In true spirit of the John "U Can't See Me" Cena showcase and promotional material, 2k games have literally FU'd the entire game by delisting it from the store. While it is safe to assume this is simply 2k attempting to promote their newer games, it may also be due to the fact this game has Brock Lesner and his recent controversies have lead to this game being deep sixed.

So, you either have this came from a sale or you have committed a mortal sin and bought it for nearly 2,000 USD from a grey market key site. Either way, is the hype worth it?

Well, all I can say is, if you have this game, its fun and has a grotesque amount of content. It is far from the glory days of the absolute peak of video gaming, that being, the Raw vs Smackdown games that still haunt gamer's nostalgic dreams much like how old heads like me still fantasize about the '98 Attitude era.

I love wrestling, I don't watch it as avidly as I used to, but I still watch a lot of youtube channels on the legacy of this unique form of sports entertainment and despite being someone with an MMA background myself, I still think wrestling is the best entertainment of this sort and the games... oh man, the games used to be the stuff of legends. 2k did good with this game, although it does suffer from some heinous faults.

Primarily, the objectibe-based, scripted matches in MyRISE and the John Cena showcase. Turning wrestling into a chore is always a bad idea and frankly, the showcase mode for this game would benefit much more from being a straight up documentary, as actually playing it is vomit inducingly dull and boring. Some of the objectives are straight busted, like in one certain MyRISE mode for the lady's division, LEGACY, where I had to do a dirty pin on a character to progress to the final part of the plot arc. It took 2 tries and twenty minutes each, simply because the ref would always catch the dirty-pin mid count no matter how absurd the angle. Little things like that make the game very unfun.

There was also a part in the LOCK, the male centric side of myRISE, that took place in the 2k studios doing mocap. This part was so insanely dull and unfun, that it alone makes me not recommend the LOCK story at all.

Most of my gameplay was playing both myRISE modes and I have to say, they are interesting but their linear nature surely pull away from how immersed you can be. MyCAREER is where you want to go to really roleplay as your own wrestler. The LOCK story starts off humorous and quickly shows how unpolished it is compared to the vastly superior LEGACY story. LOCK forces you to play an unlikable character surrounded by infinitely more likable characters from 2k's alternate universe, game setting (Chosen and Meilee Fan being absolutely GOATED and frankly, should have been the main characters of these modes) and forced through some fictional promotion matches outside of the WWE that were absolute slop and filler.

LEGACY meanwhile, is a very strong, if not cringe story at times, about the struggles of the women wrestlers in the business. In some surprising nuance and actually good writing, the game appropriately critiques and challenges aspects of the Divas division that was sold largely on sex appeal and fan service, while also paying honest tribute to the starts that helped WWF beat WCW and also, the genuine athletes of the women's division and how they paved the road for the superstars of today. And honestly, there is something very enduring about a story that can look at some parts of the wrestling world with heavy handed critique but also a firm handshake to some of the all time greats in the business in a tasteful manner.

Honestly surprising to see the women's division get so much focus. It truly is a new era and while I appreciate the Diva era (we also forget that Chyna was an absolute unit and could compete with many of the guys), I do appreciate the athletes of the current division a lot for what they are able to achieve and will do so. Not a surprising opinion from me though, in terms of modern wrestling, I'm an avid fan of STARDOM's Japanese Joshi star, Starlight Kid and Hana Kimura (RIP), but also proper respect to Asuka for making it big in the WWE.

The wrestler customization is top tier and one of the best in gaming, as is to be expected. And I also topped off my playthrough of this game of painstakingly recreating Jean Claude Van Damm and Steven Seagal for a showdown at WCW Halloween Havoc. Other than that, made El Desperado as well.

A great game, now forever delisted and this review - doomed to be a recreational blurb.

But really, even though a very new generation of wrestlers dominate this era and its far different from what I grew up with, I am glad that sports entertainment has reached this peak of popularity and that while these games may never be nearly as good as the Smackdown vs Raw days, at least the kids these days are building some pleasant memories, fulfilling self insert wrestling fantasies and grinding to unlock some of the all time greats, like the Attitude era late 90s RAW characters and venues.

What WWE game would be complete with Stone Cold, masked Kane and the Undertaker? And of course, Eddie and Rey for the post 2000s crowd. Hell, WCW, ECW and etc get both shade and admiration from this game. It truly has something for everyone (of course, no Chris Benoit, lol)

In conclusion, frustrating as all hell when being forced to stick to the script, but when it lets you play - it lets you go all out. Addictive and fun when it just let's you wrestle.

awesome

I mean Its IAght