Royal Rumble matches are a war of attrition if a high number of wrestlers end up in the ring. Characters still move somewhat awkwardly around each other, especially if it’s a match involving more than just two characters. There are some downsides, as it is to be expected with games that are still freshly rebooted, even if it is the second generation. I’m also a big fan of how the special matches are done, such as Falls Count Anywhere matches that can go into the dressing room area and finding random objects along the way to throw opponents into. Sprinting also slows down throughout the matches as hit points dwindle, making running attacks much harder to pull off in the latter stages of matches, which adds a nice challenge to determining just how long one can wait before actually attempting a pinfall that won’t be kicked out of, or a submission that will result in a victory. If a character takes substantial attacks to the midsection, the wrestler will show it by holding his/her ribcage when not attempting any kind of move. It simply has to be judged by how slowly a wrestler moves and what portion of his/her body is being favored. The gameplay system is based around each wrestler having a set amount of damage and hit points that can be taken throughout the match, though the trick to this is that there is no life bar or hit point gauge to look at. The moves that are performed by the wrestlers are very smooth in most cases, though camera switches can hide some of the random pauses in between move reversals or moves requiring a player to dash at another one, such as the running neckbreaker that my created character utilizes. Getting used to the grappling and move system can be tricky at first, but the combinations don’t require multiple button presses if one doesn’t want them to, especially with the ability to create a move list straight from scratch.
WWE 13 utilizes its Predator 2.0 system by taking all of the moves and simplifying them so that any wrestling fan can pick up and play the game with relative ease. The result is a gameplay system that has improved and is much easier to utilize. The game was raw around the edges, but had plenty of promise for the next chapter in the franchise. Last year, THQ and Yuke’s went back to the drawing board with the franchise and started from scratch. On top of that, after the reboot of their long-running video game last year, I can happily say that the franchise is headed in the right direction with WWE 13. Now, eighteen months removed from that night in Las Vegas, wrestling is experiencing excellent buy-rates for its Pay-Per-View events and improving numbers for their weekly shows. That promo kick-started new life into the WWE and, therefore, kept CM Punk from leaving the biggest company in the industry as he was on his way out the door on July 17. Last year, that changed on June 27, 2011, when CM Punk, the cover athlete for WWE 13, went on live television and aired his grievances. The 2000s were not very kind to wrestling as a whole, ratings-wise, and that can be blamed on a number of factors: The end of the Monday Night Wars, the PG-era being uninteresting, loss of the biggest stars in the business, etc.
For those who are not hardcore wrestling fans, a minor history lesson is in order before diving into WWE 13.
Wrestling has been on the upswing in the last two years.