WWE '12 Review: A Definitive Look at the Latest WWE Video Game

Two weeks ago, WWE ’12 was released into the homes of every European wrestling fan.

With two weeks of intense gaming under my belt, I feel I have completed enough research to give you the most definitive review on Bleacher Report.

This slideshow review will analyse each feature in gross detail, ultimately concluding with a final score out of ten.

For those who have waited to buy this game until after Christmas, or for those simply waiting for Santa to drop it down the chimney, this review will certainly give you an in-depth look at what you will be getting for your hard earned dollar.

I played the game on the PS3 only, so some details may differ.

Enjoy!

Opening Titles

This game had me from the word go.

The opening titles make this game feel like an extension of what one sees on the television every week.

The same sorts of montages are used as the popular Raw and SmackDown openings, and the music fits the content perfectly.

I marked out as I watched this little addition to the game, as it is the little changes that make this game stand out from the rest, as you will see throughout this review.  

It really did get me pumped to play the game for the first time, and I watch it every time I turn the console on.

I can’t get enough of it.  

Menu System

The menu system is similar to the SmackDown vs. Raw series.

I am in no way saying that this is a mistake, as they are very easy to navigate, so why try to fix what isn’t broken?

The first thing I did was go to the options to prepare myself for the impending carnage I would inevitably inflict upon this computer-generated WWE Universe.

I found that I had to turn the blood on as it is turned off from the start, due to the PG rating that the WWE now abides by.

There are no problems that jump out at you as you flick through the different match types, characters and arenas, so I have no complaints here.

Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement.

I like more complicated menu systems, but they are focusing on reaching a wide demographic, so the simplicity is understandable.

HUD

The HUD, or Heads-up display, is what one can see on the screen in terms of how your character is doing; for example, the momentum, how many finishers are stored etc.

The Heads-up display is very well hidden as it doesn’t appear at all unless you turn it on, keeping with the realistic presentation aspect.  

However, this can be really annoying as I never knew how far away I was from executing a finishing manoeuvre. Moreover, I did not know how my momentum was doing and found myself on the bad side of some pin attempt, unexpectedly so.

Needless to say, I swiftly turned the momentum meter on.

Other features include the Breaking Point bar. When you have your opponent in a submission hold or vice-versa, a button mash is required to make them submit.

This is shown in the form of a red bar filling the Breaking Point logo from 2009.

The pin bar is a lot more annoying as I found it was too small and I could never kick out of pins at first. It does take a lot of practice to get used to this.

If you’re on easy, then it won’t be a problem, as you shouldn’t get pinned on that difficulty. The HUD could be better but it is definitely heading in the right direction.

A few simple changes are all that is needed to make this a successful feature.

Roster

This is the most disappointing aspect of the game for me.

After the final DLC pack is released in January, there will be a total of 77 superstars to choose from.

You’d think that was great, but it really isn’t and here’s why.

A lot of these superstars are Legends, and while it’s all well and good to include those who gave a lot to the company and wrestling in general, if you aren’t going to include them all, there isn’t a lot of point in my opinion.

I don’t fancy pitting “Macho Man” Randy Savage against The Rock—I’d sooner have him face Hulk Hogan. But as only Macho Man is included, that isn’t possible unless I download a Hogan that somebody has created.

The other gripe I have about the roster is how out of date it is.

It’s not even a problem they have tried to fix. As soon as the game is released, it’s already out of date. The same can’t be said for FIFA 12 which allows you to download the latest squads.

The ability to download updated superstars would be brilliant. They would only have to keep it going for around six months. Even that would be better than nothing.  

The roster needs improving in a big way.

Gameplay

With the new Predator Technology, gameplay is smoother than ever, with moves flowing better than ever before. I found it surprisingly different form the SmackDown vs. Raw series, after going into the game with the mindset that not a lot will have changed.

I love the fact that one button flick can cause a fluid interaction between two superstars. The wake-up taunt is a cool feature, coupled with the simplicity of the grappling which makes the game an enjoyable experience.

Despite this, the gameplay does have its pitfalls. I believe there could have been more effort made to make it a little harder to execute the bigger moves.

I found myself executing the same move over and over again because the choice is so limited. This makes for a boring experience that not even the fluidity of movement around the squared circle can make up for.

Another problem is the difficulty of interacting with the environment.

It is harder to make use of the outside area to your advantage and the locker room area provides 44 finishing locations with only three animations covering every single one.  

So, while the gameplay is a big improvement in terms of the way the superstars interact with each other, a lot needs to be done before I fully enjoy what I am doing with the controller.

Presentation

The dynamic television presentation is good, but not great. It still is not realistic enough for me but I am nit-picking in all fairness. What lets the presentation down is the character models and their entrances.

The characters look better than they did last year, as proven by this comparison, but they still don’t look as realistic as they probably could. Alberto Del Rio is one of the worst; it barely looks anything like him.

I want to play with fat Triple H!

The entrances are just plain bad. They have recycled old entrance animations from the SmackDown vs. Raw series and it is extremely evident.

I don’t feel like I should as the superstars enter the ring, as it is so stale that I can’t really get emotionally involved like I can with the opening of the game. It is a great shame as the presentation is lacking in what could be a great game.

On a positive note, the different camera angles used add another dimension to the game, rather than sticking with the unrealistic angles from previous WWE games.

Also, the ring ropes now move with every move you execute so it doesn’t look as rigid, giving a nice aesthetic to the whole experience.

Presentation II (Commentary)

The commentary is awful.

They don’t respond to the moves in the ring, they sound horrendous and it feels like they walked into the studio with the mindset that they‘d be out within half an hour after recording some of the worst dialogue known to man.

This is where we need EA Sports. Take FIFA 12 for example; I almost forget how smart the commentary is at times, as it is so responsive and realistic.

I’d say football was more complicated than wrestling, so why can’t we have free-flowing commentary that separates itself from the repetitive bore fest of dialogue we received this year?

This is without a doubt the worst aspect of the game.

If you hated Michael Cole before, you’ll hate him even more after listening to his dire attempt at commentary on this game.

Road to WrestleMania

Many people were dreading the Road to WrestleMania mode this year but they really did pull it out of the bag and apart from the opening titles, it is the most enjoyable part of the game.

Three stories make up just over a year over the wrestling calendar. Sheamus takes the role of the villain, followed by Triple H as the outsider, finishing with a created character of your choice taking on the role of the hero.

All three of these storylines flow into one another making the experience less disjointed, allowing the player to stay engrossed in the game.

The great thing about this mode is it doesn’t feel boring.

As a superstar, you appear most weeks on Raw or SmackDown—not both—which makes the story progress at a faster rate and each week you are given objectives to complete, but they aren’t unachievable.

Some do require a few tries even on the lower difficulty settings, but I can deal with that.

Cutscenes merge seamlessly with gameplay; so much so that sometimes it took me a minute to realise I was in control of the character in front of me.

This creates an amazing immersive experience which is what I have been craving since about 2006.

The Road to WrestleMania is definitely a huge success this year, though it is still flawed and I would like to see it get even longer.

WWE Universe 2.0

Longevity is the key to WWE Universe mode. It is unlimited. You can go for as long as you want. Unfortunately, that wasn’t very long for me as I found it stale, boring and annoying—the same as last year.

I tried creating two stables. Edge and Christian and Rated RKO. Could it be done? Could it heck. This immediately ruined the Universe for me. Why can’t we have two teams with the same person in THQ!?!

Anyway, despite this, there are a few changes to be found in Universe mode, but nothing to really get excited about.

There are supposed to be more diverse animations, but I found they did repeat themselves a lot sooner than they would have done.

Moreover, I find it annoying when the computer decides it should have someone interfere in a brilliant feud I have been building up. I see that they are trying to convey a random environment much like the WWE Universe is portrayed, but it can be annoying and unnecessary.

It’s pretty cool that you can add your own shows to the calendar but it comes with the downside of having to take either Raw or SmackDown off to fit it in. I was hoping to have WCW along with the main WWE shows and possibly a PPV on the Saturday.

These are all things that limit the WWE Universe from reaching its full potential. I’m not sure they should scrap the idea because the concept actually has a lot of promise; they just need to sort out the gripes I have mentioned here.

Also, in one of the animations when a superstar is shoved into the stairs, they don’t even move.

It’s all well and good to add the rope physics to the mix, but when it’s juxtaposed by such a glaringly obvious mistake like that it makes the improvement sort of laughable.

Online

I don’t play the game online so the rating below takes into account the community creations aspect.

This is receiving such a low score because for the first week of playing the game, I couldn’t get on the bloody thing.

Once I did, I found it slow and unresponsive.

The servers should not have been down for as long as they were and the menu system needs an overhaul, because it is too complicated to navigate when you just want to download an arena or a superstar quickly.

Oh, and there is nothing wrong with my Internet, it is faster than a speeding bullet.

Create A...

Create modes are not my strong suit, but if they are yours, then create a score for this on your own because I despise create modes, and I can’t believe the amount of effort they put into them every year.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful for the people who put the time in to make the Hulk Hogans and the ECW arenas but it should already be in the game for a start, and I can’t be bothered making them myself.

I see it as a feature that could go.

N/A

Trophies

Trophies are now a very important part of the gaming experience as people earn rewards for completing certain tasks.

As the holder of three platinum trophies for three WWE games (WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 & WWE Legends of WrestleMania) I will be getting the platinum for WWE ’12, it just might take a bit longer.

I think the trophies this year are really good, mainly because I don’t have to compete online to get a platinum trophy. There are a couple of annoying ones that require my created stuff to be downloaded and liked by multiple people and as I explained in the slide before, I hate creating wrestlers and arenas.

The other trophies are excellent. though. Winning 20 times by submission in one session and other trophies like that, extend the lifespan of the game.

They also added trophies for the Universe mode, which makes it a little more bearable but on the other hand, it makes it more of a chore to get that platinum trophy.

Nonetheless, it is definitely the best trophy list I have seen for a WWE game and there is no reason not to give it a perfect score.

Overall Rating

As you have seen throughout this detailed review, the latest instalment of the WWE videogame franchise has its ups and downs.

It has taken a few steps forward but it has also remained too similar to previous attempts at creating the ultimate computer-generated WWE world. IGN rated the game 9/10 which I find quite ridiculous, as that means it’s not far from perfect and as you can see, it is a long way from perfect.

This is why I have decided to give the game a rating of 6/10. It was surprising how different it actually feels to the previous games, as it looked very similar in the preview videos.

If WWE ’13 improves upon this instalment and listens to the fan reactions, then they could be on to a good thing. I’m glad my worst fears were not realised. This is definitely worth a buy.