Fans of older WWE video games would appreciate the carnage and mayhem that kept them playing for hours. Whether it was being able to fight outside the arena or launching Jeff Hardy off the stage through four tables, the WWE video games in the past provided great gameplay and diverse superstars.
When 2K took over the series, it updated a lot of aspects of the older games to make the players feel as if they were watching an actual WWE match. While some updates heighten the presentation, fans eventually became tired of the repetitiveness of today’s WWE video games.
10 Same Weapons Every Single Time
The later WWE games introduced the very basic weapon scroll wheel mechanic. A chair. Tables. The dreaded Kendo sticks. Often it seemed like players would be better off customizing their creative wrestler to make them have a metal arm like the Winter Soldier.
It wasn’t until WWE 2K20 that players could interact with customizable weapons such as a Tombstone, The Book of Dead, and even a giant lollipop.
9 Same Placement Of Ladders
Until this year’s game, the WWE games had the horrible habit of disallowing players to place ladders where they wanted them. It’s even more annoying in Money in the Bank ladder matches where players had to deal with an overcrowded ring and still wait for the ladder to place upward in the right spot.
The worst part was not being able to use the ladders creatively. The older WWE games gave players various ladder corner move options to cause damage to their opponents. 2K removed those options and only allowed players to throw their opponent towards the ladder.
8 Worst Royal Rumble Matches Ever
The Royal Rumble match in WWE is perhaps the most fun match in the company. While the older WWE games didn’t quite perfect the feeling of a Royal Rumble match experience, the addition of the elimination system in 2010 provided players with much more variety to eliminate their opponent.
The inherent issue is how easy it is to get eliminated or eliminate the opponent in these matches. Royal Rumbles often run close to an hour, and with 2K’s commitment to making the gameplay feel as realistic as possible, fans would’ve thought the studio would’ve come up with something to make the Royal Rumble match feel less stilted.
7 Outdated Roster
The WWE changes many things throughout the year, from roster members to PPVs. It’s understandable if the folks at 2K studio can’t quite keep up with the changes as they are putting together the final touches of the game.
Still, playing with an outdated Roman Reigns can be pretty annoying. Game developers are constantly releasing regular updates and patches after their games have been released, so updating the parts of the game that players will use the most is possible.
6 Tag Team Matches
While the Royal Rumble matches in WWE games leave much to be desired, the tag matches feel like running through a 30-day consecutive marathon. The issue isn’t that the opponent keeps kicking out; their tag partner won’t stop breaking up the pin.
Players have found creative ways to prevent the tag partner AI from breaking up pins throughout the years. From attacking them on the ring apron to dragging the opponent so far across the ring. These tag matches take too much time to finish to the point where many players end up not finishing them.
5 Universe Mode
The concept of WWE Universe Mode is fantastic. The ability to set up matches and feuds throughout the year and watch them play out is something that harkens back to the days of GM Mode. Unfortunately, a lot of the Universe Modes in past 2K games did a lot to limit the player’s creativity.
However, fans have seen a lot of improvements and updates in this mode, including increased match limits and the ability to cut a promo. While there are still ways to go, Universe Mode is shaping to be quite an enjoyable feature in these games. Although, the number of elements within the mode can make the casual player hesitant to try it out.
4 2K Showcase Mode
2K Showcase Mode gives a somewhat in-depth look into some of the greatest moments in a superstar’s career. Sometimes the mode delves into a specific rivalry like CM Punk vs. John Cena. Other times it delves into a particular era in WWE, ala the Attitude Era.
One of the issues of this mode is having to complete every objective to move forward. Players must also achieve each objective to unlock all the hidden content related to the showcase.
3 MyCareer Mode
One of the fun things about SmackDown: Here Comes The Pain was its story mode. Players could choose any wrestler they wanted and play through an entertaining yet streamlined story that took them throughout WWE’s calendar year.
2K has removed the streamlined aspect of story mode and added a lot of convoluted elements such as interacting with AI backstage who say the same thing on repeat to loot packs that are supposed to help increase the player’s character but cost way too much time and money.
It’s a shame that the commentary hasn’t improved in these games in the last decade or so. 2K mastered the commentary in their basketball franchise, so it’s baffling to see them miss the mark with their wrestling franchise.
The commentators react to moves in ways they clearly shouldn’t. Players might hit someone with a chair, and Michael Cole would react like it’s someone attempting a headlock.
1 Game Bugs
Then there are the game bugs which are both horrible and legendary. There probably won’t be a wrestling game that will come up within the next five years that will be as monumentally broken as WWE 2K20.
The 2K games are supposed to provide the most realistic WWE experience fans could have, yet wrestlers sometimes look like they used a cheese grater instead of a towel to wipe their faces.
