Story
Plot Summary: as this is a wrestling game there is really no story. However the story telling during the Road to WrestleMania mode is very good even if it takes over from the action a lot of the time.
There are three parts to the RTWM mode this year the villain story which involves one of my favourites Sheamus, this is followed by the Outsider storyline starring Triple H and finally the Create a Superstar Storyline this year is that of the Hero. This is a nice try at something different and I like that this shows that THQ still have a very slight love for the genre to keep the franchise going.
6/10 – RTWM has some good ideas but is quite repetitive at times and ultimately frustrating at others. Not being able to tag in a tag match is just unacceptable as a gameplay inclusion. If I where THQ I would have been ashamed to send this to the shelves.
Big Boss Notes:
Must admit the 1 RTWM I have played (HHH STORY) the actual story is quite good, the 1 thing I find frustrating and annoying is the sheer difficulty curve it throws at you. Regardless of how your game is set (easy, normal etc.) the RTWM doesn’t seem to care and throws you into HARD opponents and HARDER situations like a 5 on 1 handicap MITB match. My 1 attempt at trying the Sheamus RTWM cost me a PS3 controller, so have little to no intention of playing this mode again. This is a shame as I really enjoyed the last RTWM modes.
Gameplay Tip – get the RTWM mode out of the way first to unlock some extras as you won't want to go back there later.
There are a lot of changes to the gameplay in this years game. If you play WWE games every year, you may find it an up hill struggle to get to grips with the game strait away. Once you get past some of these obstacles the gameplay is actually quite good. The difficulty levels have been tweaked, this is a good change as you will now feel challenged by each superstar in different ways. You now cannot roll over someone like Randy Orton or The Big Show as easily as you can say Sin Cara due to the statistics each superstar possesses.
Each match is now a thinking game, wear down your opponent, target a limb and work out a strategy to win the match. The submission system remains the same with button bashing the preferred method of choice but even this has been improved by the ability to claw your way to the ropes to break a hold. THQ have taken some of the advice from the people who play the game and have made some significant changes, unfortunately by taking this decision the game has taken a slight backward step.
Most of the issues with previous games have been addressed but with new ideas come new problems. I absolutely love playing tag matches with my mates but for some reason the character on the outside jumps off the apron as I get over for a tag.Why? Also if I drop someone over the ropes by their neck why do they recover so quickly? These are only a handful of the many problems and glitches that seem to have surfaced in this years game. I love the fact that it is now more freeflow but why does my character still drop an elbow when the opponent is up on their feet? My biggest gripe by far is the lack of new up to date entrances and one big thing about these is that they still appear out of nowhere from the wrong side of the stage. Come on!? You have had 3 years to put this right and I'm sure it's not that hard to do?
That being said this years game feels better to play when you get used to it but still has a lot of improvements to make for next year! One button reversals don't work!?
7/10 – some very good improvements have been made this year but I feel they spent too much time making RTWM unplayable in parts instead of making the actual gameplay better.
Big Boss Notes:
This again I agree with in bulk, I do find the controls difficult sometimes especially with the reversal side of things, however I am getting better at it. Also HATE!!! the pin system this game has, I would rather the old button bash system as I have yet to be able to kick out of a pin fall. Slightly embarrassing on the EASY difficulty setting. The entrances could do with an update and as mentioned THQ have had plenty of time to sort that out.
Graphics
With the graphics they are acceptable. New outfits are there but some of the characters look very plastic and fake, and that is not just the Diva's ;)
I have always said that good graphics don't make a good game and that is certainly the case here. There is a lot of lag on this game and the loading times are ridiculous. The various sets are accurate but every time I play the game I feel like I am playing a direct port from the Nintendo WII rather than playing the PS3 version. As I said the graphics are acceptable but definitely need improving for the long term future of the franchise.
6/10 – If I was a teacher, oh wait... I am! :) The report for this student would read "always makes an effort but, needs to concentrate more on the little details to make the outcome of their project more acceptable"
Big Boss Notes:
The graphics do need work, they are a tad better than last years game however I may be giving it too much credit using the word “tad”.
Longevity
As long as you have a creative bone in your body this game will definitely keep you going for a while. The creation modes in WWE games has long been the backbone of the games but THQ need to think about putting more options in the create a superstar mode. Some new objects would freshen up the process and add some fun to it as well.
I do spend long periods of time getting my character right, editing my entrance which also needs to be more free form and editing a finisher. But I want to be able to make a back finisher rather than a corner finisher which is useless. One more thing I want to be put into these games is the ability to edit a tag team entrance fully as with the single entrances.
The universe mode has plenty of things to keep you going and the new momentum system is a good inclusion. However THQ have included loads of titles and this should be a good thing but they cannot be defended or won that I have experienced in the Universe mode. If you are to include these things at least make them a full part of the game.
7/10 – Longevity is the key to these games and this will do the job but, I want more effort to include more editable items in future games. This will happily keep me going with creativity being the key but unfortunately playing the game as a wrestling game would not keep me hooked! It would just keep me frustrated. Must try harder.
Big Boss Notes:
The creativity you can have with these games has always been a huge selling point to me, they have been adding more and more new things every year but sometimes they do change or remove stuff that did not need to be. A prime example is moves, they have about 7 different chokeslams but really they only need about 2 as a good bulk of them look awful, or the removal of moves such as the Lionsault is quite annoying too. The CAW additions are good, you can be very detailed with how you want your CAW to look, and the customization of the CAWs is also really good with these games. They could add in some more editables though, the create a finishers could do with being given more options and the create an entrance could be improved with regards to music or even the customizable entrance videos.
Conclusion
A very average outing at best. It is very playable but if you are used to control systems of old I would stick with Smackdown vs Raw for a little while longer until they get the balance right. However if you are new to the wrestling genre it's worth picking up, as I do believe that they had new gamers in mind when they made this! That is not a bad thing but the regular gamers don't even get a tutorial mode. This is where the training facility we have seen for the last 2 years would have come in handy.
Unless you really want this game I would wait. I had to fight with all I had to not send this back but, I am glad I kept it in the end. Very average game that tries hard but doesn't quite make the main event
Final Score - 24/40
Big Boss Notes:
Must agree this game doesn’t seem to have the addictiveness of SDVR2011, which is probably going to be known as the last great game of this series judging based on WWE 12. I hope that when WWE 13 is released they have realized just how stupid they have been with this game that they attempt to undo the damage they have done while keeping the positive aspects of this
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