WWE 2K17: Final Roundup for Top Metacritic Review Scores

WWE 2K17 has hit shelves across the country, giving fans the opportunity to create dream matches featuring the stars of today and the legends of yesteryear, and critics have weighed in on the latest addition to WWE's video game annals.

Reviews from websites such as Forbes, Game Informer, IGN and Slant Magazine both praised and criticized the latest offering from the wrestling empire and 2K Games.

How did the return of Bill Goldberg, the most impressive roster in wrestling gaming history and the debuts of Shinsuke Nakamura, Bayley and numerous other NXT standouts affect the opinions of those holding the almighty pen?

Let's take a look at the game through polar opposite reviews, in reference to the Playstation 4 versions of the release.

Reviewers	Score	Quote
Cheat Code Centeral	90	"It feels like the game has been fine-tuned, rather than systems completely overhauled."
Forbes	86	"This is easily the best wrestling release in over a decade."
IGN Italia	80	"Despite the missing-in-action Showcase mode, another step in the direction of a more complete, tactical and realistic wrestling experience, outside and inside the ring. "
Digital Chumps	78	"Sadly, this year’s WWE title didn’t quite live up to the hype of the real sport, but boy did it come close."
Gameblog.fr	70	"Unfortunately, the game is also held back by an outdated engine that desperately needs to be retired."
Game Informer	58	" Unfortunately, the game is also held back by an outdated engine that desperately needs to be retired."
Slant Magazine	40	"The game is a bloated monolith that, much like the WWE itself, is due for a much-needed shake-up. "

Forbes

Grade: 86

Forbes is quick to single out the likenesses of the Superstars in this year's game as the biggest positive of the presentation. Superstars such as Bret Hart, Bubba Ray Dudley and Seth Rollins feature uncanny appearances, something critic Brian Mazique is quick to praise.

"Every year the character models get better in this series, and the likenesses have reached an all-time high in WWE 2K17. These graphics are as phenomenal as AJ Styles’ forearm."

The multitude of creative possibilities is another strong suit of the game, according to Mazique. Citing the millions of options available to players, he praised, "The creation suite for WWE 2K16 was crazy deep, but this one is just ridiculous. The roster is already pretty hefty. There’s well over 100 Superstars to choose from, and that’s not counting the ones that will be available via DLC. Your roster of brawlers can be expanded with the most in-depth create-a-wrestler feature known to mankind."

Not everything was a bright ray of sunshine, however.

Commentary, often a dark spot on any WWE video game production, is as bad as ever.

"[John Layfield] still sounds like he’s broadcasting via satellite from Tatooine, and Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler’s lines are so outdated and ill-timed, that you’d rather DDT yourself than listen to them more than twice. This deficiency sticks out like a sore thumb because the game looks so good. It’s the wrestling equivalent of having a Superstar with Cesaro’s in-ring ability, but no talent on the microphone."

Still, despite the issues facing the presentation, it scored the second-best grade of all reviews while systematically picking apart the elements of the game that fans are most interested in.

Slant Magazine

Grade: 40

While Forbes was passionate in its praise of the game, Slant Magazine pulled no punches while discussing the release.

"The fact that WWE 2K17 plays rather badly shouldn't surprise anyone. That the sheer act of grappling feels akin to two faulty automatons fumbling against each other in a shared act of rebellion is, unfortunately, the level of expectation that one brings to a modern wrestling game. Clumsiness is the game's signature, and it permeates like a foul stench," reviewer Steven Wright spews with the venom of a Texas rattlesnake not named Steve Austin.

Not willing to give Yukes and 2K Games a pass for the unbelievable appearance of the Superstars in the game, Wright began his final paragraph with a cutting indictment of the game and its creators.

"While Yuke's has never managed to bring depth to their wrestling games, they continue to convey a sense of breadth by layering buckets of glossy content over these games' hollow cores."

The lack of change to the grappling system and the company's reluctance to step outside the box has rubbed Wright the wrong way, leading to an unfavorable review that may very well echo the loyal fans who buy the game and end up dismayed by the lack of evolution that exists within it.