- [Mitchell] WWE 2K19,
like previous entries
in the long-running wrestling
franchise, is a good game.
The core wrestling does a great job
of simulating a WWE match, and
the strike, grapple, reversal
fighting system is a lot of fun.
It's got one of the best
and most comprehensive
creation suites of any game out there.
And, the way that it basically
lets you do everything
that wrestlers do in
real life, in the game,
is kind of astounding.
But those are all things that have
remained true for a while now.
And, while WWE 2K19 goes to great lengths
to fix its biggest flaws from last year,
it still leaves a lot of
long-standing issues unchecked
that limit the otherwise
significant improvements over 2K18.
(crowd clapping)
(heavy metal music)
The campaign mode, or MyCareer,
has been a WWE 2K staple since 2K15.
But in 2K19, it finally
feels like a proper Triple A
wrestling story mode,
complete with voice acting,
cut-scenes and likable
characters that grow
and change over the course of the story.
It's brought to life thanks
to a great performance
from former Tough Enough competitor
and current indie wrestler, A.J. Kirsch,
who brings a much needed level
of authenticity to the lead role.
- My reign will be
about memorable matches,
not memorable words,
and that will be
absolutely
glorious!
- [Announcer] Glorious!
- [Narrator] And, for the most part,
the actual WWE wrestlers
that lend their voices to the
game, also do a great job.
Outside of the few that
seem like they're reading
from a script, as opposed
to actually acting.
- You're certainly off to a
hot start here on SmackDown,
with your US Title win over Bobby Roode.
Is there anyone you'd like to defend
your championship against first?
- [Narrator] Unlike previous
years that always start
your character in NXT,
WWE 2K19's MyCareer mode
starts you on the indie scene
in an organization called BCW,
where you are wrestling
out of high school gyms.
A fact that the obnoxious commentator
won't stop reminding you of.
- [Commentator] These
two have the potential
to go all night, but I
hope they don't because,
per the school principal, we
have a strict 11 p.m. curfew.
- [Narrator] From there you'll get noticed
by WWE head trainer Matt Bloom
and begin your twisty and windy
path to the WWE main roster.
From a presentational stand point,
everything about MyCareer
this year is fantastic
and exactly what the
template should look like
in future years.
But, MyCareer sill stumbles
when it comes to progression.
Your character starts off extremely weak
with a poultry set of
moves, pathetic stats,
and generic entrance options.
As you level up by gaining experience
you can increase your stats
through three skill trees,
which are further divided
by different paths within each one.
The skill trees manage to
reduce the stat overload
that typically accompanies
WWE 2K's career mode
but you never get the feeling that
the skills you're adding to
make much of a difference
in your character's overall strength.
Despite the pain in the ass
that is character progression,
the overall story and
journey of your character
as he rises up through
the ranks of the WWE
make it worth the struggle.
On top of that, new moves
and cosmetic options
are once again locked behind loot boxes,
which is a huge bummer.
The boxes can only be
purchased with virtual currency
and individual items can
be bought on their own
but the cost for buying things
a la carte is very expensive.
For the most part, MyCareer is easy enough
to get away with using a subpar character
but there are a few points in the story
where Triple H decides to
stack the deck against you,
forcing you to compete and
win in wildly unfair matches
such as a three-on-one handicap match.
Rather than coming out of it feeling like
a highly skilled beast of a wrestler,
you feel like you have to resort to
cheap hit and run tactics just to survive.
(classical music plays)
Aside from MyCareer,
2K19 brings back the much
beloved Showcase mode.
This time highlighting the
WWE career of Daniel Bryan.
Every chapter covers a different
note-worthy match of his career,
with an introduction by Brian himself
that sets the stage in a fascinating,
mini-documentary style.
Once it's time to actually play,
you're guided by objectives
that have you doing many of the same moves
and big spots that actually
took place in the real match.
With some objectives
triggering painstakingly
recreated cut-scenes of
some of the biggest moments.
Unfortunately, while
completing those objectives
is a lot of fun, they
don't trigger checkpoints.
And with some of these
matches lasting upwards of
twenty to thirty minutes,
it's extremely frustrating
to force players
to replay all of that from the beginning
if they fail near the end.
2K19 also takes some
cues from Mortal Kombat X
with their 2K Tower's mode,
which challenges players
to complete themed towers,
consisting of a series of
matches under a unifying theme.
These towers change both daily and weekly
so there's always something new to tackle
and they offer a great source
of VC to spend in other modes.
(heavy metal music plays)
Those are the big
differences in 2K19 this year
but there's also a lot to
be said about the plethora
of small changes that go
a long way in improving
the overall quality of 2K19,
even despite some of the
frustrations of it's main modes.
A new payback system adds
another layer of strategy
to the core wrestling gameplay
by giving players two powerful abilities
that can change the flow of a match.
Whether it be giving a
player an instant finisher,
an extra reversal counter,
a one time use free kick out of two,
or an array of others.
Royal Rumbles are a lot
more fun now that you can
pick and choose the order in
which the superstars enter.
Steel cage matches have undergone
an almost complete overhaul
with new exit mini-games
and several new animations
that add to the excitement
of the match type.
(crowd cheering)
Beyond that WWE 2K19 just seems to embrace
a much more fun and arcady tone,
and the game is much better for it.
Big head mode matches
are hilarious to watch,
some of the 2K Towers
have crazy modifiers like
sped up gameplay that do a
great job of making each tower
feel like a unique challenge
and one of the payback
abilities essentially turns you
into Thor as you charge electricity
to build your momentum meter.
As for things that have stayed the same,
the core wrestling gameplay
thankfully still holds up
and makes up for a lot of
the flaws in the other areas.
Commentary is still laughably bad
and it's still very buggy
but Create-A-Wrestler remains
one of the most incredible
tools for character creation
across all video games.
(cheery upbeat music)
WWE 2K19, like other
WWE 2K games before it,
is still held back by a number of
long standing series issues.
But with the much improved MyCareer mode
and the sheer amount of content available,
thanks to the return of Showcase mode
and the addition of 2K Towers,
it stops the downward spiral the series
had been heading towards
and puts it back on track.
If 2K20 can fix the awful
character progression
and story mode, clean up the bugs,
and work on the commentary issues,
this might finally be the blueprint
of a championship contender again.
For more on WWE 2K19, check
out our ultimate created
superstar Battle Royale.
As well as our video
highlighting some of our
favorite mismatched entrances.
And for everything else,
keep it here on IGN.
