noticeably better the more wrestlers
are in the ring.
Each of the 180 Superstars on
the roster behave and fight in an
authentic and accurate way, with the
AI utilising the wrestlers’ individual
specialisms. Whether you’re playing
against more technical wrestlers,
aerial acrobats, submission specialists
or brutish bruisers, each bout will feel
both unique and appropriate. When
it works, there’s a genuinely good
wrestling game here. The targeting
and hit detection can be off at times,
though, which is more frustrating than
any of the comedy glitches.
Fighting talk
At least the commentary is better.
Hearing new announcer Greg Hamilton
makes a refreshing change, while
there’s variety and actual relevance
in the commentary this time – and
this carries through to the excellent
scripting in both the signature
Showcase mode and MyPlayer story.
It’s the second year that the WWE2K
franchise has adopted a MyPlayer
career mode, similar to NBA and FIFA
games. For this year’s title, with its
emphasis on Women’s Evolution, you
get a Fighting With My Family-style
story of both a male and female
superstar, best friends rising from
being WWE fans via the indie circuit to
the big leagues. As with last year, this
is done with the involvement of WWE
stars and its script is engaging and at
times funny, and it adds more depth to
the game, plus more hours of content
beyond just matches.
Similarly, this year’s 2K Showcase,
focusing on the careers of the ‘Four
Horsewomen’, Becky Lynch, Bayley,
Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks, as
they rise through the ranks to change
perceptions of women’s wrestling,
is excellent. Here, certain conditions
must be met and moves accomplished
in line with real historical matches,
and this is intercut with talking-head
interviews with the Superstars.So long as the game’s myriad
unscripted problems don’t spoil things
for you, this is far from an awful game.
It should have been a superior entry
in the series: the roster of superstars
is huge, and it’s absolutely feature-
packed – it just feels like it’s not been
tested properly. On top of that, far too
many legacy problems remain, and
while we’ve really tried to be positive
here, regardless of patchable bugs
and glitches, fundamentally the
engine, the graphics, UI and creation
tools just feel jarringly outdated. QYUKE’S
LEGACY
WWE2K20 is the
latest in a series that
can trace its family
tree back to the WWF
Smackdown series
back on the original
PlayStation, almost 25
years ago now. It’s
been helmed by
Yuke’s all this time,
and been
co-developed with
Visual Concepts since
the franchise went to
2K. However, Yuke’s
parted ways with 2K
earlier this year to
work on its own
wrestling franchise,
hence Visual
Concepts going it
alone this time.“This is a
franchise in
dire need of
rebuilding from
the ground up”
ABOVE The Big
Dog and his
supremely soggy
hair appears on
his first WWE
cover this year.
LEFT Shh! No one
mention the fact
Ronda Rousey
hasn’t laced up
her boots since
April.OXM VERDICT
A sorry mess at the
time of launch, but
worth persisting
with if you’re a
series fan.5
FAR LEFT The Man
comes around yet
again, with Becky
Lynch playing a
huge role in the
story mode.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 073