WWE 2K15
Overview -
From the early days where a 'a winner is you' on the NES 'Pro Wrestling' to the breakout success of the N64's 'WCW/nWo Revenge' the wrestling game has been a genre for nearly two decades now that gets fans of the sport in a buzz each year. For quite some time, Yukes had the monopoly on the WWE license with their long running 'Smackdown vs. Raw' series, until 2K Sports took over with the buzz worthy 'WWE 13.' For all the complaints of the Yukes entries growing stales, 2K managed to counter with an enhanced game engine and more importantly, a story mode built on nostalgia: for 'WWE 13' a great recreation of the Attitude Era highlights and for last year's 'WWE 14' a trip through WrestleMania's greatest moments. With so much going in its favor, the revitalized WWE franchise enters what is likely its last entry on the PS3 and X360 with 'WWE 15'.
The next-gen versions received a lot of hype when first introduced, but wound up delayed while the 360 and PS3 versions shipped on time. Still, with a 2K Showcase mode and exclusive Who Got NXT mode, coupled with two years of successful offerings, the last gen offering should at least be worth checking out for a month, right?
Video Review
Visually, 'WWE 2K15' is as bland and dull as its 2K Showcase, although not as anemic as its cannibalized creation modes. Character models do show some improvements from last year, but it's not nearly enough to warrant a purchase for a game that isn't just a roster update from its predecessor, but in fact a major step backward as a complete product. The stripped down production value honestly makes the game look far cheaper than it actually is.
On the plus side the game runs at a consistently smooth rate and animations are the best I've seen to date in a wrestling game, although there is still occasional stiffness from the actual character models. Hair and clothing texture effects do see a slight uptick in quality and do provide some of the game's only moments of 'wow.'
Audio Review
Audio wise, 'WWE 2K15' is all over the place. I've always had personal issues with sound mixes in wrestling games and this is no exception. General exhibition mode matches features a finely balanced aural experience, from entrances themes, to crowd noise and commentary, it's a great replication of a WWE event. The 2K Showcase on the other hand, seems like it draws from archival footage at times and the newly recorded commentary from Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler feels disjointed and separated from the action. Speak of commentary, another feather in the cap for '2K15' is commentary that is far less repetitive than year's prior, but after turning this necessary but inconsistent feature out for years, you might not notice the more natural delivery and production value. As previously mentioned, one of the key sound features of year's prior, custom soundtracks, has been removed, and frankly the generic custom music options don't even begin to come close to having free reign.
As much as it pains me to say it, 2K Sports is the Ric Flair to the gamer's Sting; we expected at least what we got last year, not a complete betrayal. Not even to the most loyal and devoted WWE fan could I recommend this incarnation of 'WWE 2K15.' It's a lower quality, stripped down, knock off of 'WWE 13' and 'WWE 2K14.' If you're still stuck in the last generation of gaming, stick with what you already have; the roster changes aren't worth a $60 price tag, especially when you're copy of '2K14' already has a great creation suite. Let us all hope though, that 2K delivers the goods with its PS4 and Xbox One offerings, otherwise, the future of pro-wrestling gaming is very bleak.
