WWE 2K14 Preview (Xbox 360)
Submitted on: 07/16/2013 by Scott Burress
2K Sports unveiled their inaugural effort at professional wrestling in WWE 2K14 after acquiring the WWE license during the THQ liquidation earlier this year. 2K has retained Yukes as part of the development of the game and the transition in publishers appears to have went smoothly as the game feels better than ever.
Of course the big reveal was that, for the first time in the Smackdown/Smackdown vs. Raw/WWE series, the Ultimate Warrior will be a playable member of the roster. The details are that the Warrior will be available by preorder only. This is a big deal to fans of the series as he's always one of the first made create a characters you see going into the Community Creations. The Warrior will be sporting his Wrestlemania 6 outfit with the face paint on his chest, big hair and trademarked tassels around his arms.
I spoke to the Ultimate Warrior about how he felt about being in the game finally, he stated "I just want people to have fun with the game, when you sit down you're just there to have fun".
I also had to ask Warrior how he managed so much energy throughout his career, he replied "I remember feeling that way, I always got spooked on because I would look drained by the end of the match, some would say even by the time I got to the ring. I gave that much, I would challenge myself, telling my heart, go ahead *Explicative* explode. That's what people want to do to be the best at something".
It was an interesting interview to say the least, but he's fired up about adults and kids of all ages to be able to use him in the game.
Of course the big reveal was that, for the first time in the Smackdown/Smackdown vs. Raw/WWE series, the Ultimate Warrior will be a playable member of the roster. The details are that the Warrior will be available by preorder only. This is a big deal to fans of the series as he's always one of the first made create a characters you see going into the Community Creations. The Warrior will be sporting his Wrestlemania 6 outfit with the face paint on his chest, big hair and trademarked tassels around his arms.
I spoke to the Ultimate Warrior about how he felt about being in the game finally, he stated "I just want people to have fun with the game, when you sit down you're just there to have fun".
I also had to ask Warrior how he managed so much energy throughout his career, he replied "I remember feeling that way, I always got spooked on because I would look drained by the end of the match, some would say even by the time I got to the ring. I gave that much, I would challenge myself, telling my heart, go ahead *Explicative* explode. That's what people want to do to be the best at something".
It was an interesting interview to say the least, but he's fired up about adults and kids of all ages to be able to use him in the game.
The match pacing is a big deal to the series. New this year to change up the pacing is that the strike animations are now faster, which allows you to pull of combos better and the moves themselves look smoother throughout a match. The strikes also are more difficult to counter, but cause less damage than a normal move would.
The reversal system has also been refined, in the past games in the WWE series you would reverse a move into another reversal, it felt stiff and sometimes not as much fun. That old pacing has been changed to when you do a reversal, it's straight into a move. It looks and feels so much better than the old system and gives reversals a reward for pulling it off.
Comebacks have been changed around some as well, where last year they were a set of signature moves for a wrestler, this year they tie in the actual signature and finisher of the wrestler performing the comeback move. This new dynamic adds to the comeback series of moves.
Also added are catapult finishers, which are similar to the catch finishers of last year (which still also remain in the game) but now you can do them on offensive side instead of the defensive side. I did both The Rock's and Shawn Michaels' catapult finishers, which look incredible. They are very easy to pull off, pressing LB/L1 then pressing Y/Triangle while they are in the air. There are 10 new ones, and everyone who had a catch finisher last year has a catapult finisher this year. This new addition will come in handy when you know your opponent has a finisher stored as they will have to think twice about just barreling after you.
The OMG moves, which was a big inclusion last year, has also been updated. Seven new OMG moves were added, including character specific ones. We were shown the DDT on the ring apron, ring post boot from the outside and a character specific on in John Cena performing a two wrestler Attitude Adjustment which leads to both wrestlers taking significant damage. As seen in the first trailer, Ryback can do a double shellshock. Also, we were told that a double choke slam is in the game as well.
The new OMG moments will be further revealed as we get closer to launch.
The reversal system has also been refined, in the past games in the WWE series you would reverse a move into another reversal, it felt stiff and sometimes not as much fun. That old pacing has been changed to when you do a reversal, it's straight into a move. It looks and feels so much better than the old system and gives reversals a reward for pulling it off.
Comebacks have been changed around some as well, where last year they were a set of signature moves for a wrestler, this year they tie in the actual signature and finisher of the wrestler performing the comeback move. This new dynamic adds to the comeback series of moves.
Also added are catapult finishers, which are similar to the catch finishers of last year (which still also remain in the game) but now you can do them on offensive side instead of the defensive side. I did both The Rock's and Shawn Michaels' catapult finishers, which look incredible. They are very easy to pull off, pressing LB/L1 then pressing Y/Triangle while they are in the air. There are 10 new ones, and everyone who had a catch finisher last year has a catapult finisher this year. This new addition will come in handy when you know your opponent has a finisher stored as they will have to think twice about just barreling after you.
The OMG moves, which was a big inclusion last year, has also been updated. Seven new OMG moves were added, including character specific ones. We were shown the DDT on the ring apron, ring post boot from the outside and a character specific on in John Cena performing a two wrestler Attitude Adjustment which leads to both wrestlers taking significant damage. As seen in the first trailer, Ryback can do a double shellshock. Also, we were told that a double choke slam is in the game as well.
The new OMG moments will be further revealed as we get closer to launch.
There are many little things which have been refined and updated by the team at 2K as well, not the least of which was animation quality, match feel/speed, and the in game navigation system. The navigation system isn’t touched, but the actual navigation of the individual wrestlers was and it’s much improved.
One of the little changes I saw is there is now a hesitation to running instead of immediately entering into a full sprint. Other things I noticed are animations look better, and wrestlers will now fidget (grab their wrist tape, mini-taunt, or motion to the opponent) through a match.
You can see some of the influence a game NBA 2K has on the series with the little additions that have already been put into the game. WWE Designer Cory Ledesma mentioned that the team took several cues from another 2K title stating, “We (WWE team) very much pay attention to a game like NBA 2K to get ideas for the little things".
The playable roster at the preview event included the coverman for WWE 2K14, The Rock as well as Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Steve Austin, Randy Savage, and the Pre-Order bonus, Ultimate Warrior. After trying all of them, I noticed new nuances with each one, including the OMG and Comeback moments mentioned above.
One word which kept coming from Cory Ledesma and the Ultimate Warrior which rang true throughout the presentation and interviews was "fun". They are striving for a true to life presentation of a WWE event, but keeping it fun for the player as well. From the demo we saw at the preview event, 2K has succeeded at that so far.
WWE 2K14 releases October 29th on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, and The Ultimate Warrior is only available as a pre-order bonus on both platforms.
One of the little changes I saw is there is now a hesitation to running instead of immediately entering into a full sprint. Other things I noticed are animations look better, and wrestlers will now fidget (grab their wrist tape, mini-taunt, or motion to the opponent) through a match.
You can see some of the influence a game NBA 2K has on the series with the little additions that have already been put into the game. WWE Designer Cory Ledesma mentioned that the team took several cues from another 2K title stating, “We (WWE team) very much pay attention to a game like NBA 2K to get ideas for the little things".
The playable roster at the preview event included the coverman for WWE 2K14, The Rock as well as Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Steve Austin, Randy Savage, and the Pre-Order bonus, Ultimate Warrior. After trying all of them, I noticed new nuances with each one, including the OMG and Comeback moments mentioned above.
One word which kept coming from Cory Ledesma and the Ultimate Warrior which rang true throughout the presentation and interviews was "fun". They are striving for a true to life presentation of a WWE event, but keeping it fun for the player as well. From the demo we saw at the preview event, 2K has succeeded at that so far.
WWE 2K14 releases October 29th on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, and The Ultimate Warrior is only available as a pre-order bonus on both platforms.
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