WWE 2K16: Review of DLC Season Pass and Expanded Creation Suite

If anyone has a problem with WWE 2K16, it probably won't be an issue of depth.

The roster and collection of arenas and championships are vast for the retail version of the game that released Tuesday, but there will be even more variety once the downloadable Season Pass content starts to roll in.

The options will get even deeper if fans choose to take advantage of the newly expanded creation suite.

The DLC

This year's Season Pass includes all of the packages that expand the roster. That's a plus in my book, as more Superstars and Divas are the most important part of the new additions. New moves are great, as is the kick-start for your MyCareer Superstar, but a roster can never be too big.

Here's a look at the new content that will be available to Season Pass subscribers, per WWE.2K.com:

"

•Accelerator: Players will gain instant access to all unlockable content available in the game (excluding downloadable content). ...

•MyPlayer KickStart (PS4 system and Xbox One Exclusive): Players will gain instant access to boost created Superstar ratings and attributes in the game’s MyCareer mode. ...

•Legends Pack: Playable WWE Legends Big Boss Man, Dusty Rhodes, Lita, Mr. Perfect, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Trish Stratus. ...

•2015 Hall of Fame Showcase
     • Playable matches include:
          o Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
          o Rikishi vs. The Rock
          o Alundra Blayze vs. Paige
          o Larry Zbyszko and Arn Anderson vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes
          o Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ric Flair
          o The Bushwhackers (Butch Miller and Luke  Williams) vs. The Natural Disasters (Typhoon and Earthquake)
          o The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) vs. Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray)...

•New Moves Pack: More than 30 new moves, including the Corner Enzuigiri (made popular by WWE Diva Nikki Bella), Avalanche Ram (made popular by WWE Diva Paige), Sidewinder Suplex (made popular by WWE and NXT Superstar Kevin Owens), Standing Crossface Chickenwing (made popular by WWE Superstar Stardust) and Dragon Sleeper (made popular by NXT Superstar Finn Balor)... 

•Future Stars Pack: Playable NXT Superstars: Samoa Joe, Diego, Fernando, Blake and Murphy...

"

Aside from new Superstars like Samoa Joe and recently deceased legends like Dusty Rhodes and Rowdy Roddy Piper, the best part of the new content is the Hall of Fame Showcase.

Last year, 2K hit a home run with its Showcase concept. This year, Stone Cold Steve Austin's story is told in fine fashion, but the addition of rivalries like The Outsiders vs. Harlem Heat and fictional battles like Alundra Blayze vs. Paige should be fun to play through.

Because the DLC  release will be staggered through March 2016, there should be a steady stream of new content to keep WWE 2K fans busy.

The Creation Suite

With the new-and-improved creation suite, fans can now add 100 created Superstars and/or Divas to their roster. Because of the accuracy and depth of some of the creations from the WWE 2K community, that option should help to fill in most, if not all of the gaps left by the retail version's omissions.

As you can see from the Creation Suite trailer, the tool provided to fans is a deep one:

Create-a-Championship has always been a cool concept. In this year's game, it's not as cookie-cutter as it has been in the past. You're not simply customizing a template. Instead, you're given the freedom to make your own unique title belts that can be implemented into your Universe mode experience.

The Create-an-Arena options aren't as verbose, but because so much can be done with logos, you're still able to generate a unique venue or a good replica of a past pay-per-view.

This is just a look at one aspect of what is a fairly deep game from top to bottom. Be on the lookout for our full review in the coming days.

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