WWE 2K15

WWE 2K15
File:PS4WWE2k15cover.jpg PS4 cover art featuring John Cena
Developer(s)	Visual Concepts Yuke's
Publisher(s)	2K Sports
Series	WWE 2K
Platform(s)	Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Xbox One PlayStation 4
Release	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Genre(s)	Professional wrestling Fighting
Mode(s)	Single player Multiplayer

WWE 2K15 is a wrestling simulation video game developed by Visual Concepts and Yuke's and published by 2K Sports. The game is the latest in the WWE 2K series and released on October 28, 2014 North America and will be released on October 31, 2014 in Europe for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, whilst it will be released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 18, 2014 in North America and November 21, 2014 in Europe. The cover features John Cena and is the first in the series to use the new WWE logo, which was introduced exclusively for the WWE Network before being expanded to being used on all WWE programming in February 2014.

It was announced on July 14 that Sting would be the game's pre-order bonus as two playable characters: One being the black and white Crow-inspired persona and the other being his surfer gimmick with the blond flattop hairstyle. A collector's edition of the game was announced on August 4. It includes premium packaging, a collectable art card hand-signed by Hulk Hogan, an exclusive Funko "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan vinyl figure, a piece of the ring canvas from Hogan's appearance on WWE Monday Night Raw on March 10, 2014, two playable pre-order launch-exclusive Hulk Hogan characters (nWo "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan and modern day Hulk Hogan), and the two playable Sting characters. There are only 25,000 collector's editions being made and they are only available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Gameplay

WWE 2K15 is meant to signify the start of a new generation, turning the franchise into a true wrestling game rather than "a fighting game with WWE Superstars in it." A new chain wrestling mini-game has been implemented (exclusive to current generation consoles only) to make matches play out more realistically. Pressing the grapple button at the beginning of the match will initiate a collar-and-elbow tie up. From there, each opponent will press one of three face buttons to place their opponent into a side headlock, a wrist lock or a waist lock with a rock-paper-scissors style outcome. (Headlock beats Wrist lock, Wrist lock beats Waist lock, Waist lock beats Headlock.) Whomever wins will place their opponent in the corresponding hold while both players rotate the right analog stick to find a "sweet spot". If the attacker finds it first, they'll perform a move, if the defender finds it first, they'll gain the upper hand. Additionally, the attacking wrestler can strike or wrench the opponent's limb, making it harder for them to find the sweet spot. This mini-game only happens 2-3 times during the match and can be turned off via the options menu. Strikes have returned to their normal speed with improved collision and selling animations from the opponent. Unlike in previous games, superstars will not stand up immediately after taking a bump or slam, the player must rotate the right analog stick in order to stand up. It is noted that the number of superstars is smaller than last year's game. However additional wrestlers like Hulk Hogan from the 80's can be downloaded via DLC.

In this game it has a three-tier stamina meter which controls the pace of a match. Each move that is performed, especially striking and running, will drain the stamina meter. During the first tier, the wrestler will be full of energy and perform moves easily. During the second tier, the wrestler will begin to slow down. In the third tier, the wrestler will be completely exhausted, even being unable to perform their finishing moves should it drop too low. Although the stamina meter cannot be turned off, stamina will slowly regenerate as long as a meter is not depleted and can be adjusted to drain more slowly. The game's submission system has been revamped. The "Breaking Point" gauge has been replaced with a two part circular gauge. The mechanic of the system remains mostly the same, but players only have to mash a single button rather than all four. Wake-up taunt finishers are now known as "Charged Finishers" which combines the taunt & finisher into a single animation by pressing the finisher button when the opponent is grounded. Signature moves can now be stored as well. Catch and Catapult finishers have also returned. Both fighting styles and skill sets have been brought in to ensure that the characters behave more like their real-life counterparts. For example, high flyers like Rey Mysterio will not do power moves and will focus on diving and springboard moves while giants like Big Show cannot climb the turnbuckle and will focus on power moves. Superstars who cannot climb to the top rope can climb to the second rope and deliver moves such as Bret Hart's elbow drop or Big Show's slingshot body splash.

Match Types

Match Types for all versions have been significantly enhanced. The Steel Cage Match, has a new escape system in which players will have to tap the buttons repeatedly to escape as fast as possible, with the amount of stamina also having an effect at the speed of which players will escape. The Hell in a Cell match now allows the usage of weapons obtained from under the ring. New match types (only playable in Showcase Mode) include the Three Stages of Hell match and the Casket Match.

Visuals and Audio

The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game will feature the same face and body scanning tech that was used for NBA 2K14 to ensure that the models look as close to their real-life counterparts as possible. Textures for clothing, beards & long hair have been updated. However, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions have similar graphics to its predecessor, but with improved clothing textures and a new lighting system that lessens the shine from the superstar models. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions will be displayed in 1080p resolution and run at 60 fps, while Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 version will be displayed in 720p resolution and run at its usual 30 fps.

Visual Concepts motion captured wrestlers performing their moves in an actual WWE ring over the course of forty days with the sound of each bump being recorded to ensure that it sounds like the actual move rather than using generic sounds of someone hitting the mat. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler have recorded new commentary, with approximately 30 hours of new commentary per commentator.

Soundtrack

WWE 2K15: The Soundtrack was created by John Cena. The soundtrack consists of music from a variety of artists from various music genres, including hip-hop, rock, and country. Both Cena-Khalifa collaborations are exclusive to the album, which was released on October 21.

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Length
1.	"All Day"	Wiz Khalifa & John Cena	3:59
2.	"Ready"	B.o.B featuring Future	3:41
3.	"Free"	Rudimental featuring Emeli Sandé & Nas	4:30
4.	"We Dem Boyz"	Wiz Khalifa	3:45
5.	"Wild Ones (WrestleMania XXVIII version)"	Flo Rida featuring Sia	3:56
6.	"Bonfire"	Knife Party	4:32
7.	"Workin’"	Big Smo featuring Alexander King	3:35
8.	"Ghost"	Mystery Skulls	4:21
9.	"Come On Over"	Royal Blood	2:53
10.	"Breaks"	Wiz Khalifa & John Cena	4:04
Total length:			39:16

In-game exclusive bonus tracks

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Length
11.	"This Means War"	Avenged Sevenfold	6:10
12.	"Heart of a Warrior"	Dizzee Rascal featuring Teddy Sky	3:14
13.	"This Is How We Roll"	Florida Georgia Line featuring Luke Bryan	3:42
14.	"Zero Visibility"	Rise Against	4:38
Total length:			57:00

Story modes

2K Showcase

On August 4, 2014, IGN revealed that the game will feature a historical mode, which focuses on past WWE rivalries. Called the 2K Showcase, the story mode will be similar to WWE 2K14's 30 Years of WrestleMania mode in that it focuses on historical events, but will be more like the Attitude Era mode in WWE '13 where it focuses on specifics rather than generalities. The mode goes into more depth, giving more detailed looks at personal rivalries, treating them as mini-documentaries. Set to feature 33 matches, the 2K Showcase is highlighted by two rivalries: Hustle, Loyalty, Disrespect, which focuses on the rivalry of John Cena and CM Punk from 2011-2013 which started with Punk beginning to rebel against Vince McMahon and the way he ran the company and later when he claimed he didn't earn the respect he deserved; Best Friends, Bitter Enemies, which chronicles the rivalry between Triple H and Shawn Michaels from 2002-2004, where Triple H betrayed Michaels after his return to action to prove himself as the better of the two.

MyCareer

The game will also have a MyCareer mode similar to NBA 2K15's. Players are set to take on the role of a Superstar made in the Creative Suite and follow the evolution of their WWE career, from the WWE Performance Center and NXT to the main event at WrestleMania and eventually to the WWE Hall of Fame. This is the first time that the WWE 2K series will feature a Career mode and the first for the series overall since SmackDown vs. Raw 2010. Designed to be a branching, but linear, storyline in which players actions will have effects on the future, MyCareer is reminiscent to story modes of earlier SmackDown games and WWF No Mercy in which decisions affected outcomes. The mode also features a morality system to allow players to decide whether they want to play as a face (good guy) or a heel (bad guy) with each choice having an effect on the meter. There will also be a 1-5 star match rating system that will rate matches based on technique, pacing and momentum, with squash matches getting lower ratings and back-and-forth matches getting higher ratings. Wins and losses have little effect on match ratings with the goal being to put on the best match possible. This mode is exclusive to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Who Got NXT

Replacing MyCareer on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 is a mode called Who Got NXT which is a story mode focusing on up-and-comers from NXT: Adrian Neville, Bo Dallas, Corey Graves, Rusev and Sami Zayn, the 5 playable NXT Superstars in the game.

Proving Ground

Designed to be the spiritual successor to Defeat The Streak on WWE 2K14, Proving Ground pits players against an overpowered John Cena, who has been described to be the top guy in WWE. This mode is only unlockable after completing the Who Got NXT mode. The player will choose one of the 5 playable NXT Superstars to face Cena in a one-on-one match with a 30-minute time limit. Defeating Cena with all 5 NXT stars will unlock the entire roster (including created Superstars) to play the mode with. This mode is also exclusive to last-gen consoles.

Creative Suite

The Creative Suite has returned with most of the same features. However, two of the features were removed from the game: Create-A-Story and Create-A-Special Move.

The Create-A-Superstar mode has returned, with created wrestlers on the current generation version nearly perfectly matching the in-game models as opposed to previous years. As a result of the higher resolution models, there are only 25 Create-A-Superstar slots for PS4 and Xbox One. Superstar Heads has been reworked to allow all in-game wrestlers to be fully editable for the first time since WWF No Mercy. On PS4 & Xbox One, the paint tool has been removed and replaced with a "new feature that goes far beyond" according to the developers.

Downloadable Content

On October 14, 2014, it was announced that the batch of upcoming DLC will include the Accelerator, which unlocks all in-game content, and three rivalries for the 2K Showcase mode; One More Match chronicles the feud between Christian and Randy Orton from 2011, Hall of Pain focuses on Mark Henry's best matches, and Path of the Warrior is the career retrospective of WWE Hall of Famer The Ultimate Warrior. Various packs will be available at unspecified dates with Superstars, Legends, managers, and new moves including an NXT Arrival pack with The Ascension, Adam Rose, and Emma.

Season Pass

The Season Pass will include all three 2K Showcase stories, the Accelerator, and WWE Diva Paige.

Reception

PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

IGN gave the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions a 5.9 out of 10, saying: "WWE 2K15 is like seeing Brock Lesnar going from breaking The Undertaker's streak to losing to Hornswoggle during the pre-show in back-to-back WrestleManias. Not only is it surprising, it's also pretty sad. I would frequently grab my copy of last year's grappler with the intent to quickly check some changes, only to find myself reluctant to switch back due to the far better roster and single-player experience. Do yourself a favor, save your money, and buy WWE 2K14. The minor improvements to combat and commentary in 2K15 don't even come close to making up for what was lost."

External links

• Official website