WWE 2K16: Latest News and Buzz for Week of October 12

Fans got a good, long look at the details and depth that WWE 2K16 has to offer.

Another round of hands-on reviews of the upcoming WWE video game unveiled the options players have to work with in the creation suite. An announcement from 2K Sports let fans know how they can bolster the game via downloadable content (DLC).

Although the official roster has been set for some time, the rundown of the WWE 2K16 DLC revealed more names available for players to use in the virtual ring.

Gamers also know now the subjects of the second showcase mode and where they can get their hands on a test version of the game before it comes out on Oct. 27 in the U.S. and Oct. 30 in international markets.

With that release date fast approaching, the game's mysteries are all but solved. Fans are now faced with not only the choice of whether to plunk down cash for the game, but whether to pay extra for the likes of Samoa Joe and the chance to relive SuperBrawl 1991's main event.

What the Reviews Reveal 

One of the bigger complaints about WWE 2K15 was how skimpy the creation options were. The next game in the series looks to have addressed that. In addition to having 100 slots for created wrestlers, the choices surrounding how to build those grapplers are better than last year's game.

Jenni Lada broke down the game for Cheat Code Central and noted the number of options available in the creation suite:

"

A CAW character has 128 points, and certain customization elements might require points for use. As an example for the sorts of options available to a male wrestler, I had 105 hairstyles, 12 kinds of eyebrows, 80 sorts of facial hair options, 9 kinds of eye makeup, 4 different lipstick options, and 10 marks and scars. 

"

For creating women's wrestlers, fans have less to work with. And once created, custom Divas can't be plugged into MyCareer mode.

As much fun as she seemed to have making her own Superstars and Divas, Lada didn't love the game's controls. That was a common criticism from the latest batch of reviews.

Brendyn Lotz reviewed the game for htxt.africa. He wrote, "At times the controls felt clunky and delayed." He also noted that animations sometimes take too long to load during the action.

Credit: WWEcom

In Lance Liebl's hands-on review for Game Zone, he had his own issues with WWE 2K16. 

Liebl wrote, "Wrestling against the AI isn't as much fun as wrestling against a human opponent." He blamed this partly on the controls.  He noted that "hit detection seems a bit off, and I got caught in a couple of animation loops."

Like previous reviews, Liebl praised the game's realism when it comes to strategy. It's clear that the game is less of a button-masher and reversal-fest. 

One has to wonder, though, if the controls will alienate more casual fans while simultaneously delighting the hardcore ones.

Dowloadable Content Revealed

The full WWE 2K16 experience is going to require fans to spend some extra cash. A number of new Superstars, matches and moves are available only as DLC, which 2K listed on its official website.

Players can opt for MyPlayer KickStart, which boosts ratings and attributes in MyCareer mode right away. Another option for the impatient gamer out there is the Accelerator. Purchasing this option gives one instant access to unlockables. 

2K is also offering a new moves pack featuring in-ring weapons like the Sidewinder Suplex, Avalanche Ram and Corner Enzuigiri. 

The Legends Pack boosts the game's roster by five. This quintet of names from the past is included with the additional fee: 

• Trish Stratus
• Dusty Rhodes
• Mr. Perfect
• Roddy Piper 
• Big Boss Man

The Future Stars Pack includes Los Matadores, a pair of former NXT tag champs and The Samoan Submission Machine:

• Blake 
• Murphy
• Samoa Joe
• Diego 
• Fernando

With Blake and Murphy available, fans can relive the feud between them and The Vaudevillains. Or else, one can pit Piper and Goldust against each other a la WrestleMania XII or maybe form a Rhodes family stable with The American Dream and his two sons.

Bayley, Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks aren't on the Future Stars pack despite the demand for them to be anywhere in the game.

As for the story mode, 2K Sports opted for a celebration of last year's Hall of Fame class rather than showcase a single wrestler or feud. That leads to a DLC pack including these playable bouts: 

• Randy Savage vs. Jack Roberts
• The Rikishi vs. The Rock 
• Alundra Blayze vs. Paige
• Larry Zbyszko and Arn Anderson vs. Ricky Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes
• Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ric Flair
• The Bushwhackers vs. The Natural Disasters 
• The Outsiders vs. Harlem Heat

The developers clearly opted for variety over nostalgia. Many of these matches are not exactly classics. 

It's fun, though, that 2K went with a dream match of sorts between Blayze and Paige, who was born five years after Blayze won the American Wrestling Association World Women's Championship.

And rather than buy all these add-ons a la carte, players can instead spring for the Season Pass. This offers most of the DLC in one place at a reduced price. 

Other Notes

When fans guide Steve Austin to the King of the Ring crown, the moment where The Texas Rattlesnake berates Jake Roberts is going to look great. That was already clear after 2K released a clip of the scene. The game's developers offered a closer look at one of the details from that promo: the throne.

An Instagram video shows just how realistic the ornate chair looks:

Fans also saw Stardust take on Goldust thanks to a new YouTube video from 2K's developers. It's not nearly as newsworthy a look at the game as older clips, but it still offers an enticing look at the game:

There are some animations during the action that add to the realism of the game. For one, Stardust gets visibily frustrated when he can't get a three-count on his brother. The biggest takeaway, though, is the match's overall flow.

It's not perfect, but more of a representation of what WWE puts on TV each week.

If seeing Goldust and Stardust collide makes one pine even harder for the game to come out, 2K may have you covered. It announced the WWE 2K16 Early Access Tour. 

This is a chance for fans to play a demo version of the game at their local Wal-Mart. On its website, 2K listed cities that will be hosting this tour. 

Those folks whose city is not on that list need not wait much longer for the full game. Just after WWE wraps up Hell in a Cell, WWE 2K16 will be in stores.

We will then see if the fans' reviews find the same faults with the game as the critics did and whether 2K's latest WWE installment is considered an emphatic improvement over last year's edition.