Wrestlemania for the first time in its
history in 2019.
This year, 2K Showcase: The
Women’s Evolution tells the story of
four women who came through the
ranks of NXT to help women’s wrestling
gain more respect in the wider WWE.
Fifteen classic matches are playable,
spanning the rise to the top of the‘Four Horsewomen’ – Charlotte Flair,
Bayley, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch –
with characters, attire, titles and more
unlockable as you progress. In other
wrestling history, this is the first WWE
game whose cover features a woman –
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch,
although she does have to share the
cover with WWE Superstar Roman
Reigns. Also for the first time, players
can compete with both male and
female Superstars in the ‘MyCAREER’
mode as well as mixed tag matches.Towering presence
Also returning, having made its debut
last year, is the 2K Towers mode.
This is where players can take a
Superstar or created MyPlayer (via
the always-robust wrestler creation
suite) into one of several Towers.
Each provides a gauntlet of matches
boasting different challenges, match
stipulations and player modifications.
The main name on the marquee this
year is Roman Reigns, who has his
own Tower, called Roman’s Reign
(because of course it is). For this, you
get to follow the wrestler through his
early days, via his storied rivalries with
John Cena and The Undertaker, all the
way to WWE greatness.
2K aims to service this year’s
wrestler way beyond its initial release
period, too, with the introduction of
what the devs term a new ‘service
model’, called ‘WWE 2K20 Originals’.
This, 2K says, will deliver a ton of 2K
Showcase add-on content, presenting
a new playable world with its own
unique theme, and we’ll be excited to
see what that entails over the coming
months. Not long to wait now, as the
game releases 22 October – look out
for a full review next issue. QIt’s that time of year when we
welcome back an OXM favourite, 2K’s
wrestling sim. As with all your licensed
annual sports sims, there are often
only subtle differences from year to
year, but a few key changes in this
WWE instalment have caught our eye
and made us excited to get back in
the ring when it lands this month.
Reinvigorating the franchise this
year is a heavier focus on the women
of the WWE – previously given only
limited gameplay options, despite
a large roster of women Superstars
available. As the women of WWE have
strived to be taken more seriously
(ditching the ‘Diva’ tag a couple of
years back, thank goodness), this
year’s game now reflects that, among
other things, women headlinedThe long-time devs at Yuke’s have left the franchise; now 2K’s Visual Concepts is at the helmBELOW Women’s
greater
involvement here
reflects a
change in the
real-life WWE.
WWE 2K20
Women’s Evolution is finally a
focus for this year’s grappler
Chris Burke
PUBLISHER 2K DEVELOPER VISUAL CONCEPTS
ETA 22 OCTOBER 2019“Reinvigorating
the franchise this
year is a focus
on the women of
the WWE”
PREVIEW
More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 035