WWE 2K14 Official Thread

Apparently this was posted on WWEGaming the website but then taken down. It's still up on their Facebook page though. I grabbed it quick:


Oh you didn't know? It's that time again- time for the WWE to return with another installment of their yearly franchise and this time folks, they're returning with a "bang".

No longer on the herald of the late THQ, WWE has teamed up with TakeTwo subdivision 2KSports to bring you this years installment of the popular wrestling simulation.. and boy are they finally on the right track. Think of it as an official rebirth... Or second coming... Or re-debut... Or actual debut... Or- you get our drift.

Done away this year are the recycled cartoonish graphics and sound that were prominent in WWE games in the past few years. 2K have completely revamped and shifted all of the focus on presentation and quality to appeal to mass gamers and to replicate the actual feel of the WWE. "Time restraints and budgeting issues were the main reason that all of the games never felt completely new, even though, marketing wise, we pushed the complete opposite. So far, 2K have been extremely innovative and have pitched ideas that were never thought of." said Cory Ledesma, former senior editor for the WWE franchise who was hired by TakeTwo Interactive to help out with this years games.

As we were able to preview a bit of the game, the changes were noticeable instantly. We were given a five minute time limit for our match which pitted John Cena against the attitude era poster boy, Stone Cold Steve Austin. As we went through our selection process, done away was the Mortal Kombat fighter style selection screen in favor of the return of a more traditional selection screen. In alphabetical orders and rows, players are now able to not only see the stats and finishers of who they're selecting, but are now able to read mini biographies and hype videos for said wrestlers, reminiscent to the old WCW Nitro games of the 90's.

For John Cena, if you highlight his character, a mini backdrop video begins to show his accomplishments, showing his crowd celebration from a couple of years back winning his first WWE title at WrestleMania 21. For Austin, we were greeted to his infamous beer spraying shtick from his feud with McMahon. The videos are shown by default which can be a bit of a nuisance after a while.

As soon as we loaded into our match, we were greeted by announcers Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler who ran down the stats and accomplishments of both competitors. Rowdy fans perpetrated the backgrounds flashing signs, and throwing up hand gestures as our announcers spoke, similar to what you see on television. The run downs are short and sweet and can be skipped if the player chooses to do so.

Done away are the loading screens before entrances. As soon as the run downs were completed we were greeted by Austin's glass shatter which drew an enormous reaction from the crowd. "Here we go!" says an enthusiastic Michael Cole. 2K has really hit the nail on the head with reactions and sounds coming from the crowd and commentating has taken a huge step forward and we've yet to start any action.

As Austin perpetrated from behind the curtains his signature neck jerks were prominent as he marched down the isle, stopping a few times to gaze at the enormous crowd. Faint mumblings can be heard from Austin has he stomps towards the ring. Once again, commentators begin to boost up the match and plug the reaction of the crowd.

As Austin throws his vest to the outside and prominently stretches for the match, John Cena makes his way to the ring as Austin gazes the entrance way from a turnbuckle. With no load time in between, Cena comes out with a burst of speed and enthusiasm before stopping at the entrance stage to say a few words of motivation to the camera as he salutes. As Cena makes his way into the ring he faintly gazes at Austin before throwing his shirt into the crowd. The player is given the option to do a premature start during all of this by tapping R1. For example, if we chose too, we could have had Austin rush John Cena during his entrance but were too awe struck at the presentation. This is the authentication that 2K sports wanted.

As the bell rang, the match started with a test of strengths which seems to be the return of mini games before matches. Match the correct buttons and you have the advantage for the start. The controls were similar to the old games but moves are now much more fluid and better captured. As John Cena received a plethora of chest chops, he gripped his chest in agony while holding onto the third rope attempting to shield himself from Austin while the referee sandwiched himself between both competitors. During this process, a bar appears that let's Cena avoid any more combat from Austin if he fills it up in time. If not, Austin can continue his attack. "It's a way for us to combat spamming online and offline, and it gives the match more fluidity and pacing" said Bryan Williams, who was also hired by TakeTwo.

Stamina plays an important role in matches now and to refill them means you have to put your opponent in rest holds or go to a "hot spot" to do so. "Hot spots are various areas inside and outside the ring which allows player to refill their stamina- for example, if you perform a huge move on your opponent that causes you to collapse, then would be a good time to regain a boost of energy by going to the turn buckle and pressing R1 which shows your wrestler leaning and catching his breath. If you don't want the hassle of drifting away from your opponents, then rest holds will do. A mat headlock will replenish your stamina" says Ledesma.

Stamina depletion is much more noticeable near the pinnacle of matches, so you won't be needing to do to many rest holds at the start. As our time limit grew to a close we weren't able to fully explore the new innovative ways that matches play out. As we were bummed out about wrappings things up, Williams boasted to us "There is a lot more where that came from and that was not even, say, 20 percent of what we have in store for you guys." In that case, we were very pleased to see the much needed changes and upgrades that 2K sports have implemented. WWE2K14 is set to be released in October of this year, and for a short time span, they've accomplished a lot.