WWE 2K15: Expert Reviews, DLC Details, Full Roster and More

The release of WWE 2K15 on Tuesday for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 has gamers excited about all of the new additions and upgrades made by 2K Sports for this year’s edition.

WWE 2K15 will be released for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on November 18.

While the next-generation consoles will get the much anticipated MyCareer mode (not available for Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3), the older systems still offer intriguing modes, including Who Got NXT?, Proving Ground and 2K Showcase.

Here is the full roster, details about the downloadable content and expert reviews for WWE 2K15.

The Roster

No.	Name
1	AJ Lee
2	Alberto Del Rio
3	Bad News Barrett
4	Batista
5	Big E
6	Big Show
7	Booker T
8	Bray Wyatt
9	Brie Bella
10	Brock Lesnar
11	Cameron
12	Cesaro
13	Chris Jericho
14	CM Punk
15	Cody Rhodes
16	Curtis Axel
17	Damien Sandow
18	Daniel Bryan
19	Darren Young
20	Dean Ambrose
21	Dolph Ziggler
22	Erick Rowan
23	Fandango
24	Goldust
25	Hulk Hogan/ "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan (Hulkamania Edition)
26	Jack Swagger
27	Jey Uso
28	Jimmy Uso
29	John Cena
30	Justin Gabriel
31	Kane
32	Kevin Nash
33	Kofi Kingston
34	Luke Harper
35	Mark Henry
36	Naomi
37	Natalya
38	Nikki Bella
39	R-Truth
40	Randy Orton
41	Rey Mysterio
42	Ric Flair
43	Rob Van Dam
44	Roman Reigns
45	Ryback
46	Santino Marella
47	Seth Rollins
48	Shawn Michaels
49	Sheamus
50	“Stone Cold” Steve Austin
51	Sting/ Retro Sting (Pre-order or DLC)
52	Summer Rae
53	Tamina
54	The Miz
55	The Rock
56	The Undertaker
57	Titus O'Neil
58	Triple H
59	Tyson Kidd
60	Xavier Woods

DLC Details

Content Pack	Description	Price
Accelerator	Players will gain instant access to all unlockable content available in the game (excluding downloadable content).	$1.99
2K Showcase: One More Match	Story focused on the rivalry between WWE Superstars Randy Orton and Christian in 2011. Playable WWE Superstars: Christian, Randy Orton, Edge, Mark Henry and Sheamus. Playable arenas from 2011: SmackDown, Extreme Rules, Over the Limit and Capitol Punishment.	$9.99
2K Showcase: Hall of Pain	Story focused on top matches for WWE Superstar Mark Henry. Playable WWE Superstars: Mark Henry, Big Show, Kane, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Sheamus, The Great Khali, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan and Ryback. Playable arenas: SmackDown (2011), Vengeance (2011) and WrestleMania 29.	$9.99
2K Showcase: Path of the Warrior	Story focused on the career of WWE Hall of Famer Ultimate Warrior. Playable WWE Hall of Famers: Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and Sgt. Slaughter. Playable WWE Legends: Honky Tonk Man, Rick Rude, Macho King and Colonel Mustafa. Playable WWE Superstars: Undertaker and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Access to WWE Hall of Fame ring announcer Howard Finkel and WWE managers Jimmy Hart, Bobby Heenan, Paul Bearer, Sherri, Sid Justice and General Adnan. Playable arenas: WrestleMania VI, VII and XII; SummerSlam (1988, 1990 and 1991); Saturday Night’s Main Event XXIV and Madison Square Garden.	$9.99
WCW Pack	Playable WCW Superstars: Fit Finlay, Lord Steven Regal, Bam Bam Bigelow, Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger.	$7.99
NXT Arrival	Playable NXT Superstars: JBL, Adam Rose and The Ascension (Konnor and Victor). Playable NXT Diva: Emma.	$6.99
New Moves Pack	Moves Pack: More than 30 new moves, including an alternate version of Sister Abigail (performed from the ring corner and made popular by Bray Wyatt) and Multiple Gut Wrenches (made popular by Cesaro).	$3.99

Expert Reviews

It is clear that most game developers have already switched gears mentally to designing games for the next-generation consoles, but 2K Sports is not leaving the fans who still own the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the dark.

The release of WWE 2K15 on the older systems may not have all the same bells and whistles as the next-gen content, but there is still plenty to get excited about, including the addition of 2K Showcase mode.

In a review from Bryan Vore of GameInformer.com, he talks about what is involved in 2K Showcase mode and how the fans are offered a glimpse into two of the greatest feuds of all time:

"

The 2K Showcase mode replaces last year’s focus on the legacy of Wrestlemania. The two storylines on display cover the rivalries between John Cena and CM Punk from 2011 to 2013 and Triple H and Shawn Michaels from 2002 to 2004. In an entertainment medium that always juggles a multitude of storylines at once, it’s a nice change of pace to hone in on two guys at a time and follow the ups and downs of their rivalries. WWE’s excellent HD video packages return to tell the story of the real-life events and build up excitement for the matches. These combine with mid-match, in-game cinematics (complete with genuine audio from the events) that trigger when you complete objectives to capture the drama of how things went down.

"

Add in the fact that three additional storylines are available for the 2K Showcase mode via the DLC content, and this mode will result in hours of entertainment for hardcore wrestling fans and gamers alike.

While many aspects of the game will have fans of the series excited, there are also several clear downfalls when purchasing the game for Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 over the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 versions.

2K Sports has clearly put more effort into the next-gen edition of the game. With a demand for better graphics and smoother gameplay, the developers of the game were smart to focus heavily on the next-gen consoles as the industry continues to move into the future.

Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 owners will be disappointed by the lack of major upgrades, but it’s still a better game than it was last year and has built legitimate excitement for the November release of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions.

As Dave Rudden of IGN.com pointed out, the game that was released Tuesday leaves a lot to be desired as compared to the next-gen release coming next month:

"

The old-gen version of 2K15 doesn't have most of the new-gen additions you may have heard about. The revamped, more realistic match pacing is nowhere to be found here. The addition of a momentum meter is much appreciated though, removing the guesswork as to when signatures become available and when the window is closing to pull one off before it becomes a finisher. Aside from that, it's the same standard high-speed action that's become commonplace for the franchise over the last few years. The old combat engine isn't inherently bad, mind you. When it comes to standard matches with two to four combatants it's certainly enjoyable, though a bit too reliant on mastering reversals or spamming the unnaturally quick strikes. But get into five or six-man everything-goes matches however, and the fast-paced fighting ceases to approximate anything resembling an actual wrestling match.

"

Fans got their expectations so high due to the blockbuster changes 2K Sports made over the last year on the game. It’s hard for gamers to get excited about additions like MyCareer mode and realize they aren’t in one version of the game.

Unfortunately for fans of the WWE 2K series, the video game community is in an unenviable position of making the wholesale switch from one console to the next. Just as game developers were forced to contend with the switch from the PlayStation 2 to the PlayStation 3, the same thing is happening again with the new next-gen consoles.

While there is no doubt that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version of WWE 2K15 is missing some of the changes fans were most excited for, it is still a major upgrade over last year’s game and a great precursor for the next-gen release in November.

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