Wiggy's Blog
Yuke's Sticking Around -- The Good, The Bad and The Unknown 
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 08:20 AM.
With the news of Yuke's sticking around in a meaningful capacity to help make the new Take-Two WWE games, it sets certain expectations for what a new game might look like. On the one hand, you've got a known commodity — a company that hasn't completely butchered the license while producing games that, generally speaking, haven't been too bad. On the other hand, you've got a company that has yet to really build a definitive "classic" in this generation. WWE '13 is a really solid game, but it still has some areas where it could be a lot better, including its recovery animations, spammable moves, online features and certain presentation aspects.
That said, this fresh start could give Yuke's a chance to sit back -- maybe with a bigger budget -- and seriously evaluate the tech behind their products and what people really want out of a modern wrestling game. There's always been a disconnect between how actual wrestling works and how it's played in a game. WWE '13 has done a good job of moving the needle a good deal towards the television style of wrestling, but it could go further.
To that end, I think this is what Take-Two staying with Yuke's might mean for the next game.
The Good
* Yuke's is a known commodity. They have plenty of experience (anybody remember Studio Gigante and the Wrestlemania 21 debacle?), and they probably know what they've done well up to this point. One hopes that they also recognize what has been lacking in their games.
* WWE Attitude Mode is begging to be expanded on. The highlight of WWE '13 was definitely the attitude mode, and many users responded to its blend of fun nostalgia, unique presentation and entertaining scenarios. If Take-Two gives them the latitude to take this mode further, it could be something special.
* A fresh start. If nothing else, this restart will give Yuke's the chance to evaluate what users have complained about in previous games. With the additional time and resources that Take-Two should provide, it gives Yuke's room to experiment a bit and try and stamp out some issues that weren't feasible on a more standard release schedule.
The Bad
* While experienced, Yuke's still has a track record of releasing solid but unspectacular games. Only just last year did they finally capture peoples' imagination with the Attitude Era content, but I have to wonder if that's a chain they can only pull one time. Honestly, they made some good improvements, but I have to wonder if the slew of minor changes and the Attitude Era mode kind of skewed the reaction to the game a bit. What I'm saying is: I'd be more comfortable with Yuke's at the helm if they'd shown improvement over a couple of years now.
* Frankly, there's still a lot of areas where these games need to start getting better. Without sacrificing much complexity, the controls need an overhaul. I don't want them to go back to the context-sensitive insanity of previous games, but there should be some streamlining of the current setup, which just has too much going on, especially when you add in gimmick matches. Just the same, the remnants of the old Smackdown tech needs to go, including the spotty striking engine, poor stand-up and transition animations as well as spammable running moves and sequences.
The Unknown
* Will there be innovation or iteration? This gets into the reasoning behind why Take-Two bought the license. Mainly, they probably saw it as a license that they could make decent bank from as long as they didn't overpay, which it seems they didn't. Since they're passing the development duties onto Yuke's, it really makes you think that they just want to make a tidy profit and not rock the boat. Will they give Yuke's the breathing room to be creative, or will it be a money grab, plain and simple?
* What will the online be like? The online has been sort of hit or miss with previous WWE games, with some robust creations and acceptable online play but also some odd server outages, so-so DLC pricing and dwindling online population. I hope Take-Two gets on them to treat this area with some real care and that it translates into a game that's fully supported and functional in the online space. Then again, Take-Two games have also had some server issues, so who knows.
What are you expecting from Yuke's in this new "era"?
# 2
scottyp180 @ Feb 14
Lynkraid, I agree with almost all that you said except your no mercy comment. While no mercy was certainly the best of the games you listed, games like wcw vs nwo and wrestlmania were still high quality games. It's not like we had 4 crap games before no mercy. I can recall playin the crap out of wcw nwo revenge.
If take two provides yukes with the resources and time then I am confident that wwe 14 could be a great game if gameplay is the main priority. Universe and attitude era mode would need some attention but I don't think anyone would be upset if gameplay was the main focus. Graphics and player models should be addressed as well but they might wait until next gen to work on the art.
If take two provides yukes with the resources and time then I am confident that wwe 14 could be a great game if gameplay is the main priority. Universe and attitude era mode would need some attention but I don't think anyone would be upset if gameplay was the main focus. Graphics and player models should be addressed as well but they might wait until next gen to work on the art.
# 3
lynkraid @ Feb 14
And yes the WCW games were good and fun, WM2000 was great too. But compare those to No Mercy, they had worse graphics, far less options for create a wrestler, the WCW games had almost no CAW mode whats so ever, the WCW all lacked gimmick matches. Could also bring up how bad the WCW games became after AKI left them. WCW Nitro ring a bell?
# 5
Elway7 @ Feb 16
They need to have the AKI engine, instead of yukes. AKI always felt more like a wrestling game and Yukes feels like playing street fighter, or mortal combat. AKI was involved with Def Jam Vendetta and that game was pretty tight.
# 8
JJ09 @ Feb 19
I still remember how the 90% of no mercy moves and finishers flows better than all the FUs and Attitude Adjustment from WWE 13 and I didn't bring the latest create a finisher mode...eeww
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Lets not forget how many "new" wrestling games were bad, really bad! Like.. Wrestlemania 21, Raw, Raw 2, TNA Impact, and Lucha Libre AAA, or how about the Hogan wrestling game for Kinect?
Raw 1 & 2 was made by Anchor, TNA was made by Midway, Wrestlemania 21 was made by Studio Gigante, and the Lucha game was made by Immersion Software. Nothing says 2k: Visual Concepts would of even made a good or fun wrestling game. MLB2k series isn't exactly getting the job done against MLB the Show, and that franchise has been going for 10+ years.
At this time in the PS3 and 360 life I want to see the best possible and most loaded WWE games being made, I don't want a year + wasted on a bare bones game. Anyone remember how bare bones APF2k8 was? Yeah it was VERY bare bones just like Madden 06 on the 360 was bare bones too. It took years before Madden was a good next gen game full of features, and its only now living up to its next gen potential. Imagine a new WWE game taking 4+ years to live back up to its next gen potential because they start fresh on it.
And for all the No Mercy fanboys, it took No Mercy nearly 5 years to become what it was, it took WCW vs the World (ps1), WCW vs NWO World Tour, WCW Revenge, Wrestlemania 2000 all before No Mercy was made. Great games are not made in one year when it comes to wrestling, its just a far more complex game then your average game.