Originally posted by Michael Allen
As we approach the middle of August, it is time for the streams of annual sports game releases which are always difficult to make any notable and newsworthy changes.
WWE 2K16, which XBOX One players can get for free from August 16th through Games with Gold, was a return to form and was hailed for its new reversal system, it’s huge roster and the set of features and modes it delivered. WWE2k Executive Producer Mark Little has today detailed some of the features we are to expect in 2k17 when it is released in October as well as the usual tweaks to mechanics and graphics.
WWE 2K16 Showcase: Stone Cold delivers his famous 3:16 promo
One of the most enjoyable modes in recent wrestling games that I can remember was the Showcase mode in 2k16. Going through Stone Cold Steve Austin’s career from his defining 3:16 moment at King of the Ring all the way through to the final Stone Cold vs The Rock at WrestleMania 19 was truly enjoyable and made me nostalgic for a now bygone era.
Coming into 2k17, I was excited to see what Showcase we would get this time around with odds on favourite protagonist being cover star Brock Lesnar. It is sad to learn then that showcase will be given a miss this year though not through lack of effort.
We designed and contemplated several Showcase ideas, including options surrounding our cover Superstar, Brock Lesnar, but all of them were not viable due to the many historic WWE Superstars needed but not available for inclusion in the game.
What this basically says is that they wanted to do a showcase for Lesnar but with CM Punk, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit and Hulk Hogan in Lesnar’s past, there would have been one too many notable gaps. I personally was looking forward to some OVW matches along side the Prototype (John Cena), the Leviathan (Batista), Orton and Shelton Benjamin.
Who wouldn’t want to play as the Minnesota Stretching Crew?
So the question is what is the main single player mode for 2k17? Nothing new sadly. Instead the focus this time will very much be around Universe Mode and My Career, both with improved features. The one feature that seem most notable is something 2k are calling the Promo Engine.
We incorporated the new Promo Engine, so Superstars can express themselves to the WWE Universe and also call out or respond to other WWE Superstars.
Players are set to come face to face with cover star Brock Lesnar in MyCareer however as it seem he is written into the story in one way or another.
At some point, players are also likely to come face to face with Brock Lesnar and his advocate, Paul Heyman. What happens when confronted by this imposing duo will greatly shape a player’s future career growth in WWE.
Renee Young returns with her backstage segments (with a much better animated model this time around we hope) as well as a feature much requested for by fans, backstage brawls! That’s right, fighting backstage is back so hopefully we can once again deliver our finishes on top of cars, through catering tables and off the top of production trucks. That is not all however as we are going to see the return of crowd areas as well!
Renee Young’s backstage interviews were the target of many complaints
Creation mode is set to see some changes as well which will give even more choice when creating Superstars, Arenas, Entrances etc. Returning to the creation suite is Create a Video which makes use of the Highlight Replay system to put together our own packages and put them to use as entrance videos for our own Superstars. There is one more addition to the creation mode however and that is something called Create a Victory. What this is exactly is not outlined however I imagine this to be creating our own post match celebrations, which is something completely new.
“The above is a select list of the improvements and additions we are making for WWE 2K17” said Little. We are sure to get even more detail as we approach it’s release as well as the weekly roster update which is confirmed to be bigger than ever.
Oh, and since everyone seems to be speculating – yes – the roster is larger than last year.
Stop by next Tuesday as week 3 of the roster reveal rolls around.
WWE 2K17 releases on the 11th October 2016 for PS4, PS4, XBOX 360 and XBOX One.
