WWE 2K18 is a professional wrestling video game developed in a collaboration between Yuke's and Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. The game is a part of the WWE 2K game series, and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in October 2017, with the Nintendo Switch version being scheduled to be released later in 2017 and marks the first return on Nintendo Platforms as first title to be released on that platform. It is the first video game under WWE 2K Banner to only be on eighth generation hardware and also first under WWE 2K banner released on PC alongside console counterparts.


PRESENTATION:


Like the commercial says, "Be Like No One Else" as the WWE Games haven't ever looked this good. 2K Sports is sporting a brand new graphics engine for this year's game so we won't have some of the mutants and oddities that people were referring to as the in-game character models of last year's title, WWE 2K17, notably with Dana Brooke and Naomi's character models.

That being said, this new coat of paint isn't flawless. Over my time with the game, I'm convinced that the game is using two different visual graphics engines for the game, split by MyPlayer content and the normal Creation Suite. For example, I went and made my same trademark created-superstar in both of these key modes with the visuals not really matching up precisely. It really threw me off that I couldn't make them look identical, given that I used the same tools and parts.

On top of that, I'm sure people are going to making jokes and laughing at the questionable rendering and facial animations from Superstars in MyCareer Mode, especially from Peyton Royce and Billie Kay. Thank God that Dana Brooke's character model is nowhere as horrifying as the one in the previous game was. 


CONTROLS:


If you've been playing these games since 2K took the reigns from THQ, then you should feel right at home. I honestly haven't played these games seriously since I did my review back on WWE 2K14 a couple years ago, but I felt fine with the controls after a few matches.

At the same time, I didn't feel like the controls were as responsive as I would have liked. There's always a delay/lag between inputting actions and actually seeing your Superstar(s) actually perform the action, especially in specialty matches, anytime you want to do a OMG spot, or the area specific actions. There wasn't this delay/lag in the controls in WWE 2K17, so I don't see what's the problem when just about everything else about this game control-wise is identical to that game.

There's always this minor annoyance where character(s) don't run where you want them to go properly or where you want to drag your opponent(s) to that sweet spot to engage in area-specific environmental attacks too. It's a damn shame too as this has been an issue for a few years now. In previous outings, 2K could blame the in-game camera changing to catch the best perspective/angle on the action in the ring. Currently, there's no excuse as WWE 2K18 uses a fixed camera (outside of brawls in the crowd and backstage brawls), so we shouldn't be experiencing this issue anymore. 

GAMEPLAY:

Similar to its predecessors, WWE 2K18 is a professional wrestling game and for the first time since WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It, eight wrestlers will be able to be in a match at once, instead of 6 (The Nintendo Switch version will only support 6 wrestlers in the ring). The Royal Rumble match has been retooled, with new mechanics, finishers and elimination sequences. A carry system will be introduced (which is similar to the Ultimate Control Grapple system introduced in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007), allowing players to pick up or drag their opponent and place them in a specific spot.

I can't speak for Xbox One or PC, but the loading times on PlayStation 4 are downright unacceptable. With entrances on, exhibition matches take up to 5-7 minutes to load up while you could even double that time in MyCareer mode on loading matches and objectives.

Most players won't be aware, but blood is turned off on the game by default, so I humbly suggest that most players go into the Options and turn that on first thing if you want some accuracy in your wrestling. Veteran players know this already, but if you have been out of the loop on these games for quite some time, then that decision is going to be a little jarring at first. At the same time, I'm not really surprised, given WWE's PG-13 standing nowadays in the ratings department.


I. MyPlayer/MyCareer


Ummm, Hunter, I'm not sucking shit... That's why you married Stephanie McMahon for and do to stay in Vince McMahon's favor.

This is supposed to be the meat and bones of the single player experience for WWE 2K18 where players create their own created superstar and climb up the ranks of the WWE roster. You start as a new recruit in the Performance Center, working your way through NXT before getting called up to the main roster on one of the brands - RAW or SmackDown! and working either as a Company Man (following the demands of the Authority/GM's dirty work) or doing your own thing as a Fan Favorite as you ultimately work towards main eventing at WrestleMania. Unfortunately, this mode is limited to only male Superstars, leaving female players totally without any representation in this mode.

I have a lot of gripes with this mode and starts with MyPlayer itself. This is a copy and paste from the traditional Creation Suite for the most part, but unlike that mode, everything is locked off as every MyPlayer is confined to a specific moveset archetype. I liked that 2K Sports forced this limitation on players as it forces all players to be more creative and more realistic with movesets, much like the Fire Pro Wrestling series where incompatible moves would do lesser damage than those more compatible with your specific fighting style/specialty. While it's a step in the right direction, it's not strict enough as I would preferred to see from this feature.

Here's the most fucked up thing about this mode. If you haven't purchased the Season Pass with all of the perks for this mode, you're going to be shit out of luck. The grind for more points to level up your MyPlayer is no easy task as you would be lucky to get 75-200 points of in-game currency to purchase points to increase your attributes, purchase new creation suite parts to boost your MyPlayer's merchandise sales with a new look, or even new moves, abilities, and skills to use in your matches. It got to the point where it feels like you literally hit a brick wall in terms of your progression of your character, much like free-to-play mobile games where most players will cave and use real-life currency to purchase those perks to get an advantage in future matches. I make that comparison as this mode has loot boxes, much like Overwatch and Injustice 2 before them.

Keep note of my Created Superstar's appearance here and how he looks in the photos in the separate Created Superstar in the Creation Suite mentioned below...

On top of not being able to create female MyPlayers in this mode, players are unable to copy the appearance nor attires to normal Created Superstars in the Creation Suite. I was told that this has been an issue that hasn't been addressed in previous WWE 2K titles that 2K has refused to address. Since this is my first time encountering it, I will state right now that I think that decision is flat out fucking stupid. It shows how lazy 2K are in terms of designing this game as if they didn't have a different set of chimps working on this mode that were working on the rest of the game that these two modes would clash and they wouldn't end up with different results.

What the fuck is up with so much kissing Stephanie McMahon's ass in this game? Here's a better question - what the FUCK is up with Peyton Royce's face?
As for the MyCareer journey itself, I found it to get really tedious and monotonous quickly. You're forced to do the same thing over and over. Go talk to the producer/General Manager. Look at the match card for the show. Go talk to Renee Young for an interview. Go beat up this guy in a backstage brawl. Jump that guy before his match. Cut a promo in the ring. Rinse and repeat. It got to the point where my enthusiasm to play this mode went out of the window completely and I didn't even bother finishing it from my time of renting the game for a week.

I did enjoy the promos to an extent, but the timer was a bit too strict for my taste as I would hastily pick an option since I wouldn't have time to read all of the options within the confines of the time limit. Side quests weren't worth bothering to do either as most of the time they were doing the same things that you were already doing enough of in this mode anyway, such as cutting a promo or jumping someone before their match. 2K really has to overhaul and improve this mode if they expect players to care about this at all in future titles. If this mode makes a return next year, I'm not even going to bother with it at all if it's key selling point again. I could care less about walking around backstage like back in the golden age of these games back on PlayStation 2 if it means that 2K is going to half-ass the rest of this so-called career mode as a result. 

>> Road To Glory



This online exclusive mode pits players against other players from around the globe in MyPlayer vs MyPlayer bouts to earn points for events for unique loot boxes and rewards that you cannot obtain anywhere else in the game. These events commonly tie to dates of real life WWE live events. I thought this was a pretty cool idea, but my primary concern here is how long it takes to search for matches to garner points to qualify for these special events. I will admit though, that out of the few matches I did play the netcode was superb, which is a shock for these games that were highly regarded as lag-filled messes in the past. I could reverse and perform moves normally as if my opponents were sitting right next to me on the couch. In that regard, I tip my hat to 2K Sports in that department.

Players will frown on the fact that there's no entrances nor victory motions shown for this mode. It's merely that two players are dropped into a match and the victory earns the spoils, or rather the points to qualify for the pending PPV event that allows players to compete for their unique, one of a kind customization items for their MyPlayers.

I think it sucks that you cannot obtain these special items not even for use for outside of MyPlayer.


As of this writing (11/19/17), these are the items available for the current rewards in this mode.

That's a darn shame too. Someone could have used that snake head for a possible Copperhead (DC Comics) Created-Superstar. Then that wolf head would have been perfect for a Hania the Huntress entrance attire. Oh well, chuck that up to 2K's stupidity to limit these rewards to just MyPlayer mode.



II. Online Modes

Naturally, I can't speak for all of the online modes as the build of my time with the game while renting it was spent in the Creation Suite and MyCareer/MyPlayer modes, but in the short duration that I did spent playing various online matches, the netcode was surprisingly great. I don't know if things have changed since Week 1 of the retail release, but if what I experienced was an early sign of what to expect from the long-term online experience of this game, then players will have a great time playing matches with friends and randoms online. 


>> Community Creations

This serves as the meat and bones of WWE Games' community as players from around the world share their creations for everyone to download and use at their leisure. The game wasn't even out for a full week and I already found and downloaded top notch Created Superstars of the women that were in Mae Young Classic Tournament, past WWE Divas, and even a few Lucha Underground talent. The community of talented creators for these games never ceases to amaze me with their fine work, no matter how much I may frown upon the rest of the product that 2K or THQ provides us with. 


III. Exhibition/Play Modes


A new feature that really surprised me in this year's game is the possibility for "squash matches", whereas Superstars with drastic differences in stats have a chance to gain a massive amount of momentum to "squash" their weaker adversary from one grapple/attack to easily obtain the momentum for their signature and finishing moves. For example, I played as Brock Lesnar against Curt Hawkins and this option came up at the start of the match that allowed me to gain enough momentum to end this match in less than a minute. It's fucking hilarious when you're in control of this but definitely sucks when you're on the receiving end of it. Fortunately, the frequency rate of feature coming into play can be adjusted in the Options menu.



Match types play as they should, but I found the Tournament Option a little finicky as it would simulate the matches instead of allowing you to play all of them. If there was a way to do so, I stand corrected, but that mode could have used some better explanation. Eight way matches are back, but cause the game to lag and occasionally freeze up (requiring a soft reset). This is downright sad to see this game reduce to poorer performance rates than WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It when that game did eight way matches with less problems than this game has when this game is running on technology from two console generations later. 

IV. Creation Suite

If you have played WWE 2K17, then you should pretty much feel at home here as this mode is virtually unchanged for the most part, outside of better visuals for your creations. There's some more creation parts for Superstars and Divas, but of course, the ladies get shafted in that department as there isn't much variety for those creations as there are for their male counterparts. To say that WWE is so gung-ho about a women's revolution, you really don't see it being reflected in their video games as of late. 


>> Create-a-Superstars



This mode comes in two flavors - Superstar Edits and Created (Original) Superstars. Superstar Edits comes down to creating custom attires or updating the in-game default roster's appearances to their current tweaks and such, given the in-game parts in this mode or by some clever tooling with Image Uploader. Create-a-Superstar is essentially the same as this game's predecessor, WWE 2K17, just that the visuals stick out a lot better, even better combined with Face Uploads and Image Uploads. There's a few new attire options for males and females, but it seems like the ladies got the short end of the stick - as usual. That doesn't mean that players won't be able to work wonders in this mode; it just means that it's going to take a little more effort and a lot more of trial and error with the Face Upload feature. Thank goodness that it doesn't take as many attempts as it took in WWE 2K17 to get some Face Uploads to align properly onto Created Superstars' character models.



One new addition to this mode is the ability to customize your menu poses down to facial expressions, poses/postures, and even hand positioning. My only gripe is that a lot of the facial expressions are situational at best and look pretty awkward on most Face Uploads.



There is the body morphing limitation here that is still prevalent from previous entries in this series, whereas players are unable to precisely edit the morphing of their creations' body types outside of the preset categories. Other than that, there's a few minor options, but ultimately, every Created Superstar is going to have roughly the same build and body type outside of a few differences in being either skinny, average, muscular, or kinda chubby/fat. You cannot make really fat/obese characters and I think some players will be bummed out that you cannot modify/edit bust/cleavage sizes either. Some creators have found a work around with Image Uploads, but c'mon, we shouldn't have to resort to that for customizing our ladies in these games. 

>> Create-a-Entrance

For some reason, the ability to select custom audio tracks for entrances has been omitted in this game. That decision is baffling to me as we're on current generation hardware with the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch, so there's no excuses for this. I would have preferred the lack of license music in the menus/background if they implemented that feature instead. Alas, there's a great selection of entrances to choose from this year, including some original ones from some noteworthy indie stars.

Naturally, there's options for customizing entrances for single/individual wrestlers and tag teams, but so for some reason the option for intergender/mixed tag team/stable entrances. All of the options for these types of stables/factions are removed entirely with pretty much the only options for trios teams being either the New Day, the Shield, the Wyatt Family, or SAniTy. There's a hidden option to make a couples entrance for Created Superstars to use The Miz and Maryse's custom entrance by the means of a glitch, but that's just fucking ridiculous that option isn't available in the game by normal means. I wouldn't be surprised if this gets patched out down the road. 

The Advanced options for singles entrances are as in-depth and jarring as they were in WWE 2K17, but if you want to go that extra mile to make your Created Superstar truly unique in terms of entrances, then you have that option here as well.


>> Create-a-Arena


If you've created an arena in WWE 2K17, then you will feel right at home here.

Players are able to use parts from arenas past and present to create their own custom arenas or put their own twist on existing arenas. It's not that hard to create something along the lines of one of the venues from the independent wrestling scene or even classic eras of wrestling, complete with old school visual filters as well.



Me? I just created one of the arenas from my time running and participating in wrestling e-federations. Customizations even go down to the crowd, the ring (from the ropes, turnbuckles, canvas, and ring apron, etc.), entrance ramps, Titantron monitors, and even the commentary tables. You can even import/upload your own logos to even make these arenas truly unique. These creations can be used for your own custom shows in My Universe or merely for own your leisure in exhibition/Play Now matches.



>> Create-a-Movesets

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Dalton Castle's moveset was well represented in this year's game (his moves were in last year's outing as well... I found this out after I went back to tooling around that game after taking my rental back), along with a lot of current Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling talent. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised in that regard as a lot of those guys and gals did motion capture for 2K Sports this year for this game. 

I'm rather disappointed that most of these movesets have so much clutter in them after all of these years. There has to be a way to streamline this feature whereas it doesn't take roughly a hour or more to do one moveset for a Created Superstar from all of the categories. Since this is already a daunting task enough on it's own, then 2K might as well add in an AI Logic modifier to boot in this mode while they are at it. Take it to the next level and give players another level of depth to this mode that fans of the Fire Pro Wrestling series have had for well over a decade now.

>> Create-a-Video/Highlight Reel

I'll be honest. I didn't care about Highlight Reel when it was first introduced many moons ago in this series and I still don't care now. It rarely highlights what you want to save from matches outside of finisher/signature move spots and OMG! moves. Then when matches are pretty lengthy some of that content is cut out even further. I appreciate that there's the option to save those moments for those who care about such things, but with game capture software being easily available on this console generation of technology, I honestly don't see the novelty of having this mode in the game. We should be able to download videos/upload off Community Creations at our leisure by now.

CAW show makers thrive off the video software and capabilities in these games, so I understand why this mode remains a staple feature as those are their loyal customers on an annual basis. If it were up to me, I would gladly trade this feature out or remove it completely in favor to the return of custom soundtracks. 

V. My Universe

Simply put, as the folks on NeoGAF's forums (what's left them among that ongoing controversy...) have stated and the folks on GameFAQs have unanimously agreed, My Universe comes down to the following guidelines:

  • If a wrestler is injured in anyway, the game crashes before his match.
  • If a show has a custom/created arena, the game crashes. 
  • If you customize your Universe in ANY way, you risk of the game crashing and the save file becoming unusable. 
I hate to say it, but if My Universe is your primary reason for buying this game, then you're pretty much shit out of luck and better off saving your money not even bothering here. 

VI. Downloadable Content



Gone are the Online Pass ($9.99) and traditional Season Pass ($19.99), but sadly, avid fans of these games aren't really saving any money as they are still dropping an additional $29.99 on top of the usual price tag for these games.

NXT Generation and Enduring Icons Packs are no brainers as they are even more additions to an already massive in-game roster for this game. I don't see how Elias isn't in this game from launch though as he was around for well over two years at this point.

MyPlayer Kick Start is a must-have for anyone willing to invest in the long haul of grinding throughout MyCareer and the Road to Glory modes. Any little boost can help you perform better in those modes.

Accelerator is a godsend as well, as players will appreciate not having to grind for hours end to unlock the full in-game roster from launch right off the bat.


VII. Patches


Above is the 1.04 patch notes. This doesn't even address the bulk of what is wrong with this game and it's sad that a lot of these issues are going underneath 2K's radar or merely being swept underneath the rug. I cannot fathom how people loyally give their money for these games and never will either. No game is worth me putting up with this degree of bullshit. 


Final Thoughts


On one hand, I have to applaud 2K for this game. It is the best looking WWE game to date, thanks to their new visual engine, with even Created Superstars garnering some amazing results with the proper tooling. The gameplay is essentially the same game as WWE 2K17 at it's core, but that doesn't stop this game from being fun.

That being said, I cannot condone some of the things that somehow got past playtesting this game. All of the gifs below are all credited to Bugs/Glitches thread on the NeoGAF forums:

Normally BotchaMania would play that "I AM THE TABLE!" sound clip here, but AJ Styles pretty much beat them to the punch.

Somehow, Earthquake has acquired the ability to fly like Superman while Goldberg drops from the heavens...


And people wondered why Scott Hall had so much trouble shaking his alcohol addiction... Seeing shit like this would make anyone pick up a bottle or two.

I don't even know what I just even witnessed here...

Good grief. We just witnessed Tozawa's murder and his soul being raptured all in one match. Wait, nevermind. Heaven didn't have any vacancies. 

Strowman celebrates as The Big Show struggles to digivolve into his next gimmick change as not even he knows whether it's going to be heel or babyface.

On the other hand, there's a lot of shortcomings on 2K's behalf that a proper beta test and playtesting would have uncovered before getting this game into players' hands (as seen above). MyCareer is a lackluster effort to its core, with tons of repetitive tasks and disappointing objectives mire this mode from truly being great. On the surface, players were expecting an experience reminiscent to the Story/Career Mode from Here Comes The Pain, but this wasn't even close to warranting the love and effort that went into that beloved mode from the PS2 era of these games. I cannot stress enough that this crap isn't even acceptable, even on last-generation hardware. 


Buy It or Don't Bother?

Much like Daniel Bryan above, WWE 2K18 definitely missed the mark in a lot of areas than it hit it home in.

And yes I'm aware that gif is from one of the previous entries in this series, but still fitting for this review on how 2K definitely shit the bed on this one. 

As of 11/11/17, I honestly can't condone someone dropping $59.99 plus the price of the Season Pass ($29.99) for this game at the state that it's in. There's far too many glitches and bugs that need to fixed and numerous other issues that need to be addressed before dropping that much dough on this game. Unless you're one of those faithful WWE Games apologists/loyalists who buy these games no matter what just for the Creation Suite, then you're going to buy this game anyway no matter what I'm going to say. There's more of the same here from WWE 2K17, while taking two steps forward in some areas while taking five steps back in other areas.

This game's biggest shortcoming is the lack of attention and care put into WWE Universe and the MyCareer modes, when there's some glimmer of hope of the potential the greatness that these modes could have been, but ultimately fall short due to glitches, bugs, and horrible presentation. How some of these issues get past playtesting is beyond me and completely unacceptable that 2K sells these games in this state year after year. This game had the gall to do an Early Access package that only acted as a gateway platform for players to experience even more glitches and bugs before the Day 1 patch that essentially didn't fix anything. 

If you HAVE to have this game, I humbly suggest waiting until the Black Friday sales when the price tag is cut in half, but you're still going to have to drop the dough for the Season Pass, so either way, you're going to wind up dropping $60 on this bad boy (sorry Diddy...) if you want the "complete" package. 


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