WWE 2k14 Gameplay Improvements

On the heels of 2k Games announcing that the Ultimate Warrior will be a playable character for the first time in the series’ history, the company has also touched on some of the new improvements made to the gameplay of ‘WWE 2k14’, the first title under the new 2k Games license.

The news was shared via the game’s website after showcasing some of the its new features at an event in New York City last week.

Of the newly announced improvements, the one that has myself excited is the reintroduction of the two count — an aspect that never should’ve been removed in the first place. In previous games, especially ‘WWE 13’, if an AI opponent kicked out it was at a one count. If the referee hit two, you knew the match was over. By bringing two counts back, it brings a sense of suspense back to a game that needs it to be entertaining.

A full list of the improvements that were announced last week can be viewed below.

• NEW NAVIGATION SYSTEM
  • The entire navigation system has been overhauled and reanimated including all walking, running, and dragging motions to give the game a more fluid and life-like feel and look.
  • Overall Superstar movement has been accelerated, meaning the action is faster-paced and more like what you see on WWE television.
  • There is now a “starting up” animation for when Superstars begin running. This leads to a more natural-looking match, where it is more difficult to “spam” running attacks.
  • Animation gestures have been added such as adjusting wrist bands, motioning for your opponent to get up, and many more to give a human-like appearance to the navigation system.

• STRIKING CHANGES
  • Strikes and strike combos are now quicker and snappier, making them faster and harder to reverse.
  • Successfully landing a strike combo now puts your opponent in a groggy state, making groggy grapples appear earlier and more frequently.

• REVERSAL SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS
  • Reversing a grapple move now causes the reverser to do a move of his/her own automatically.
  • This cuts down on the endless back-and-forth “reversal fest” some users complained of in WWE ’13 while also making the match move faster.

• CATAPULT FINISHERS
  • Catching Finishers can now be executed offensively, by Irish Whipping your opponent to the ropes with a finisher stored or catapulting your opponent up when they run towards you.
  • Select finisher moves give you the ability to launch an opponent into the air and then hit them with a Catch Finisher on the way back down.

NEW OMG MOMENTS

New multi-man OMG Moments added to help you gain the upper-hand in multi-man matches. One OMG move can take out two opponents in one shot making it easier to get the win against multiple opponents.

• Double Attitude Adjustment
• Double Shellshock
• Double Chokeslam

New OMG Moments added to allow you to dole out even more damage using the ring environment.

• Boot-to-head on outside ringpost
• DDT on the apron

• TWO-COUNTS
  • One of the most reviled bugs in WWE ’13 was the dearth of two-counts. This issue has been addressed, bringing back the dramatic near falls you know and love.

More news, including the game’s official roster reveal is expected to come over the next few weeks as WWE gears up for its Summerslam pay-per-view. Make sure to stay locked in to Gamesided for more on WWE 2k14.