Dissecting the WWE 2K14 Gameplay Improvements - Wiggy's Blog

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Dissecting the WWE 2K14 Gameplay Improvements Stuck

Posted on July 23, 2013 at 05:58 PM.

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With 2K Sports releasing a slew of new "gameplay improvements" for the upcoming WWE 2K14, there's a lot to mull over. Let's get to it.

New Navigation System

Quote:


	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.

This seems like a great change, as the transition between various animation states can still look pretty rugged at times. I don't think we'll see true advances in this area until the next generation, but it's nice to see them thinking about bridging from one motion to the next.

Quote:


	Overall Superstar movement has been accelerated, meaning the action is faster-paced and more like what you see on WWE television.

A bit of a concern here, as the game already felt plenty fast to me. There are some other tweaks that may offset this, but I don't think the game necessarily needed to be faster.

Quote:


	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.

While the speed may have gone up, this throttling of run speed is a welcome change. It should create a more realistic run animation for the game, and less spam attacks from runs will be a boon to the game's online mode.

Quote:


	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.

Again, any additional bridging animations they can add to supplement the personality of the game is welcome. If some of these happen naturally during gameplay, all the better.

Striking Changes

Quote:


	Strikes and strike combos are now quicker and snappier, making them faster and harder to reverse.

Since the reversal system is being tweaked, this change gives a huge advantage to the initiator of a striking sequence. This might need some post-release tuning. We'll see.

Quote:


	Successfully landing a strike combo now puts your opponent in a groggy state, making groggy grapples appear earlier and more frequently.

I like this change, as it will help create some move variety earlier in the match as well as reward high-risk strikers.

Reversal System Improvements

Quote:


	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.

I think there should be a bit of latitude with the reversals, but ultimately, this change is for the best. Maybe there could be certain chain or strike scenarios where a second reversal could take place, but the fact that all move sequences could be reversed last year ended up being too much, even though it seemed cool on paper.

Catapult Finishers

Quote:


	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.

A subtle addition here, but it should create some pop-worthy scenarios, especially for RKOs or Sweet Chin Music. Even though these can look pretty goofy, they're a fun aspect of the game.

New OMG Moments

Quote:


	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

Again, these should be fun, even though they are normally rare occurrences in WWE programming. I think there should actually be more stuff involving the ring post and apron, as those cinematic moments are always entertaining within the context of a match. The one-on-two moves (Double Chokeslam, etc.) should be fun when you can pull them off, but I wonder how forgiving the timing will be on executing them.

Two Counts

Quote:


	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.

A very welcome change here, as this was a frustrating aspect of last year's game. I think this bug ultimately killed a lot of the drama in matches last year, and the pinfall state needs to be right for the action to seem "real."

Final Thoughts

There are some good bug fixes in this list as well as some cool new moves and situations. I like the throttling of the sprint speed and the revised reversal system changes, for the most part, but I do wonder about the increased speed of the game. If all of these bridging animations and mannerisms end up creating a better pace for the match, some of the other changes might end up being quite meaningful.

Comments

# 1 Gramps91 @ Jul 23

The no 2 count killed me for WWE 13. I shelved that game back in April which is something I never do with a wrestling game until the next one comes out. I'm glad to see those back. I am tempted to pre-order WWE 2k14 but I don't think I'm going to just yet. Still waiting on A.I. news and to see if attributes actually matter any this year as they didn't seem to matter much in WWE 13. Hopefully these things are improved upon or else this will be on my Christmas list because I'm not going to pay $60 for another game with the same issues as WWE 13

# 2 AirJordanFan93 @ Jul 24

The 2 count thing killed 13 for me also. As much as 12 lacked compared to the last Smackdown vs Raw I got a good year out of the game. 13 I gave up on within a month after I completed the Attitude Era mode. Another thing 13 was bad at was the awful AI which hopefully is improved in WWE2K14. I know 2K had little time to work on this but I have faith in them that they made some differences in the AI which was one of the worst things in WWE 13.

# 3 Gramps91 @ Jul 24

@AirJordanFan93 Indeed man, WWE 13 had horrific AI. I hope they can fix it and make it better. Day of Reckoning was made 9 years before WWE 13 and it had pretty great AI and a very dramatic two count that made matches very exciting to watch. Plus the attributes mattered quite a bit and the random interference feature made it to where anybody could win.

4 things WWE 13 lacked that Day of Reckoning had
1. Decent AI
2. Dramatic two counts
3. Attributes matter
4. Random interference option (meaning literally anyone can interfere, not just stables)

I really hope these features find their way back in. Glad to see we have two counts back though.

# 4 AirJordanFan93 @ Jul 24

@eaterofworlds888 Yeah its pathetic when games over 10 years old are better than WWE 13. No Mercy, Here Comes The Pain and DOR are all 100x better than 13. The AI is the biggest issue for me being an experianced player of these games. If 2K14 has an AI simular to 13 im done with these games I can't take all the lies Ledesma spills out about these games anymore. Im better off playing outdated games than dealing with this mess. 2 counts coming back is huge as it adds drama back into the matches. But it wont be worth anything if the AI is still whacky

# 5 Gramps91 @ Jul 24

@AirJordanFan93 Couldn't have said it better myself. Agreed 100%

# 6 DBMcGee3 @ Jul 26

The AI is a project in itself, I'll be surprised if there's major headway made there. Couldn't agree more with you guys about that though. There are still so many small, seemingly easy improvements that would help the game immensely in my opinion:

1) Separate reversal buttons for strikes and grapples
2) More attire options ( i would love to see the attires chosen at the match-up screen so you aren't locked into the original attire for title matches, etc)
3) Different set up for signature moves. The window is too small now and I feel those sig moves get lost far too often, especially by the CPU.
4) Managers- I want the ability to assign permanent managers in Universe mode, without necessarily having them show up as part of the active roster. Also, make the manager interaction in the match less annoying and more dynamic somehow. Maybe some cut scenes or something that would allow the manager to get involved and change the match in a critical moment.
5)Better use of the limb targeting. This is a cool feature that seems to never have been implemented logically by THQ.

Just things I can think of off the top of my head, but you get the gist.