Magic Mark
Former WCW TV Champion
I have had WWE '13 ever since November of last year, so I thought that I would give my opinion on it after a while, instead of doing it immediately after I finished the Attitude Mode like most reviewers. So, here goes nothing.
Gameplay
The game uses the same control scheme that WWE 12 had, which is good because I think that the face-button scheme is better than the other one. The core gameplay is still basically the same, however they added "OMG Moments", which is pretty cool, and it doesn't get too annoying. TLC matches are still fun to play, but I do wish that Hardcore matches would allow to go from the ring to the backstage areas, like what HCTP and SYM did. Wrestling an AI opponent can be a bit too easy, but changing the sliders can make it a bit more aggressive. The AI in itself still has some dumb moments, for example, it can be in the middle of the match, and 9 times out of 10 your opponent will leave the ring, take off announce table things, and run back in the ring. They also don't kick out of two, so it doesn't add much drama to the game. It may seem like a minor complaint at first, but it gets really stupid after a while. Another thing they added was match pace, which could be switched to either "quick", "normal", or "epic". Quick matches don't last very long, and they aren't fun. Normal matches are, well, normal. Epic matches go on longer than normal ones. Which means that your opponent will kick out of your finishers. But like I said, they don't kick out at two, they kick out at one instead. Kind of ruins the match for me. Hit detection has improved, so you won't be trying to hit a shoulder block with your opponent just no-selling it. Let's talk about the glitches now, because there are a lot of them. Story designer is almost like Glitch City. If you assign a wrestler with superstar threads, they will be given randomized colors. A lot of other glitches happened, but it didn't ruin the overall experience. TLC matches have a lot of glitches too, which is expected. TLC matches are still fun, but when a table falls on the ground because you either leaned a ladder on it or you entered the ring and the table was very close to the ropes, thats a pretty big issue. Ladders bounce like rubber balls, and steps go through ropes like they're invincible. Overall, it's fun to play. You may get tired of playing after about a month or so (which was my problem with WWE 12) but if you know how to shake things up, you can definataley have some fun with it. 8/10
Graphics and Presentation
The graphics to this game are good for the most part. The ring has detail, the crowd looks good for the most part, although they need more signs to look realistic. There's also a strange "depth of field" to the crowd, which looks stupid. But at least they lessened it from last year's game. The biggest issue I had with the graphics is that about half of the roster looks pretty bad, character-model wise. This problem is mostly seen with the attitude era stars. The worst model in the game is Triple H 98'. They copied his current look, changed his hair, beard and eyebrows blonde, and put the old school tights on him. It looks horrible. So does his Hunter H. Helmsley attire. Even modern HHH's stomach/abs look messed up. The other models that look way off are Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Billy Gunn, Booker T (his face is still messed up), Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and a couple others. The presentation is good too, but it has its odd moments. The city graphic shows up during the entrances, The occasional clipping issues, etc. If you look past all the bad character models, the game looks good, but not great. 7/10
Career Mode
The big draw that this game had going for it was the Attitude Era mode. It allowed you to play as the biggest names in that era, and even the arenas. The mode itself was very detailed. Ratings timeline, videos, photo archives, The whole nine yards. However, the problem with the story mode is that, once you're done with it, you don't won't to play it again. It has no replay value. However, once that's done, you can play Universe Mode. THQ tried to make it better, by allowing more titles, create a PPV/Show, etc. But it ended up being a downgrade from last year. The problem with this is that in WWE 12, we had a lot of Undercard guys (McGillicutty, Mason Ryan, Tatsu, etc.) so that way universe mode had some variety in the matches. WWE 13, however, has only a few Undercarders, due to all the AE guys. This leads to you having to watch Jack Swagger vs Mysterio for an entire month. Trust me, it actually happened. And as if it wasn't a bigger letdown already, there seems to be FEWER scenes!!! I only got three cutscenes during a full month of Universe mode. Another big flaw is that lower card guys contend for WHC/WWE Titles. For example, I simmed UM for about a year to break the ice, and when I returned, I saw that Zack Ryder was the #1 Contender for the WHC. What the hell?!?! You can change the contenders for each title, but I shouldn't have to. So in the end, career mode gets a 5/10
Customization
This is where the game stands out. In Create Mode, you can create an Arena, Superstar (w/entrance and moveset), Signature move, Logo/fan sign, Match, story, and Highlight Reel. Let's talk about Create-an-Arena. Last year, it was pretty much create a ring, but in WWE 13, You can do EVERYTHING. Stages are made by picking one of the AE arenas, along witha few others, and adding your own logos, patterns, and colors. Creating the ring is the same as last year, but you have a lot more logos. You can also pick the lighting, which was disappointing because you can't choose one lighting for the crowd and one for the ring. Other than that, It's great. CAS is also back and better than ever. Again, its the same thing as last year, just with more clothes and logos. They also have a new Kickpad section, which gives you five kickpads, equalling seven in total. However, the only kickpad the looks good is the blue Kofi Kingston ones. All the other ones just look don't look right. But i'm still glad that they put it in there. Create an entrance and moveset is still the same, just with some additions. Create a story is good, but there's one too many glitches in them. Highlight Reel is the same, as well as CAF. Paint tool allows you to add arena logos, which is cool. Overall, the Create suite is great, and it really is the best part of WWE 13. 9.5/10
As much as I would love to write about the online, I don't have Xbox Live, but according to most people, The servers are very inconsistent.
OVERALL RATING FOR WWE '13- (7.5/10)
Well, there you have it. I'm sure this thread won't get many views, but I don't mind, I just wanted to get my opinion out there. If you liked this review, a rep would be lovely, because I put a lot of time into this review. If you have something you'd like to say about the game, sound off in the reply section (or whatever you wanna call it).
Thanks for reading!!!
Gameplay
The game uses the same control scheme that WWE 12 had, which is good because I think that the face-button scheme is better than the other one. The core gameplay is still basically the same, however they added "OMG Moments", which is pretty cool, and it doesn't get too annoying. TLC matches are still fun to play, but I do wish that Hardcore matches would allow to go from the ring to the backstage areas, like what HCTP and SYM did. Wrestling an AI opponent can be a bit too easy, but changing the sliders can make it a bit more aggressive. The AI in itself still has some dumb moments, for example, it can be in the middle of the match, and 9 times out of 10 your opponent will leave the ring, take off announce table things, and run back in the ring. They also don't kick out of two, so it doesn't add much drama to the game. It may seem like a minor complaint at first, but it gets really stupid after a while. Another thing they added was match pace, which could be switched to either "quick", "normal", or "epic". Quick matches don't last very long, and they aren't fun. Normal matches are, well, normal. Epic matches go on longer than normal ones. Which means that your opponent will kick out of your finishers. But like I said, they don't kick out at two, they kick out at one instead. Kind of ruins the match for me. Hit detection has improved, so you won't be trying to hit a shoulder block with your opponent just no-selling it. Let's talk about the glitches now, because there are a lot of them. Story designer is almost like Glitch City. If you assign a wrestler with superstar threads, they will be given randomized colors. A lot of other glitches happened, but it didn't ruin the overall experience. TLC matches have a lot of glitches too, which is expected. TLC matches are still fun, but when a table falls on the ground because you either leaned a ladder on it or you entered the ring and the table was very close to the ropes, thats a pretty big issue. Ladders bounce like rubber balls, and steps go through ropes like they're invincible. Overall, it's fun to play. You may get tired of playing after about a month or so (which was my problem with WWE 12) but if you know how to shake things up, you can definataley have some fun with it. 8/10
Graphics and Presentation
The graphics to this game are good for the most part. The ring has detail, the crowd looks good for the most part, although they need more signs to look realistic. There's also a strange "depth of field" to the crowd, which looks stupid. But at least they lessened it from last year's game. The biggest issue I had with the graphics is that about half of the roster looks pretty bad, character-model wise. This problem is mostly seen with the attitude era stars. The worst model in the game is Triple H 98'. They copied his current look, changed his hair, beard and eyebrows blonde, and put the old school tights on him. It looks horrible. So does his Hunter H. Helmsley attire. Even modern HHH's stomach/abs look messed up. The other models that look way off are Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Billy Gunn, Booker T (his face is still messed up), Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and a couple others. The presentation is good too, but it has its odd moments. The city graphic shows up during the entrances, The occasional clipping issues, etc. If you look past all the bad character models, the game looks good, but not great. 7/10
Career Mode
The big draw that this game had going for it was the Attitude Era mode. It allowed you to play as the biggest names in that era, and even the arenas. The mode itself was very detailed. Ratings timeline, videos, photo archives, The whole nine yards. However, the problem with the story mode is that, once you're done with it, you don't won't to play it again. It has no replay value. However, once that's done, you can play Universe Mode. THQ tried to make it better, by allowing more titles, create a PPV/Show, etc. But it ended up being a downgrade from last year. The problem with this is that in WWE 12, we had a lot of Undercard guys (McGillicutty, Mason Ryan, Tatsu, etc.) so that way universe mode had some variety in the matches. WWE 13, however, has only a few Undercarders, due to all the AE guys. This leads to you having to watch Jack Swagger vs Mysterio for an entire month. Trust me, it actually happened. And as if it wasn't a bigger letdown already, there seems to be FEWER scenes!!! I only got three cutscenes during a full month of Universe mode. Another big flaw is that lower card guys contend for WHC/WWE Titles. For example, I simmed UM for about a year to break the ice, and when I returned, I saw that Zack Ryder was the #1 Contender for the WHC. What the hell?!?! You can change the contenders for each title, but I shouldn't have to. So in the end, career mode gets a 5/10
Customization
This is where the game stands out. In Create Mode, you can create an Arena, Superstar (w/entrance and moveset), Signature move, Logo/fan sign, Match, story, and Highlight Reel. Let's talk about Create-an-Arena. Last year, it was pretty much create a ring, but in WWE 13, You can do EVERYTHING. Stages are made by picking one of the AE arenas, along witha few others, and adding your own logos, patterns, and colors. Creating the ring is the same as last year, but you have a lot more logos. You can also pick the lighting, which was disappointing because you can't choose one lighting for the crowd and one for the ring. Other than that, It's great. CAS is also back and better than ever. Again, its the same thing as last year, just with more clothes and logos. They also have a new Kickpad section, which gives you five kickpads, equalling seven in total. However, the only kickpad the looks good is the blue Kofi Kingston ones. All the other ones just look don't look right. But i'm still glad that they put it in there. Create an entrance and moveset is still the same, just with some additions. Create a story is good, but there's one too many glitches in them. Highlight Reel is the same, as well as CAF. Paint tool allows you to add arena logos, which is cool. Overall, the Create suite is great, and it really is the best part of WWE 13. 9.5/10
As much as I would love to write about the online, I don't have Xbox Live, but according to most people, The servers are very inconsistent.
OVERALL RATING FOR WWE '13- (7.5/10)
Well, there you have it. I'm sure this thread won't get many views, but I don't mind, I just wanted to get my opinion out there. If you liked this review, a rep would be lovely, because I put a lot of time into this review. If you have something you'd like to say about the game, sound off in the reply section (or whatever you wanna call it).
Thanks for reading!!!
