WWE ‘13 Review for Xbox 360 - Cheat Code Central

System: Xbox 360*, PS3
Dev: Yuke’s Yokohama
Pub: THQ
Release: October 30, 2012
Players: 1-4
Screen Resolution: 480p-1080p	Blood, Crude Humor, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence

And here is the kicker. All of this customization, all of this user-made content, can be shared online like some sort of testosterone-driven LittleBigPlanet. You can download someone else’s custom superstar, put them in a storyline with your superstar over a belt that a third person made, and then re-upload that back to the Internet. Granted, at the time of writing the pre-launch servers were a bit barren, but given enough time, WWE ‘13 will be fleshed out with its own user-generated universe of wrestling insanity. I can only hope that Vince McMahon sees some of these concepts and eventually integrates them into the WWE itself.

Now, to be fair, the game isn’t perfect. In fact, some of its most glaring flaws are in its control scheme. You have buttons for strikes, grapples, and miscellaneous actions like Irish Whipping and going for pins. These buttons all do different things depending on where and how you are standing and what direction you are pushing. You then have another button for finishers and signature moves, a trigger for interacting with the environment, and another trigger to reverse the opponent.

WWE ‘13 Screenshot

Unfortunately, this control scheme has a few limitations. For one, the window for a reversal is unfairly small, which is very frustrating for new players. On the flipside, there is no limit to how many times you may reverse a move, so skilled players will find themselves in reversal loops that get boring quickly. In addition, it’s kind of hard to tell when you can and can’t move, i.e. when your character is dizzy and helpless or not. This leads to a lot of button mashing. The HUD is unfortunately barebones, and your HUD options don’t get remembered from match to match if you set them, say, inside a match in the Attitude Era mode. There’s also no way to check your move-list in the middle of a match, just your passive ability list, which makes some Attitude Era matches a lot of trial and error.

However, as frustrating as these flaws can be, you tend to look them over just so you can get to more narrative goodness. In that way, WWE ‘13 is actually at its most fun when played alone. It’s far more fun to hop into the WWE Universe mode so you can take your wrestler of choice on a trip through the ranks in order to become the WWE champion than it is to simply sit down and play a vs. match with a buddy.

WWE ‘13 is one of those games that has just too much content to review. I’ve had WWE ‘13 for a couple weeks now and I still haven’t seen everything the game has to offer. It has a feature set unlike any other and its commitment to both built-in narrative and player-based customization is greater than anything we have seen from almost any other title on the market, regardless of genre. In fact, the only flaws I can find in WWE ‘13 are concerning the gameplay engine itself, but the feature set is so huge it’s almost like it doesn’t even matter.

By
Angelo M. D’Argenio
Contributing Writer
Date: October 30, 2012

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

3.9

Graphics
In game, the graphics look a bit stiff, but in cutscenes they are perfect.

3.2

Control
The controls are almost as stiff as the graphics, with needlessly finicky timing and unresponsive button presses. However, they get the job done.

4.2

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The use of original audio from past WWE matches is genius.

4.9

Play Value
Despite the frustration in the gameplay engine, WWE ‘13 kept me playing for countless hours.

4.3

Overall Rating - Great
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 - 1.9 = Avoid	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	3.5 - 3.9 = Good	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair	4.0 - 4.4 = Great	5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

Predator Technology 2.0: Driven by new animations, transitions, and modified controls, Predator Technology returns to deliver intelligent, fluid, and engaging WWE action, resulting in a smoother gameplay experience than its franchise predecessors.

Create and Share Your WWE: Utilize the franchise's industry-defining Creation Suite to develop and customize Superstars, arenas, entrances, finishing moves, storylines, and more! Go online and upload your creations to share them with the WWE Universe, and download creations from others to add to your own experience.

Relive the Attitude Era: You have heard the legendary stories and witnessed the history. Now, for the first time, return to an unparalleled and groundbreaking era in WWE history: a time of pure raucousness, grandiose personalities, and colossal revolution through a franchise-first single-player campaign focused on eight purveyors of attitude during the famed "Monday Night Wars," including WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

WWE Live: Experience the atmosphere, spectacle, and fervor of a WWE live event through attention-grabbing Spectacular Moments, including ring breaks and barricade crashes, along with a brand new audio system designed to produce the most authentic and vibrant commentary, sound effects, and crowd participation levels ever experienced in a WWE videogame.

WWE Universe 3.0: Control the virtual WWE experience like never before in the franchise's popular career-style mode, as individual decisions throughout gameplay will dynamically introduce matches, alliances, rivalries, and unpredictable moments along the path toward becoming a WWE champion.