if trying to juggle both each year is worthwhile. For now, WWE 2K17 is barely off Jericho’s list.

If you’re a fan who doesn’t usually play the WWE games or someone that hasn’t picked up an entry in a few years, 2K17 is a great buy with a huge roster of past and present superstars. Fans that stick with the game every year won’t find as much to keep their attention this year, despite some great gameplay improvements.

After previous publisher THQ folded and 2K took over this series with WWE 2K14, I had hoped the WWE games would see a slow crawl out of mediocrity, and that wrestling fans would eventually have a wresting game they could be proud to show non-wrestling fans. Unfortunately, the 2K series has carried forward with the same by-the-numbers combat we’ve seen for years. 2K’s next WWE game doesn’t need to check off a list of incremental improvements – it needs a complete overhaul.

WWE 2K17 isn’t exactly a step forward for the franchise. At best, it’s stuck in the past and completely lacking in any of the features that made 2K’s beast incarnate a strong contender from previous encounters. And that’s the bottom line.

WWE 2K17 is not trying hard enough to renew gameplay. It is finally possible to fight outside the ring, and fights with multiple wrestlers seem to work fine, but there are too many bugs and glitches to discourage you from playing.

WWE 2K17 is superior in a few ways to its predecessor, with a much improved wrestling system. At the same time, loading times are worse and there's a lack of Showcase leaves a gap the MyCareer and Universe modes simply can't fill. Aesthetically lacking and, frankly, boring too much of the time, it's hard to recommend this. Particularly when considering the prohibitive DLC practices that keep active members of the roster behind a pay wall.

WWE 2K17 is the first wrestling game I've truly waded into in a while, and I'm reminded as to why it's been so long. I play the basketball, football and MMA games because it's basically what I see and experience on TV. As a fan of WWE who has viewing parties for major PPVs, I can't say that what I played touches on what I get from WWE programming every week. It resembles it, but it's got a long way to go before I see it the same way I see the real thing: art, done well, providing the perfect escape.