Review for WWE 2K19. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 09/10/2018
One, two and three! No, it is not the count that precedes a leap into the void, but the count of the referee as the hand accompanies the numbers with violent blows in the ring. If you reach three you win, if you reach three glory awaits you. What are we talking about? Simple, of wrestling; that sport-show - as this discipline is called - which for years has continued to depopulate in America and which every twelve months WrestleMania re-proposes one of the most important sports shows in the world together with the SuperBowl and the Champions League final.
In video games, however, the situation is different, after the takeover of the WWE license by 2K Sports - the videogame brand dedicated to the most famous wrestling federation in the world - has undergone a sharp turn in the direction of simulation, not always succeeding in its intent. Let's see where the state of the art of this process is in the new chapter: WWE 2K19.
Let's start immediately with the positive things: the technical level of the title. The reproduction of the athletes, their movements, arenas, entrances and sound is simply impressive. The size and accuracy of the work is undeniably of a higher level - as expected from a 2K sports title, on the other hand - and allows the player to truly immerse themselves in the wrestling universe. However, it is not only graphics that amaze, WWE 2K19 in our opinion is also incredible in the animation sector and in the move park; the number of unique animations and the number of moves available is the largest in the series and draws solutions from both the present and the past with iconic moves from today's athletes but also from athletes who have made the history of the federation.
If we were to find a mole in this area, we should certainly mention the interactions with athletes and with the environment that despite seeing a clear improvement in credibility and accuracy. result in some situations still too woody, dampening that sense of fluidity that a high-level wrestling match must have. Linked to the animation and interactions sector we can also connect the control compartment, in fact the mapping of the keys that allows the player to make grips, attacks and counter moves has been the same for years now, consolidated and well structured has not needed changes and this a little 'comforts us since in a title like WWE 2K19 it is essential to give a mnemonic continuity of the automatisms.
The second point that must be analyzed is the modality and roster sector, the one that perhaps even users are most interested in in a title like this. WWE 2K19 is in effect a 2K title, consequently what we will find inside it in terms of modes is very close to what, for example, we can find in NBA 2K19. My Player mode will allow you to create an alter ego and embark on your Hall of Fame ascent on a journey from independent federations to the main rosters of Raw and SmackDown. This mode, compared to the past, will offer you more choices and interactions, following what the Community was clamoring for, but also a dubbing of both your athlete and the official superstars. We are not faced with a deep writing, but the narrative of this mode is certainly satisfying and very in line with what can be found in the storylines proposed in WWE.
If then all the clichés of the life of an athlete in Wrestling appear in this mode; fatigue, sacrifice and passion appear in Presentation mode (terrible adaptation of the English term Showcase) that will allow you to relive the tormented journey from hell to heaven of Daniel Bryan, one of the biggest stars of the WWE scene of the last ten years. Through a story by Daniel himself, interspersed with gameplay sessions that will retrace the main stages of his career, you can live his incredible odyssey to learn that nothing is impossible in life. Beyond these two main modes we find a series of contour possibilities that increase the variety of the 2K title.
The classic exhibition mode in which to launch the fights of different types (from the most classic 1v1 and 2v2 to the most extravagant Royal Rumble, Steel Cage and 8-man battle royale), or WWE Universe mode which will allow you to manage the weekly shows, ei Pay Per View as if you were the General Manager or even the CEO of the federation. Finally we find Towers and Road to Glory modes; the first consists in facing the Gauntlet match (a sort of horde mode in which you face a wave of 1v1 opponents in succession without the possibility of recovering your energy) to earn credits in-game (about this we will return shortly). The second mode instead, consists of a classic Online mode in which the weekly matches will allow you, if won in sufficient numbers, to access the festive tournaments represented by the Pay Per View (Summerslam, Survivor Series, etc.).
Before closing, there remains one last point to address: the grinding issue. Unfortunately, beyond the age of the combat system, the real weakness of WWE 2K19 is the immense amount of play required to unlock most of the customizations of your player. Not only the Legends (as always in the franchise) therefore, but also every aspect of the customization of your character must be unlocked with in-game credits and we're not just talking about clothes and hairstyles. Let's be clear, the problem is not the grinding itself, but its invasiveness. In fact, it is present massively in a fulcrum mode like the one linked to My Player (MyCareer in English).
In-game credits will accumulate with each match in and out of career, but negligibly - from 20 to 70 credits based on performance and only 2.000 at the end of career chapters - when the prices of a single accessory range from a minimum of 6.500 credits (very few pieces that cost this amount) to a maximum of 15.000 credits. Too much, really too much for those who want to enjoy career mode not having a large amount of daily time available. Also because the customization of appearance, moves and entry into the ring is a key aspect of wrestling that makes the show its main keystone to the hearts of the fans.
WWE 2K19 demonstrates how the turn towards simulation of wrestling in an area like video games is more torturous than expected. The path is certainly not easy, but the 2K title is still the best exponent of the saga to date for the amount of content, technical level and variety of playful possibilities. Two big doubts remain on the somewhat woody combat system that begins to feel the weight of the years, and on the grinding aspect which in our opinion is really too invasive.
► WWE 2K19 is a Sport type game developed and published by Take-two for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 09/10/2018
