WWE 2K17 is not unlike WWE’s current poster boy Roman Reigns: despite glaring setbacks, this is going to be the main event. Whether you choose to embrace this push to the moon or not is up to you, but the undercard matches alone are worth the price of admission.
Steering away from its arcade-like predecessors of the last few console cycles, WWE 2K17 is more of a wrestling simulator than ever before. You have to take stamina into account, as well as the momentum you build up through progressively powerful moves and well-timed taunts. When you factor in the showmanship of a weekly WWE live broadcast, you’ve got yourself an engaging game that fans of all ages can enjoy… save for a few points.
The visual presentation of WWE 2K17 is disappointingly hit-or-miss. While some of the 100+ character models are spot-on and polished (such as Brock Lesnar and Goldberg), others look like extras from Five Nights at Freddy’s. It’s also a shame that in 2016 you still have shiny, stiff patches of hair hanging off certain characters’ heads and cutting through their collarbones. With so much that this game has going for it, cheap hair remains a major annoyance of mine.
The audio is a bit off-putting as well, from the repetitive announce team dialogue to the low volume that some of the superstars speak at during their entrances. When cutting a promo is such an important part of being a WWE superstar, not being able to hear it is kind of an issue. The game soundtrack famously put together for the game by one Puff Daddy Sean Combs can be edited, thankfully, so you can opt out of the cheeseball songs and just have Black Sabbath running on your intro screens.
Speaking of promos, new to the WWE 2K series this year is the promo engine, which gives you the ability to select between dialogue lines in order to become more of a face (good guy/gal) or heel (fiendish guy/gal). As intriguing as that sounds when paired up with all of the other create modes in the game (character, move-set, title, entrance, championship, among others), there’s no actual audio for this dialogue. Adding all of these created aspects of the game together also leads to some ridiculous loading times on par with what you experience when playing others online, but it’s not such a big deal when you stick to the original in-game content.
WWE 2K17’s MyCareer mode is essentially story mode for create-a-wrestlers, which sees you start from the bottom rungs of sports entertainment and work your way up to a spot on the card at the showcase of the immortals, WrestleMania. WWE Universe mode lets you play through a month of WWE programming up to its pay-per-view, which then rolls into the next month. Just like the real thing, there is no off-season here.
When it comes down to it, WWE 2K17 is a worthwhile distraction for WWE fans. Unfortunately, even some of them will be put off by the game’s spotty visuals, audio quality, and learning curve that will lead to many, many losses early on. Should they get past those hurdles, WWE 2K17 has a ton of replay value and will give them a chance to grapple with nearly all of their favorite wrestlers until 2K18 arrives next year.
WWE 2K17 is now available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.