NEW SSlam Wknd 2K17 Review

[jbl328]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brianmazique/2016/08/23/wwe-2k17-hands-on-impression-breaking-down-the-demo-for-summerslam-weekend/#4d74f1e61917

Demo review that is. Unlike the other guy, he says crowd fighting is fun!

Edited August 23, 2016 by jbl328

[Penguin]

Can you just copy and paste the entire review onto the original post? Forbes is a piece of shit.

[ichiban Rooster]

Can you just copy and paste the entire review onto the original post? Forbes is a piece of shit.

 

The hair and cloth physics in WWE 2K17 are the best I’ve seen in any sports video game. Styles’ soccer mom hairstyle flowed realistically with all of his moments, as did his vest during his entrance.

I thought the height and bulk representations were accurate, as were more minute details like body hair and skin blemishes.

Because of the attention paid to detail, you aren’t likely to hear a ton of criticism about the way the game looks this year.

Aside from the Emma render we saw in last week’s roster reveal, every Superstar has seemingly been captured accurately.

Noticeably Improved Responsiveness

The responsiveness is vastly improved over previous WWE 2K games, and this most evident during stand-up encounters. There’s a slight wind-up with some strikes–which I liked from a simulation standpoint–but as soon as you press a button, your character’s body begins to react.

That wasn’t always the case.

Realistic Striking Physics

One of my favorite aspects of the gameplay was the striking physics. I saw Superstars narrowly miss landing a punch or a kick, and if you looked closely, it was easy to see that the strike just didn’t connect.

That may sound basic, but this has long been one of my issues with WWE games. Punches almost seemed like homing missiles before. As long as you fired a shot in the general area of the opponent, it would land.

There appears to be a lot more variation for strike results. This tweak and others designed to enhance the competitive balance are essential if there are plans to make WWE 2K games a player in the eSports world.

Slower Action

On the downside, I did think some of the transitions from moves to pins were a little slow.

I hit a Styles Clash on Seth Rollins and held down the circle button to go for the instant pin, but there was a significant delay before the referee started his three count.

Others on-hand for the early preview had no doubts the issue would be remedied once the retail version was released. When it’s all said and done, this could become a non-issue.

Fighting Outside the Ring Is Fun

Thanks to the use of a variety of camera angles, fighting outside the ring has a totally different feel. You’re no longer forced to fight on the blimp cam when the action spills outside of the ring.

Close-up angles are just one piece of the new look on this front. When you travel too far away from your opponent, the display goes into a split-screen look.

That’s a subtle but smart change made for this year’s game. It delivers more of a TV-style broadcast.

You can also take the fight into the crowd. This is initiated near the railings where veterans of the series are accustomed to performing OMG moments.

I believe you can break into the crowd that way, but it’s not necessary. A simple strike can send your opponent careening over the barrier. If you press L1 to hop over, you can battle it out amidst the sea of humanity–as the great Mauro Ranallo might say.

Doing Damage After the Match

I stumbled upon this new and cool gameplay wrinkle. I’d just destroyed Ambrose with Rollins, but I noticed I still had control of The Architect after the pin.

After initially stomping Ambrose for a few seconds, it became apparent, my entire moveset was still available and the referee was trying to prevent me from doing more damage. This is awesome!

Eventually, I performed a second Pedigree on the Lunatic Fringe, but this time it was outside of the ring. That finished him off and ended the carnage, and it felt very pro wrestling–which is a good thing.

I originally thought this sequence might be a glitch in the early version, but Little confirmed with me that this year, you’ll be able to inflict more damage on an opponent after securing the victory.

Backstage Brawls\

Finally, the ability to brawl backstage has returned to the WWE games scene. The environments are fairly large and there’s a good number of props to use against your opponents.

You can fight all the way backstage if you’re in a no disqualification match, or you can simply begin the fight backstage where you earn the win by inflicting a specific amount of damage on your opponent.

This was a blast.

Ladder Match

Some of the people who have played the ladder match on WWE 2K17loved it, but I’m not quite there yet. The changes to the structure will take some getting used to.

It’s amazing how one can become accustomed to an imperfect system. Setting up the ladder wherever I wanted, even though that often meant putting it in the wrong place, wasn’t as big of an issue for me as it was for others.

In WWE 2K17, there’s only a few places where you’re allowed to set up the ladder: under the prize, in the corner and wedged between the ring apron and the railing.

It’s designed to prevent you from setting up the apparatus too far away from the area just under the prize. It might also get rid of some of the wonky animations that were present in the game when you used props.

In any case, this new aspect of gameplay felt a little restricting.

The roll out system totally matches real-life wrestling. This too took a while to get used too, but it does ultimately create a more spectacular in-game experience.

When you receive too much damage, your character rolls out of the ring to recover. Meanwhile, the other wrestler(s) is left in the ring to perform moves, or go for the prize atop the ladder.

Commentary Is Dreadful

I know this wasn’t a full version, but the commentary sounded even worse than it has in previous years. JBL still sounds like he’s commentating via satellite from another planet.

Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole are just plain bad with their never-ending stream of repeated lines.

My hopes are not high for improvements in this area this year because commentary has never been placed high on the priority list with this series.

However, let’s hope this aspect of the game receives some attention in the future.

Final Takeaways

I’m very pleased with the graphics and the overall feel of the controls. It looks beautiful and it’s fun to play. That’s more than half the battle. While the visual presentation is on point, the audio appears to way behind.

Also, we haven’t seen the functionality of the modes just yet. I’m not expecting to be let down on this front, so most of my expectation arrows are pointing way up for WWE 2K17.

Edited August 24, 2016 by ichiban Rooster

[Penguin]

Thank ya kindly, fellow bird.

[ichiban Rooster]

NP, fellow flightless bird

[Stoned Out 203]

OK read I guess

[jitz]

Forbes is where I go to for all my gaming news and reviews.

[The Nomodder]

Why isn't October yet?

[jbl328]

Why isn't October yet?

I know right lol I'm so ready for this game. I haven't upgraded to a new console since 2k14 because I really was not all that convinced with 2k15 or 16(besides the showcase mode) so I stuck with old gen & am interested PC/console modding nowadays. I pre-ordered 2k17 about a week ago for the PS4. So, I definitely am at least happy that the release date is Oct. 11 instead of the usual Oct 28/29 that it has been for the last several or more years.

[Gift Of Jericho]

You lucky bastards. I have to wait until March or some shit.

[the King Lives]

You lucky bastards. I have to wait until March or some shit.

or you could just "Deal with it" and get a PS4 lol

[Gift Of Jericho]

You lucky bastards. I have to wait until March or some shit.

or you could just "Deal with it" and get a PS4 lol

Nah I think I would just accept my fate  

[the King Lives]

You lucky bastards. I have to wait until March or some shit.

or you could just "Deal with it" and get a PS4 lol

Nah I think I would just accept my fate  

LOL i just shot that out there taken from that Xbox 1 guy that said deal with it if you don't like that the x1 has to be connected to the internet lol

but yeah i might get 2k17 on pc this year since UPS destroyed my desktop so i'm owed a 900$ refund. i'm sure i can build a powerful pc with that.

[Gift Of Jericho]

You lucky bastards. I have to wait until March or some shit.

or you could just "Deal with it" and get a PS4 lol

Nah I think I would just accept my fate  

LOL i just shot that out there taken from that Xbox 1 guy that said deal with it if you don't like that the x1 has to be connected to the internet lol

but yeah i might get 2k17 on pc this year since UPS destroyed my desktop so i'm owed a 900$ refund. i'm sure i can build a powerful pc with that.

Yes, playing WWE games on PC is the best thing, you can gain access to mod, which makes 2K15 and 2K16 better than they really are

[ECWDanSelby]

Thanks for that.

 

So relieved to hear that the controls are more responsive. They were massively sluggish this year, I felt.

[the King Lives]

Thanks for that.

 

So relieved to hear that the controls are more responsive. They were massively sluggish this year, I felt.

the thing i hated the most was when you go to sometimes pick someone up or grapple them from the ground, you'd just stand there...