Spend two bars, and you’ll be able to use your character’s equipped one-time-use Payback special move these range from a low blow, to stealing your opponent’s finisher to use against them, to the ability to spit poison mist in your opponent’s eyes. Spend one bar, and you’ll be able to immediately get up from the mat as though wrestling was fake or something. Pressing the highest strength button, a grab, will end the combo with whatever unique move is tied to that specific combo string.Īnother fighting game influence on WWE 2K22’s wrasslin’ action is a segmented special meter that you can use for a variety of offensive and defensive techniques. WWE 2K22’s combo system uses three buttons for light, heavy, and grab, and have a progression that allows you to continue a string by pressing a button of equal or higher strength, with a maximum of four button presses in any combo. The other big change to the fundamentals of WWE 2K22’s wrestling is the overhaul of the strike/grapple system, which is much more combo focused than in previous years and also borrows a few mechanics from more traditional fighting games. At the same time I get that there are arguments for and against reversal stocks, so I wish there was at least an option to turn them on or off to let people play how they want. It can certainly be fun to trade reversals early on in a match, but it doesn’t feel like the timing window on them ever gets any tighter as the fight goes on, which makes actually ending a match against a skilled opponent exhausting because you can basically trade finisher reversals back and forth forever. They were added way back in 2K16 to eliminate the problem of matches between two experienced players devolving into a contest of who misses the most crucial reversal first. The one change that I’m a little torn on is the removal of reversal stocks, which gave each wrestler a limited number of reversals that would refill over time. Best of all, there’s now one gigantic backstage area for falls count anywhere matches and backstage brawls, complete with cars to smash each other into, high platforms to toss your opponent off of, and plenty of weapons and tables strewn all around. The combat is also enhanced thanks to much-improved camera angles that do a better job of framing the action in and outside the ring, much better character models for every wrestler, a more reactive and more varied crowd, and far more accurate commentary from Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton. This is a mess that 2K needs to clean up in a hurry.

Fundamental parts that felt totally fine in WWE 2K19 now feel clumsy, the impressive roster of 238 superstars is all but meaningless when a majority of them look like they crawled out of a PS2-era wrestling game, and while 2K20’s M圜areer mode offers a better wrestling story mode than most previous WWE 2K games, that’s a low bar to clear – it’s still saddled with bad progression and a plodding pace. WWE 2K19 looked like it stopped the downward trend for the series, but WWE 2K20 doubles back, breaks its ankle, and tumbles down the slope.

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