WWE 2K19 Review – Get These Hands Like Never Before

To quote the most electrifying man in all of entertainment, Finally, WWE 2K19 is here and it’s about to layeth the smacketh down on every previous installment to date. At least that’s the plan this year with so many new innovations and returns. Between Daniel Bryan’s showcase mode, the new tower challenges and in-depth MyCareer mode, this will never be the same again!

The breakdown in so intense this year we don’t know where to begin, although I can see Ron Simmons looking at all the new features and changes made in WWE 2K19, summing it all up in one word! Any guesses? Let’s kick off presentation through MyCareer.

A Career of Perfection

WWE 2K19 is introducing one of the most realistic concepts ever in their story mode. It’s the epitome of the defines a wrestlers true Rise to Glory. Personally, as a ring announcer in real life, I work close with the in-ring talent and know the hard word and sacrifice that’s put in show after show. And this is the first time WWE has ever shared that level of realism with the WWE Universe through a videogame.  Your career doesn’t start in NXT like in previous games. Instead you are experiencing rags to riches per se, beginning in the indies, wrestling from high school gyms to the closest Elks Lodge.

Managing to impress the management in WWE, you draw yourself closer to making your way into NXT, only to be sidetracked and shelved. With the help of Barron Blade and Cole Quinn you try to get your name out there, especially from the hype of your first official WWE match.

Without question WWE 2K19 has the very best storyline to date. In fact, if they continue in this direction, utilizing WWE writers and actual voices, this could be the beginning of a turnaround fans have waited years for! The life of buzz was well drawn out and quite memorable, or for the sake of what’s to come, Too Sweet!

Rather than adding attributes to your MyCareer player, you will need to strategically apply them to a skill tree, based on attacks, body and defense. I love this new transition as I found myself carefully adding skill points to what was necessary and skipping around what wasn’t required for my wrestler based on moves and abilities. Your story cap is about a 65 overall, everything else is built on through the Road to Glory, returning with more loot to gain and notoriety to earn.

What’s New

When your opponent is taking a beating, or somehow you are in the process of becoming a new inductee into the hall of pain, you have two new comeback meters at your leisure called Payback. One meter will allow you to perform a critical reversal, instant recovery become a speed buff and more. This is as real as it gets, considering how many times in WWE a wrestler takes a beatdown to pick up momentum mid-match out of nowhere. That’s only the beginning though as level two paybacks allows you to earn a finisher, call an ally down to ringside to assist you or even risk it all with a bit of poison mist, low blow or bare knuckles. The cheapest ways to go out yet rewarding if never caught.

Universe Mode has added one of the biggest pieces to the puzzle of what allows authenticity to live up to the word, managers. Managers have been left out for years which made an individual universe fun, but not as real as one could hope. Just name a time that Brock has ever fought ringside without Paul Heyman! I can name a million through Universe mode simply because managers weren’t an option before. 2K, thank you.

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Tower Mode is new this year and is a fantastic addition to 2K19, and at least starting off, there’s a million reasons why. Whether you play through gauntlet towers or step, there are superstars looking to end your career, or climb to say the least. It’s even more exciting to know this mode will regularly receive updates (just like Road to Glory).

While not exactly new, though missed, Showcase Mode has returned allowing players to relive the times and very peek (so far) of Daniel Bryan. Showcase Mode was undoubtedly one of the greatest features in the franchise history, aside from the story modes (Road to WrestleMania). Big Heads are new however. Though it probably won’t be used as much, it awesome to see WWE and 2K allow a few unique features to stand out for fans across the board of entertainment.

Everything Else

Controls in WWE 2K19 are much of the same, however gameplay feels more fast paced than before. New features as aforementioned to help turn the tides of a match helps heated moments and turn the tides in a match.

Graphics in WWE 2K19 are truly phenomenal! Thanks to the details in the lighting engine, player models truly looked refined, showing high similarity to their real-life characters. 2K19 can be most appreciated when played in 4K, especially when watching WWE entrances. Be prepared to not only see but Feel the Glow!

We only wish that the wrestlers hair move more fluidly. When looking at superstars such as Becky Lynch, Maryse or even Roman Reigns, they have specific intros that involve them shaking their head (hair) and requiring natural movement out of it. Sadly, 2K has a bit of stiffness to the hair this year, not something that was as noticeable before, and hopefully can be patched soon after launch.

Another issue I’ve seen in a few matches were the game lock up in a pinning situation, requiring a “restart match” to take place. In addition, there were too many times where the wrestler would completely miss the target opponent. Not sure why this came about, but instead of turning to the opponent, they would too often swing aimlessly.