I love Professional Wrestling. I?ve been in love with it since I was kid, growing up watching Hogan, Andre, DiBiase, Macho Man, Ultimate Warrior, and then moving into WCW via my grandparents, and being entertained on a weekly basis by guys like Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Dusty Rhodes, Sting, and so on. And while the current state of the WWE might not be everyone?s favorite iteration, and let?s face it, there?s certainly reason to be disappointed in the current product, I still find myself tuning in week after week. There?s also some really great alternatives out there to what you?ll see on USA every Monday night, and if you?re a fan of what these talented guys and girls do, there?s definitely good stuff out there worth your attention.
So being a fan of both wrestling and video games, it?s pretty natural for me to get excited to lay hands on a new wrestling video game every year. WWE ?13, releasing this week for Xbox 360 and PS3, does have some content worth getting excited about. While I think we all burn a candle for wrestling games of yesteryear, like No Mercy and Wrestlemania 2000, WWE ?13 feels like a much needed improvement over last year?s WWE ?12. It?s not evident in the character models, which honestly look kind of awful, especially those faces, but the addition of a focus on the popular Attitude Era of the WWE this game offers up something WWE fans to look forward to.
Part of that comes from the video packages that detail different scenarios related to the matches you?ll play in, and don?t shy away from controversial moments like the infamous Montreal Screwjob. These video packages are made exclusively for the game, pulled from actual footage of the matches you?ll replicate, and are pretty much on par with the excellent work done in WWE All-Stars from a couple years back. They really help set the stage for the matches you participate in, and follow a timeline of events that led up to McMahon taking over WCW, which feels like a pretty natural ending point, and hopefully leads to a future Invasion themed release next year.
Most of the matches aren?t just straightforward pin and win style events either. There are both optional and required historical objectives to meet, which are meant to mimic the flow of the matches you?ll be recreating. Completing bonus historical objectives will unlock additional content for the game, including bonus Attitude Era matches, new characters and skins for existing characters, new match types, arenas, and so on. There?s really a whole slew of unlockable content present, and completing the historical objectives is typically worth it, and fun to pull off.
There are also some hilarious collision issues that pop up here and there. I?ve had wrestlers literally stuck to objects, including the ropes, and on occasion needed to restart a match because I couldn?t get unstuck. There was some momentary fun in watching the wrestler controlled by the CPU walk around the ring bewildered with nothing to do, but having to restart a match because of it certainly isn?t a plus. I?ve also seen objects react is strange ways, like having chairs fly off into the air after getting knocked from my hands, which definitely breaks any element of realism here.
Commentary is another area that I have some issues with. When playing the Attitude Era, commentary is appropriately done by Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler, guys who made the Attitude Era what it was as much as any wrestler did. And while they sound pretty good, if a little stilted in that typical voice-over commentary style, what they say repeats far too often. It follows the action well enough, but you?ll hear the same lines repeat alot. When playing through exhibition and Universe modes, commentary is provided by Michael Cole and Lawler, which again sounds alright, but still repeats quite a bit. There?s also some awful sound mixing at play, with commentary dropping in and out, oftentimes being overpowered by crowd noise, and you?ll find that wrestler?s intro music suffers from the same treatment.
Overall, I think it?s worth checking out, whether that?s a rental or purchase is up to you. There?s enough content on disc to justify the purchase, but don?t expect any massive gameplay improvements over what WWE ?12 had to offer. But from a presentation or story mode angle, this is a huge step up from the previous game, despite the graphical and audio issues. I?m hoping that this style is adopted for whatever the next yearly iteration ends up being, as it adds a cohesive level to that package that has been lacking in WWE games this generation.
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