After the release of the acclaimed NBA 2K19 it's time for a sports title from the publisher 2K Sports: WWE 2K19. In our country, World Wrestling Entertainment has always had a great appeal: the best moments have been seen in the early 2000s, but in recent years it has gone towards a slow decline. Here we will not analyze the sport itself, but the title just released on the WWE, which has also had its ups and downs over the years. Will the guys at Yuke's have improved the title this year or will we find a port of the previous chapter in our hands?
The return of Daniel Bryan… YES! YES! YES!
One of the most popular returns for WWE fans is that of the showcase mode, which tells the deeds of the best wrestlers. The developers have seen fit to base this showcase on "The Return of Daniel Bryan". Bryan is a famous wrestler who plays on the Smackdown roster, he was also GM of the aforementioned show and creator of Yes! Movement. In this mode we will retrace some of the most important moments of the character, finding ourselves face to face against John Cena, Chris Jericho, The Miz, Randy Orton and many others. As in the past there will be interlude videos between one match and another in order to contextualize the events but, for the first time, the narrator will be Daniel Bryan himself (who will tell us many curiosities about his matches and his opponents / allies). In addition, all the historical characters that we meet will be unlocked and we will be able to reuse them during the Exhibition or the Universe mode. Surely it is not a mode for everyone, perhaps only for fans who follow the WWE assiduously but it can also be enjoyable for beginners, thanks to the interlude videos that give a general smattering of the history of each match.
Lots of characters, lots of stipulations, lots of fun!
As in any self-respecting sports title, there is a need for a self-respecting single-player / co-op mode and in this case we find "Exhibition". In this mode we will be able to create 1vs1, 2vs2, Triple Threat, Fatal 4-Way, 5-Man, 6-Man, 8-Man, Handicap Match, Royal Rumble and Tournament matches; each of these has special possible stipulations.
In this WWE 2K19 we will have the opportunity to fight with over 200 characters, both historical and currently in the federation, in many historical and non-historical arenas. In this case there are not many differences compared to the previous chapter of the series but there are some small details that have been added: you can collect the Money in the Bank suitcase and also there are new characters added to the roster (still nothing for lovers by CM Punk).
Very interesting "My Player" mode
One of the most revolutionized modes is definitely "My Player": if you have tried the previous chapters you will surely remember that the My Player mode has always been left a bit on the sidelines by the developers. This year the formula seems to be winning: we will find ourselves using a character who fights in an indie federation, we will be able to choose what type of wrestler to use and the icing on the cake was the addition of skill trees: the first will make you choose between Attack, Body and Defense, changing the basic statistics of your character, the second the nature Face or Heel and the last will make you unlock the overload skills, which will enhance specific elements of your character (also based on to style).
The story of our character will take place in chapters between discounted twists and heart-pounding matches, packaging a enjoyable history. Another factor that has been improved from the previous chapters is the dubbing, this time left in the hands of the original voices of the wrestlers. But the mode "My Player" does not stop there, adding the Road to Glory: fighting online against other players there will be the possibility to qualify for a pay per view event and thus obtain greater rewards. Finally we have the Towers: in this mode our player will have to face various randomly created matches and obtain in-game coins, which can be used in the package shop.
Graphic, audio and online sector
Games of this genre always maintain a duality: if on the one hand the new graphics engine inserted by WWE 2K18 allows you to reproduce photorealistic wrestlers, on the other hand the public always loses in terms of quality, showing faces at the limit of the hardcover. We tested the title on a simple Xbox One S and we believe the developers have done a good job on the graphics.
Another quite important component is the sound sector: the wrestler's dialogues are really well structured (obviously subtitled in Spanish) and the soundtracks are very interesting.
Like all good stories, we have to get to the sad part: the online. As in all past titles, even in WWE 2K19 online is the biggest flaw: the servers are not stable at all and serious lag problems afflict every single match (especially those with multiple players).
In short, WWE 2K19 is not - and never will be - a purchasable game for its large gameplay structure or groundbreaking mechanics, but it remains the only and best way to regain your passion for video game wrestling. This title winks at the gamers of the past, offering a huge variety of characters and modes that recall the past, without however paying attention to the problems that have been repeated for years, and that it is time to solve.
