2K has already confirmed that WWE 2K18 will release this fall and fans are already anxious about how the game will turn out. Despite 2K's best efforts, WWE 2K17 had several problems which were addressed by merely expanding the roster.
The fact that they have no competition gives them fewer reasons to put more effort into polishing the game. Here are few changes 2K should look into if they want to make WWE 2K18 an interesting experience.
#1 Open World
WWE 2K17 did try to implement the concept of an open world and allowed the players to fight backstage or among the crowd. However, the combat sequences that you could execute in these areas felt extremely confined. The game even restricted players from using a ladder as a weapon in certain areas.
While we understand that having an open-world in WWE games may not amount to much, the freedom to roam around and interact with the environment can expand the game by merely giving the players an incentive to explore more.
Moreover, using the environment and objects to your advantage would also encourage gamers to try out new playstyles and execute different strategies during a match.
#2 Better career mode
MyCareer in WWE 2K17 was terribly scripted and awfully boring. Compared to FIFA’s interesting take on Alex Hunter, it feels like 2K hardly put any effort into making the career mode in 2K17 interesting. The story-telling and the situations featured in the game seemed a bit too rigid.
Hopefully, the upcoming game will feature interesting story lines and characters that will keep players invested. It would also be a step in the right direction if the player's career and story depended on the player's action.
While they’re at it, it would also be interesting to see if the career mode would also focus on the manager and not just the wrestler. A game mode that allowed gamers to manage rosters and booking, hire coaches, and handle press conferences for wrestlers would be quite engaging.
#3 Fix the commentary
The commentary in all WWE games so far have been uninspiring, and many even consider it to be the worst things about the whole franchise. Apart from being very repetitive, the commentators would often explode with excitement and talk about things that are not even happening on the screen.
The poor commentary, to some extent, can be excused. The fact that WWE doesn’t really have an off-season makes it difficult for the commentators and developers to find the time to sit together and make it better.
Nonetheless, 2K needs to put in some effort and enhance the commentary.
#4 The roster isn’t everything
Quite a lot of money was spent on the marketing of WWE 2K17 simply because it leant on the fact that it had the largest roster compared to any other wrestling game. 2K17, however, achieved this by blindly adding wrestlers, some of them who have not seen the inside of the ring in over a decade.
While playing as The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin may feel nostalgic, the developers might as well spend the money and time to fix other issues and make the game more polished. Removing these players would also give some breathing room for upcoming stars, and give them a chance to shine and be acknowledged.
#5 Physics and rendering
In an age where developers are desperately trying to outdo each other with their graphical feat, WWE 2K17 offers very poor graphics and physics. The clunky graphics results in slower gameplay, making the game quite dull and sluggish.
Ideally, fans would prefer if 2K18 had graphics similar to most games out there. However, a realistic and feasible approach would be if the upcoming game at least offered slightly better graphics on next-gen consoles as it could make the game less sluggish, thereby improving the core gameplay.
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