WWE '13 (X360)
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Publisher: THQ.
Developer: Yuke's. Released: 2012 Genre: Wrestling. Other versions: PS3; WII. Posted 22nd August 2013. By Shane Battams © 2013 |
Many a wrestling fan often cite one period of WWE programming which stands out among the rest. Back in the late 90s, the era of Attitude began, in an attempt to thwart rival wrestling company WCW. We saw nudity, the crucifixion of Steve Austin and Mae Young giving birth to a hand. Though the aforementioned storylines are some of the cruder ones to come from this era, many argue we are long past the glory days, and in a way, this also applies to the yearly instalments of WWE games. WWE ’12 attempted to overhaul the engine and was an admirable effort, but was let down by a dodgy counter system and poor modes. Now WWE ‘13 enters the ring, supposedly the second phase of a revolution in WWE games. It mixes Attitude with the contemporary, and it is without a doubt one of the better instalments in recent years, especially for those more in tune with the older Attitude era. But it’s not flawless, not by quite a stretch.
WWE13 sees last year’s Predator Engine return with a host of improvements. Yuke’s first attempt with this new engine was admirable, adding a refined grapple system and other improvements, but its lacklustre counter system caused major headaches. Thankfully the kinks have been ironed out, as now countering is tactical yet fair, and the counter icons to are less buggy. Other subtle improvements come into play, such as weight balancing which prevents cruiserweights from suplexing heavyweights, and these little refinements add up. Unfortunately, the core fighting can be derailed by iffy collision detection and mediocre artificial intelligence. Nothing ruins the immersion more than watching guys flail with missed punches and act idiotically, such as leaving the ring and destroying the announcer’s table for no reason. Nonetheless, WWE13 makes good strides on the foundations laid, making it a solid fighter.
By far the best feature of WWE13 is its Attitude Era story mode. Though there is much content to sift through this era, Yukes have narrowed it down to six chapters which focus on a specific character and event. You’ll relive the epic feud between Austin and McMahon, take on Undertaker in the first ever Hell in a Cell match and relive Austin v Rock at Wrestlemania XV. Matches can be won in any fashion, but players can also perform Historical Objectives, which trigger cut-scenes re-creating key moments in the era as well as rewarding you with characters and other unlockables for use in other modes. Attitude Era feels like a huge step up, mainly because the storylines present in this era are so exciting. Frequent use of archival videos and commentary add substance to the mode and make it feel like a true tribute to the era of Attitude, even if licensing woes can get in the way.
"GAH! GIVE ME THE LAST ROLO!"
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Vince's pocket mirror reveals he's not as pretty as he once was
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The thing is, outside of this Attitude-focused spectacle, much of WWE13’s content feels mixed. The creation tools are mostly excellent, bar lacklustre entrance and title creators. The former feels too limited while the latter merely lets you recolor existing belts, making it feel like a pointless exercise. On the other hand, Arena creation has been enhanced to allow modification of the entire arena, character creation remains in-depth and the story creator allows for more matches and easier branching decisions. Many of the create-a-tools in WWE ‘13 allow you to fulfil your wrestling fantasies with ease due to their depth. It’s all very exciting, and should come full circle with Universe mode and with multiplayer, both of which allow you to utilise these creations.
However, Universe Mode is disappointing because it punishes you for customisation. While you can change rosters and steer rivalries to your preference, changing the match card disables cut-scenes. Custom arenas and belts can also cause frequent crashes, making it safer to use default arenas. This forces you to play the matches it creates, or reduce Universe mode to exhibition matches. Playing this way, Universe can be an addicting blend of sim-management and wrestling, but it also requires patience. Sometimes, you’ll get four cut-scenes one week, and another you’ll get none. Online play is also disappointing. The mode is certainly fully-featured, with all the exhibition modes available for play and Community Creations allowing you to dip your toe into the wildly imaginative community of creators. While sharing custom creations is simple and worthwhile, actually fighting is dwindled by exploits such as spammable running grapples, lag and too much downtime.
However, Universe Mode is disappointing because it punishes you for customisation. While you can change rosters and steer rivalries to your preference, changing the match card disables cut-scenes. Custom arenas and belts can also cause frequent crashes, making it safer to use default arenas. This forces you to play the matches it creates, or reduce Universe mode to exhibition matches. Playing this way, Universe can be an addicting blend of sim-management and wrestling, but it also requires patience. Sometimes, you’ll get four cut-scenes one week, and another you’ll get none. Online play is also disappointing. The mode is certainly fully-featured, with all the exhibition modes available for play and Community Creations allowing you to dip your toe into the wildly imaginative community of creators. While sharing custom creations is simple and worthwhile, actually fighting is dwindled by exploits such as spammable running grapples, lag and too much downtime.
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WWE13 looks solid, if dated at moments. Old issues die hard, such as clipping, and the crowd still looks quite awful. The character models too range from excellent to exaggerated, but there’s still a lot to like about WWE ‘13s visuals. It captures a lot of the excitement of the shows through detailed arenas, great animation and solid use of camera angles. Even little touches like the small WWE logo at the bottom and the twitter hashtag in the top feel well placed. Audio, on the other hand, is rough. There is some positive stuff, mainly the use of official entrance themes as well as use of archival audio from Attitude-era moments. However, the standard commentary is simply diabolical. Plenty of it is recycled from previous games, a lot of it overlaps itself and causes weird audio interruptions and it can be wildly inaccurate at times. Weak sound effects round out the mediocre package.
Though it still doesn’t reach the same heights as the best of the series, WWE ’13 is a positive step in the right direction. As the kinks of the Predator engine are ironed out in this instalment, Yukes have also brought to the table the best story mode in years. By looking into one of the most historic periods of WWE history – along with offering plenty of unlockable goodies and challenges along the way – WWE 13’s Attitude Era retrospective is exciting and fun. It’s just a shame much of the content outside of this mode doesn’t add a whole lot to the package, but it is welcome none the less. Perhaps with a tighter universe mode and improved online play – along with another equally stellar story mode – WWE 2K14 can reach the heights of the likes of Shut Your Mouth! But, WWE ‘13 is perfectly good, whether you’re a modern WWE fan or a history buff of this wrestling brand.
Though it still doesn’t reach the same heights as the best of the series, WWE ’13 is a positive step in the right direction. As the kinks of the Predator engine are ironed out in this instalment, Yukes have also brought to the table the best story mode in years. By looking into one of the most historic periods of WWE history – along with offering plenty of unlockable goodies and challenges along the way – WWE 13’s Attitude Era retrospective is exciting and fun. It’s just a shame much of the content outside of this mode doesn’t add a whole lot to the package, but it is welcome none the less. Perhaps with a tighter universe mode and improved online play – along with another equally stellar story mode – WWE 2K14 can reach the heights of the likes of Shut Your Mouth! But, WWE ‘13 is perfectly good, whether you’re a modern WWE fan or a history buff of this wrestling brand.
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VERDICT
Visual: 7/10
Audio: 5/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Longevity: 8/10 OVERALL: 7/10 |