Last year the WWE 2K series made the jump to the next-gen consoles with mixed results. The graphics were a definite hit, but the rest of the game left a lot to be desired. Missing modes from the 360/PS3 days, smaller roster, confusing season pass, etc. So what does another year under the belt on the new systems do for the franchise?

I was able to check out a preview build of WWE 2K16 in New York last week and came away impressed. Right off the bat, the graphics are definitely improved, and I’m one that thought they looked incredible last year, but there’s a lot of little touches that just really pop out. During entrances there are more crowd cuts as well as cuts over to the announcers (which now is a three-man booth adding JBL to the mix). When talking to Mark Little (executive producer for the game), he said they are looking to make the graphics look even better.

Some of the things that stood out right away were the entrance run-in/break out. We did a Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens match, and while Balor was doing his entrance player two had the option to run in and attack. So Owens came out while Balor was on the entrance ramp starting off his entrance. It turned into a brawl from there and Balor kept on his demon entrance gear for the entire battle. Due to the nature of this event with loud music playing, we were unable to hear the referee telling us to get to the ring. So we had a jarring cutscene where Owens/Balor were at the ring and the ref was throwing out the match. I asked Little about this, and he explained that the ref is asking you to get the ring during the brawl. This goes both ways as well, so if you have already entered and player two is now doing his entrance, you can do a break out of the ring and attack him as well. This only happens in player vs. player matches -- and presumably Universe Mode. Little stated that this would not happen in one vs. one exhibition matches against the AI as the team wanted people to just have fun and not have random run-ins ruin the experience.

UPDATE: (9-8-15) We have just received official word from 2K and wanted to update the last couple of sentences (from above).

In Exhibition breakouts are allowed in Player vs Player and Player vs AI matches.  At this point we do not have the AI performing breakouts during Player vs AI matches but it is something we are looking at for the future.

During the match you will notice right away that button prompts have been cleaned up and look much sleeker. This was done by removing a lot of excessive color and size to the prompts. It helps with the illusion that you are playing a match on Monday Night Raw and not a video game.

The chain grapple system is still in the game but is much refined. Heels act as heels now as I saw a few chain grapples where the heel pushed the face back to the corner and the ref got between the wrestlers. The heel then had the option to press a button and get a cheap punch in if he chose. And this is one thing that Little explained we would see throughout the game more, heels and faces would act as they should with personalities. Heels will try to cheat, even grab weapons in a normal match and risk a DQ; they will roll out of the ring instead of trying to fight; and they will do other “heelish” things throughout a match.

The reversal window is also better, and reversals feel more like a WWE match now. There are normal, minor and major reversals as well which will allow them to be chained together. However, once you get to a major reversal, the chain ends with no more reversal attempts able to be attempted.

The pin meter has been changed. It now sort of looks like the old Tiger Woods three-click swing box instead of just one spot to click. It basically works the same, but it takes up less real estate on the screen as well as feeling smoother. I obviously have not tried it online, but last year the big complaint online was the pin meter. I’m thinking with the new meter, it will be less of an issue. The meter also resets on every count -- and after a finisher the game did not start the meter until the two count.

One thing I could not figure out was the submission system. It feels a lot like the old UFC systems (from the old THQ games not the new EA one). Both wrestlers have a block on a circle, and you are moving them around to lock in and get the submission victory. I tried it several times and never could truly grasp how it worked. But to be fair, it was a very loud area where I was trying to play the game and could not focus on it as much as I could in say my home. I do think it will need more explanation going forward -- and maybe a quick tutorial in the game -- just to make sure everyone understands the new system as it’s a big departure from just hammering a button over and over again. That being said, even without understanding it fully, I welcome the change.

Some other tidbits I learned from talking to Mark Little:

-There are new OMG moments, but he wouldn’t spill the beans on what they are yet.

-Tag matches have been improved. The partners will actually get a bonus for staying in their corners when they should be to help the tag match feel more like they should.

-Managers have been improved, so like the wrestlers they have their own personalities now.

-There are new tag entrances. Cesaro/Kidd and the Lucaha Dragons both had their entrances.

-As of now, Seth Rollins still has the Curb Stomp as a finisher.

Steve Austin was revealed as the Showcase (story mode of the game), and it covers his career from WCW to ECW to WWF/E. The opening video was impressive (we could not hear it though), showing some major happenings in Austin’s career like the Hollywood Blondes with Brian Pillman and the strap match with Savio Vega. I don’t know if that confirms these wrestlers in the game, but it did make me assume they are in the final product.

I got to play one match of the mode, it obviously was in the WWF portion of his career as it was the King of the Ring finals match against Jake “The Snake” Roberts (also confirming him in the game). A very cool touch was that Jake came out clutching his side (he had his snake and all), and we got a look back from earlier tonight showing Vader crushing Jake in the corner causing the injury. It was a real motion video and really wowed me when it happened. The screen grain was also present as it was in former games to add to the authenticity.

I asked but was shot down on questions I know everyone reading this are going to have. This includes: online improvements, Universe improvements, creation suite improvements, and My Career improvements. All of these and others will be revealed at a later date.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I loved how the game played. I liked how it played last year, but the rest of the game fell flat. With that, I feel this year’s in-ring action blows away WWE 2K15. But the demo was bare: only 12 wrestlers, one on one/tag matches, and one Showcase match so the game is in a big wait-and-see mode for me.