WWE 2K15 Review

Online Play

To build a complete case of WWE 2k15, I tried out a good bit of online play. It was overall a somewhat pleasant experience. The game uses background matchmaking wherein you can customize settings in the main online menu or be working in the quick play menu screen and still be sent over a match and asked if you would like to start. I have never seen that in another sports game and the idea of having to wait to get into a match in one menu has always unnerved me about other sports games. To see WWE 2K15 taking a step to make another way is very encouraging.

The good part about the online is that it does happen seamlessly. You will not notice when it is matchmaking and there is no slowdown in normal function when you are in the designated menus you can search. However, given the game is mostly a single player game it is rather difficult to not want to continue doing some other progress in another mode while waiting for a match to come available. You can only be in the online menu, the main menu, or the quick play menu. The creation suite, WWE Universe, 2K Showcase, and MyCareer modes all make the matchmaking inactive. I have wrestled with this in many ways, but ultimately I think WWE 2K15 took one step forward where they should have taken two. Allow for people to toggle background matchmaking on or off in any menu setting and it will not be a problem when they are playing to be interrupted by messages notifying them of any matches that are available. This way, the mode is still seamless, but you can still go off and do other things until a match happens.

There are also private matches to be played and boy are those fun. Tag team with friends against computer in any kind of match you can put together. The only problem with the private matches was any time I wanted to change kind of match or any tag team settings I had to create a new private match party in order to do so. It’s just a matter of convenience to make such a feature available, but not too harmful for the overall experience of playing private matches with friends. The biggest thing about the online mode for me was making sure it worked and in my time with it, I never had much of an issue outside of the amount of time matchmaking took.

Verdict

You really can feel like the hero sometimes

WWE 2K15 is a great start for Visual Concepts to add into their roster of 2K branded sports games. The graphics in the game are pretty great across the board. There is a good amount of interaction between the fans and the action happening on the screen. The soundtrack is pretty short consisting of maybe 12 songs, so it gets a bit repetitive rather quickly even though the songs are actually good ambiance many times. The game offers you the complete WWE experience on a platter, but it doesn’t add anything else to it really.

The progress you make in the MyCareer mode feels really slow and weighted in a really weird way despite how well you may perform it still may take a good amount of time before you begin getting any title matches or being propped up as the star of the WWE. The online modes worked rather well for me, but it stopped a bit short of really changing the game for online sports matchmaking and customization.

The WWE creation suite feels a bit neutered compared to past iterations. The single player general manager mode WWE universe feels like you’re just scheduling fights you want to see and is not beholden to any standard of fan interaction. All of those things are a shame given the fun there is to be had with the 2K Showcase mode and the general mood the game captures about wrestling and having fun in the WWE. If you love WWE, you may be satisfied with what this game brings to the table, but otherwise I think it best to wait until Visual Concepts builds upon this solid foundation a bit more and see what it holds next year.

(A copy of this game was provided to Gamesided for the purposes of review. Click here to learn more about our Review Policy.)