WWE 2K18

The motto of World Wrestling Entertainment is “Then, Now, Forever.” It’s something wrestling fans read before every WWE television show, be it on the WWE Network or on normal TV. The slogan is supposed to symbolize the history and legacy of the storied wrestling promotion, but in turn, these words also apply to the WWE 2K18 experience. “Then” represents a few sticking points from last year that 2K18 fixes, “now” encompasses the new features found in this year’s game, and “forever” signals issues from previous years that unfortunately persist. WWE 2K18 makes great strides to improve the experie...

The beauty about WWE 2K18 is that it doesn’t change much, but the things that they did change matter. Presentation, match flow, as well as keeping MyPLAYER’s creation suite and the main game’s creative suite separate matters…A LOT. Yeah, there are some flaws in the game, and that comes with the territory of yearly releases, but to indicate that the small changes weren’t enough would be giving this game a disservice, and for what we got, it’s a decently engaging edition of WWE 2K.

WWE 2K18 is an upgrade from the previous iteration. It improves on the game's core gameplay, graphics, and creation tools giving wrestling fans a fun experience they will enjoy. However, like previous iterations, the game poses a ton of excellent ideas that fall flat. MyCareer, Road to Glory, and Universe Mode are all fantastic features on paper, but lacks the depth players would want. This is a game built for the WWE Universe; it is for fans of all generations. However, if you play WWE 2K18 without an appreciation for the sport, it would be hard to convince you that it is entertaining.

Under the better-than-ever graphics and great-as-ever core wrestling gameplay, WWE 2K18 is a largely disappointing iteration. It wastes too much of its ambition on the poorly written and dull MyCareer RPG mode, leaving its other promising modes to languish for another year. What few enhancements we get to the carry mechanics and eight-person matches are welcome, but not as much of a year-over-year refresh as would be needed to keep the excitement level as high as it’s been in past years.

WWE 2K18, then, is the very definition of a mixed bag. When matches work as they should the wrestling is as fun as ever, with unexpected twists and turns making you scream and guffaw at the screen. And outside of the disappointing MyCareer mode you can have great fun getting to grips with an expansive roster of your favourite male and female wrestlers, placing them in nearly any scenario you can think of. But when things go wrong you’ll just be left staring slack-jawed at the screen, thinking how it’s not really acceptable for such a big-name title in this day and age.

WWE 2K18 is another decent entry in the long running games franchise. But as I said last year, it's sad that these games are just decent because they can be and should be great.

While WWE 2K18 does hit enough right notes for a recommendation, it still leaves something to be desired. As much as I like the style of these newer games, I miss being able to be as nonsensical as the older ones would allow. All in all, it's a toss-up for me.

WWE 2K18 may still be an a fun game for you if you've been a fan of the series over the last few years, but if you were expecting it to pull the series out of its prolonged slump, you're going to be disappointed.

Hard times.

More frustrating because of the things it gets right than the blindingly obviously problems with bugs, a dull career mode, and a strange new loot box system.

For WWE fans, there is a lot to like with the package, but ultimately, bad design cripples what could be a real winner. While I was not the biggest fan of them, the removal of the showcase events is a huge loss for longtime wrestling fans. The game still lacks any kind of decent general manager mode and offers players no way to set up and book their own fantasy wrestling shows. This mode was included in the series many years ago, so it shouldn’t be that tough to get it working on this generation of consoles/PC. On the gameplay side of things, 2K is still falling way short of the fun and simula...

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