2K has released the first of its “Showcase” DLC offerings for WWE 2K15, and it is modelled after the previous two entries that shipped on the disc. In this showcase, you play through the rivalry between Randy Orton and Christian, where they battle for the World Heavyweight Championship. This showcase is available for $9.99 (ha!), or it can be bought as part of the showcase season pass, which is available for $24.99. The season pass includes all showcases and some extra DLC.

After completing the “One More Match” showcase, two things became clear to me: (1) this format still has lots of potential to be good, and (2) it has lots of potential to be bad. The problem is that the rivalry or storyline the developers choose to recreate will heavily impact the potential quality of the showcase, and in this situation, I don’t think they chose very well. When you look ahead and see that the “Path of the Warrior” DLC has all sorts of unlockable legends, hall of famers, WWE regulars and arenas, you sort of look at what you’re getting here for $9.99 (YES!) and wonder what the deal is.

This isn’t to say that the rivalry of Christian and Randy Orton is bad, per se, but it just doesn’t really cover any interesting ground. There are no matches that jump off the screen with incredible spots or gimmicks, and a lot of the archival footage and cinematic interstitials are sort of by the numbers. On top of this, the rivalry contains very few characters that you get to play as. Most matches end up being some version of Christian vs Orton, but you will see Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus the odd time. The rivalry has a few key appearances by Edge, but obviously he only appears in cutscenes and video highlights (by then, he was retired due to injury). You also unlock Edge and Christian (and costumes for all involved) by the end of the showcase.

The other issue is that the mode is somewhat schizophrenic, and you never really get a sense of who you’re supposed to be getting behind. Initially, the showcase is heavily geared behind Christian, but by the end, it’s all about Randy Orton. Adding to this, there are matches where it would be fun to play as one person or another, but the game just seems kind of random in that regard. An example is a special referee match between Orton and Sheamus, and Christian is the referee. It would be fun to play as the special ref, but then the showcase just has you playing as Sheamus, who really has no stake in the storyline as it’s been presented. There are lots of odd moments like that, and they all make this particular entry feel sort of rushed.

The general feel of this showcase is like others that have come before it. You complete matches and then watch archival video footage or “Ken Burns”-style cinematics (that use in-game assets) to tell the story of what happened between the matches. You’re given a main objective for each match (such as winning by pinfall or completing all objectives), and then you have to go through various required and optional spots. Sometimes you’ll attempt a finisher and have it blocked in a cutscene. This leads to quick-time event where you have to press a button fast in order to complete the objective and unlock a special piece of gear or a new character. The usual problems of the WWE 2K15 game engine do show up here, such as annoying targeting with more than one opponent or having to redo a whole match if you mess up.

As always, there are some fun moments, such as Christian and Alberto Del Rio in a ladder match at Extreme Rules and the final match of the showcase between Orton and Christian (it has lots of fun historical spots). Overall, the mode provides a few fun moments that have been “reimagined” in video game form, and that carries this rivalry for a bit, but the short nine-match arc just doesn’t really stack up against some of the stuff that’s come before. Frankly, the Attitude Era mode of a couple of years ago is still the high point, and they’ve failed to recapture that since.
 

Final Thoughts

If you’re a diehard for these sorts of modes, this “One More Match” showcase will provide another two hours of moderate entertainment for you, but it’s really quite pedestrian compared to the previous entries in this mode. While you can pick it up for $9.99 (there it is again!), I’d say to wait until the season pass is half price in the future. The “Way of the Warrior” DLC, which will come out last, sounds like it might add the most content, and it will probably feature rivalries that are more meaningful than this one. The concept for the 2K Showcase is a good one, but it needs better rivalries and storylines than this to help it shine.

Verdict: The 2K Showcase is a great concept, but this particular rivalry is worth skipping.

Pros: Solid presentation between matches; decent gameplay

Cons: Very few matches overall; not many other wrestlers are involved; lack of good historical moments