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WCW's Nintendo 64 legacy lives again, in mod form
Growing up, my friends and I were obsessed with Nintendo 64 wrestling games. That was all thanks to THQ, the AKI Corporation, and their AKI Engine. The AKI Engine made playing as your favorite on-screen personality simple yet refined, introducing a grappling system that allowed you to perform moves a heck of a lot easier than the Mortal Kombat-level button input-system other games used. Each wrestler had individual specials, taunts, and submission moves that reminded you of who they were supposed to represent, and lent itself to a variety of gameplay tactics depending on who you chose.
WCW stars invade WWE 2K15 in wrestling game's first DLC
In this corner, from Atlanta, Georgia, weighing in at over 400 megabytes, is the first post-launch DLC for WWE 2K15: a pack featuring five stars of the squared circle who made their names in World Championship Wrestling. Included in the DLC are Fit Finlay (complete with classic, long-haired brawler outfit), Lex Luger, Bam Bam Bigelow, Lord Steven Regal (before he left for WWE and changed his name to William), and, of course, the latter-day face of WCW, Diamond Dallas Page. Each boasts a full complement of personalized wrestling moves, customized entrance animations and a rough approximation of their real-life abilities. The WCW character pack is priced at $8. Today also marks the debut of the Sting and Hulk Hogan DLC characters for those players who didn't receive the duo by pre-ordering WWE 2K15. Each wrestler is priced at $3 and includes two variants, one from the day-glo early-90s and one from the more "edgy" NWO era. Additionally, DLC featuring WWE Diva Paige is now available to those who purchased the WWE 2K15 season pass, though there's no word on when this DLC will reach the public. [Image: 2K Games]
Get double the Sting for pre-ordering WWE 2K15
Iconic WCW wrestler Sting was revealed as a pre-order bonus for WWE 2K15 during last night's episode of Monday Night Raw. Both Sting's blonde-haired "surfer" gimmick from the late 1980s and early 1990s as well as his black and white-painted "crow" outfit will be available to play in the game by pre-order customers. WWE 2K15 will launch October 28 in North America and October 31 internationally for Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360 and PS3. It's the first WWE game to debut on the next-generation systems, and also the first to be co-developed by series veterans Yukes and Visual Concepts, developer of the NBA 2K basketball series. The game's cover will feature John Cena, though it's unknown if 2K Sports will wise up and put Sting on the cover for pre-order buyers. [Image: 2K Sports]
WWE Network app struts down console, mobile ramps today
The WWE Network app is now available on PS4, PS3 and Xbox 360. Announced in January, the subscription-based service gives viewers access to over a thousand hours of wrestling on-demand video content spanning the WWE's lengthy history, including archived WCW and ECW events. Subscribers also gain access to future WWE programming, including all 12 of the brand's monthly pay-per-view events such as SummerSlam and WrestleMania. In addition to the home consoles, the app also launched on iOS, Android, Kindle Fire and Roku today. Those looking to spring for the $9.99 per month subscription to watch the Attitude Era all over again will need to commit to six months with the service at minimum. Xbox 360 owners are also required to have an Xbox Live Gold subscription to use the WWE Network app. Xbox One owners will gain access to the app this summer alongside other devices. The app was developed in partnership with Major League Baseball Advanced Media, the professional baseball league's creator of the MLB.TV service and the upcoming return of the RBI Baseball series. [Image: WWE]
WWE 13 review: Gimme a hell yeah
Pro wrestling is all about details. Devoted fans know the nuances of some of the biggest moments in the business' history well, from the formation of the Brothers of Destruction to Stone Cold Steve Austin soaking Vince McMahon in beer. A video game that dives into the rich history of the WWE is forced to reconcile all the details of the entertainment product. WWE 13 often meets those expectations, but is not the best there is, was, or ever will be.Much like past games, WWE 13 continues to push the illusion of wrestling, which is perfectly acceptable. It's a combat game with fighting mechanics, and some of those mechanics have been cleaned up since last year. One-button reversals now have an added indicator to tell you if your trigger finger is too fast or too slow (based on the small window to execute reversals, it often is). The "OMG" moments addition provide spectacular, albeit circumstantial events that can turn the tide of matches – things like trucking an opponent through the outside barrier by the crowd or heavier opponents actually causing the ring to collapse. Aside from these improvements, the in-ring action hasn't seen much change; players seem to transition a little more smoothly between moves, and most of the buggy, "jarring" animations in WWE 12 were cleaned up. Wrestling feels largely the same in this game, just a touch more fluid.%Gallery-167489%
WWE All-Stars review: Larger than life
In the last decade, wrestling video games have done an exceptional job of recreating the dense rules, convoluted dramas and worn bodies that comprise the popular television enterprise that entertains the red meat-eating swath of America. It is a strange, slightly silly pursuit: creating a realistic replica of a fantasy. And yet, developers and publishers have, without asking why, fed us real-fake wrestling games, where punches whiff and luchadores disappointingly obey the laws of gravity. WWE All-Stars, the latest wrestling game from THQ, sounds, in name alone, like another addition to this long, dull line of reality-fantasy-simulators. It's not: Its wrestlers are brawny theme park caricatures; its drama is shallow and direct; and its rules are nonexistent. %Gallery-114622%
