WWE '13 Preview: Universe Mode 3.0

[Smacktalks]

Embedded above you can find a video preview of Universe Mode 3.0, or continue reading for the written transcript.

This year's WWE Universe mode has been upgraded with a lot of new options that allows you to fully customise your Universe schedule anyway you see fit by deleting the regular shows and replacing them with your own shows or by creating new shows on entirely different days, so if you want to move Smackdown back to Thursday nights, move Superstars to Friday and create Saturday Morning Slam on Saturday, you can.

When adding a new show you'll also get 2 options which allow you to specify the type of show your creating, so you can set it as a Major show like RAW or Smackdown with it's own roster and Championships, or you can set it to be a Minor show like Superstars which has a mixed roster, allowing you to select which shows rosters compete on the show.

Another new addition is the option to add and remove PPV's each month as long as any you add take place on a Sunday. In regards to which roster appears on the show you'll have the option of selecting up to 2 shows to appear, so you can select just one show to limit the PPV to Superstars from Smackdown for example, or you can select 2 shows to get matches featuring stars from both shows.

You'll also get the option to set themed PPV's like the current day ones that mean your PPV will be set to include Elimination Chamber main event matches if you theme it after Elimination Chamber or Money in the Bank matches if you theme it after Money in the Bank.

Some of the available PPV themes include:

Royal Rumble

Elimination Chamber

WrestleMania

Extreme Rukes

Over the Limit

Capitol Punishment

Money in the Bank

SummerSlam

Once you've set your TV or PPV's name you can also choose to give it a logo, of which there is all of the current TV and PPV logos, along with their Attitude Era counterparts and the option to use a custom logo if the one you want isn't included by default.

Aside from the show logos there's also The current and classic WWE logos, the WWE Network and WWE Live Tour logos, the XFL, Hallf of Fame, Divas, Degeneration X, Invasion and even next year's WrestleMania 29 logo.

Available logos for the current day WWE include:

RAW, Smackdown, Superstars, NXT, Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, WrestleMania 27, Extreme Rules, Over The Limit, Capitol Punishment, Money in the Bank, SummerSlam

Available Attitude Era logos include:

Survivor Series, Unforgiven, Break Down, Rock Bottom, Royal Rumble, St Valentines Day Masacre, WrestleMania XV, Heat, Velocity

Aside from logos there's also all of the current era matchup screens, the custom ones from last year and a lot of the Attitude Era matchup screens, including the old Smackdown matchup screen so you can perfectly create an Attitude Era Universe Mode that features RAW, Smackdown and Heat using the in-game logos, matchup screens and custom arenas.

Apart from customising your show there's also additional options for Universe Mode mode that allows you to turn on or off specific types of stories, with options to turn on or off all Stories, Non-PPV Stories, Team Forming and De-branding Stories, Crowd Reaction Changing Stories and also Injury Stories, which with these new options mean your favourite Superstar wont be injured and out of action for long periods and you wont have to worry about your Tag Team randomly breaking up after you've spent time putting them together.

Another new option see's the ability to modify hit point ratios for Superstars so you can increase or decrease the strength of a Superstars Head, Arms, Torso or Legs, which then affect how easy or hard it is to wear those areas down in matches.

Additionally something I didn't see but that was confirmed by Bryan Williams is the ability to Vacate Championships and also setup matches for Vacant Championships.

Speaking of Championships and any belts you create in the Championship Editor can also be assigned to show, with Zack Ryder's Internet Championship also available to select.

Branching Storylines

In regards to the storylines that you'll see in Universe Mode, Paul Heyman is the creative mastermind that is pulling the strings this year, as he joined the creative team to come up with the story's that you'll see unfold.

The biggest new addition to the storylines see's branching options available which allow you to choose an action to perform, as shown here as The Rock decides he doesn't need the help of Vince McMahon.

Depending on your choice you'll see different scenarios play out, which keep things fresh and gives even more re-playability to the mode as you'll want to choose a different option if the same scene pops up again so you can see how different the end result is compared with your first option.

As far as these branching cutscenes go there are new scenes, however some of the ones shown have been incorporated from the Story Designer, some of which were available last year, but in total there are 200 new storylines to be seen in WWE '13.

Rankings & Statistics

This year also see's Universe mode upgraded to include full stats for everyone in Universe mode, so you'll see details for each Superstar and championship aswell as rankings that list the top 10 Superstars with the most wins, most matches played and match types.

Going back to the individual stats and Universe records each Superstars win/loss record, Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank wins, the time they've been active and the championships they've held amongst others, with further player stats also included in the main menu that track your own progress through the game such as your overall win/loss record, how you've won or lost your matches such as wins by pinfall, submission, etc. and even a destruction count that records how many weapons you've destroyed which will help towards seeing how close you are to unlocking the likes of the Beserker Achievement.

Match Cards

Fans will also be glad to know that you can edit the match card in Universe mode this year and save your edits instead of having to edit and play each match one by one, meaning you can now use the mode to recreate a full match card, save it and then play through it at a later date.

Reset!

Finally, THQ have also provided a reset option for Universe this year, so if you tire of the changes and storylines currently going on you can use the reset option to start a fresh.

Source: Smacktalks.org