A look back at WWE 2k14

[@daringtraveler]

I loved the custom entrance music in 2k14, and I also agree the Mania mode was far superior to what we have now. I don't know if I could say 2k decreases every year, but the issue is they add something back in but take something else away. First, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way. 2k20 is regarded as the worst. Developers left 2k and just left the game unfinished; it was glitched beyond all who knows what, and follow that up with a pandemic so there was no 2k21. AEW tried capitalizing on this, but their game took years to finish, finishing only after their megastars left the company back to WWE. I think WWE put a lot of effort back into 2k22 as a result, as it felt like they at least got a scare that there would be competition. As it turns out, Fight Forever's Creation suite is just miles away from 2k's. So, 2k22 did vastly improve gameplay from it's predecessor. The game has remained the same, but something always takes a hit. This year, they added ambulance match, casket match, and special guest referee match, and revamped the GM mode, but Community Creations/online servers has taken a serious hit. There are so many people who are talking about they can't download anything. You can see that you have 107/1024MB used, but 2k will tell you you've used to much space - I stress, not save slots. So basically I download an arena and 10 CAW's and I'm already out of space. Showcase also took a big hit by just giving a summary of 40 years, not really giving us a fresh look at each. I understand there are rights issues regarding Flair, Daniel Bryan, Sting, and Edge, but these are literally cornerstone moments of the company. It would have been better to save this mode for when you have the rights to everyone. Even then it still feels underwhelming without Owen and Benoit, but I think we can understand why. Alongside that moment, I think it's criminal we never got a WCW showcase mode. They literally had McMahon and Lesnar slated for the game, but took them out last minute due to the allegations - mind you, not even indicted yet. Yet, both are featured in Showcase. It's not like we can't go back and play Showcase or literally any other WWE game. I really say there was no reason for this. All they really needed to do was a put a disclaimer in the open screen saying 2k does not necessarily reflect the values of WWE/McMahon/Lesnar etc. There, boom, done. Game is severely lacking in legends. No Martel, no Bigelow, no Bundy, no Slaughter, no Studd, no Bushwhackers, no Demolition, no LOD, no Fuji, no Goldust, no Sid, no Flair, no Daniel Bryan, no Edge, no Hardys, no Sting, no Big Show, no DX music, no Shango, no Godfather, and kinda no Lesnar and no McMahon. All this equates to - basically no WrestleMania. So I say save this mode for 50 years, when you likely have the rights to everyone you want. For me, I would have done an HBK showcase, as you likely have access to many big names. You could do HBK vs. Tatanka, Martel, Razor, Diesel, Sid, Taker, Austin, Triple H, Kurt Angle, John Cena, Mankind, Mysterio, Bret, Orton, Bulldog, and maybe more.