WWE 2K16: New Gameplay Features and Details Revealed
WWE and 2K Games have revealed a full list of new features for the next installment of the WWE 2K video game franchise, WWE 2K16 below. The game’s upcoming release is only a couple of short months away, and 2K Games will be looking to impress after WWE 2K15, while it sold over two million copies, received fairly mixed to mediocre reviews from the gaming community.
2K Games is promising to build on the “foundation” set by WWE 2K15. Some of the problems with WWE 2K15 were its removal and lack of features that were available in previous WWE games despite moving up to next-gen consoles. For example, there were no CAW slots for WWE Divas, and there were only 25 empty CAW slots for users to play around with. This was a major step down for a next-gen game.
2K Games revealed a boatload of new details and feature for the game last week during the 2015 Gamescom in Cologne Germany. You can check them out below:
- 2K Showcase and MyCareer are back: The respective story-based and career-driven modes will return in WWE 2K16, giving gamers the chance to relive legendary moments in WWE history or create some of their own. Most notably, MyCareer will give players the ability to fight their way from the developmental ranks of NXT all the way into the WWE Hall of Fame.
- A deeper Creation Suite: WWE video game enthusiasts will get the chance to customize their WWE video game experience in a more robust way. In addition to improvements in popular features like Create a Superstar and Create an Entrance, WWE 2K16 will also offer new ways to modify their games through Create a Diva, Create a Championship, Create an Arena and Create a Show.
- Overhauled online gameplay: 2K altered the online options offered in WWE 2K16 based on fan feedback, which will include a revised matchmaking system and other ways to play with the WWE Games community.
- Substantial gameplay improvements: WWE 2K16 enhances the gameplay experience based on fan feedback as well, which should result in a WWE 2K16 that’s tailored more closely to what fans want. Changes will become apparent in the form of improved controls, new moves and submission holds, a new reversal system, a new pinfall system, improved AI, additional match types, new chain wrestling and a new system called working holds, which will affect a character’s stamina based on how the maneuver is applied. The newest game in the WWE 2K series will also feature dynamic entrances, which will make the pre-match moments part of the overall experience and give gamers the chance to attack opponents before the bell.
- More authentic look-and-feel: The latest installment by 2K will present a slew of new and realistic animations, but WWE 2K16 will also benefit from changes to the overall gameplay experience, too. This year’s game will include a three-man broadcast team for the first time, adding JBL to returning characters Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler. Those three will narrate the action that’s designed to flow more freely, as loading screens will disappear between entrances and the opening bell in order to let gamers get in on the action and stay there until the end.
The reversal system in the last game was a bit clunky, so hopefully the promise of refinement will work well. Still in terms of gameplay, nothing quite beats the classic THQ WWE games that used the AKI engine.
WWE 2K16 is set for an October 27 release in North America and October 30 for international territories. The game is being developed for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360.