Review: WWE '13 + WWE Raw: Good, Bad & Ugly
Every ten years or so, WWE manages to release a genre defining game. There's been WWE Raw for Sega, WWE No Mercy for Nintendo 64, WWE Smackdown! For Playstation and now WWE '13 on a multi-console release.
After playing the Wii version for a few years, I can honestly say that it is one of the best wrestling video game experiences ever. For everything wrong in the real WWE product, the game has got right.
Roster:
There's no need to spend hours making CAW after CAW because the WWE '13 roster is near perfect. It has the essential roster now and a massive collection of WWE Attitude wrestlers. Some of my favorites include Vader, Ken Shamrock, Dude Love and Big Bossman. The DLC will add even more including Ryback although I wish Ahmed Johnson was in the game.
Attitude Gameplay
The Road to Wrestlemania has been replaced with a WWE Attitude Storyline and it recreates some of the best WWE moments. I haven't got too far into it, but so far the cut scenes, classic WWF logo and objectives are great. You can spend hours in this mode alone.
WWE Universe Mode
The most in-depth part of the game is the WWE Universe Mode. This is for fans to create WWE they would want it. Set rosters, select PPVs and basically schedule the whole WWE. There are a few upgrades from past years that make this mode better than ever.
Matches
WWE '13 probably has the most realistic wrestling from a WWE game. So many sections of the ring are interactive, glitches are few and far and new top rope finisher reversals are awesome. Even if you hate Randy Orton, using his RKO on a jumping opponent is sweet.
The return of the Special Referee match and King of the Ring Tournament are great and should have never been removed in the first place. The game even has a custom King of the Ring arena that looks pretty sweet.
Invest in this game if you have the chance. It's well worth it and everything that WWE '12 should have been.
WWE Raw: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Good:
Ryback: Make all the Goldberg comparisons you want, Ryback is fun to watch and anything with crowd involvement like "Feed Me More" makes the show better.
Survivor Series: It's nice to have a slow build to a traditional Survivor Series match and actually have it mean something. The next couple of weeks should have some great teaser matches.
Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena: Finally Ziggler gets a worthy opponent. Just keep building him up before he cashes in the Money in the Bank.
The Bad:
Raw Endings: Every Raw seems to end with someone getting beat up or someone standing tall. Throw us a swerve, leave us hanging for next week. Raw needs cliffhangers.
Tag Team Tournament: What a wasted chance. I understand Team Hell No is entertaining right now, but the Rhodes Scholars should have won the titles.
The Ugly:
Alberto Del Rio: Over a year ago I wrote "The Failure of Alberto Del Rio" and he still is. He's stale, his feuds are uninspired and there's a national yawn every time he enters the ring.
Zack Ryder's Whining: I was a Zack Ryder fan for the past year. His feud with Kane was entertaining and his US Title run was decent but now he's just annoying. His in-ring work is fine, but his constant "WWE is holding me back" rants on his show and Twitter are too much. Do the work, get the push.