Are you a Company Man or a Fan Favourite? That’s the question being put to the players embarking on the road to WrestleMania in WWE 2K18’s MyCAREER Mode this year.
Today 2K have announced all new details regarding WWE 2K18, with players set to choose between two very different paths within the games career mode offering. With last year’s entry receiving criticism from fans in several areas, 2K are looking to make amends, and this year players can look forward to some exciting new features such as free-roaming the backstage areas, an updated promo-generator and an enhanced MyCAREER experience.
The first of the major changes, as mentioned at the start, come to the Story & Progression. In WWE 2K18, there is a strong focus on story narrative, and with the two new distinct paths you’re guaranteed to have a story available to you to suit your playstyle.
First up is the Company Man story path. Choosing this route means sticking to what the general managers (GMs) want. You’ll be helping them get what they want out of their shows and their rosters, which will often mean partaking in potentially troublesome activities such as, conspiring backstage with your show’s GM to ambush unfavourable WWE Superstars or breaking down an ongoing interview. Whilst not the most popular route to take, being a Company Man is certainly prosperous, with opportunities arising to gain awesome upgrades, as well as more favourable run-ins and access to Vince McMahon’s office to push a persuading nudge at your preferred match card changes and title rematches.
If Company Man isn’t your style, maybe you’ll find yourself more in tune with the Fan Favourite story path. Being a fan favourite is all about making the show look great and doing it in style. It’s about putting on the best matches, making the most of the promos and earning the respect of the locker room. Being a fan favourite isn’t easy – night-in and night-out you’ll be facing the toughest opponents in different match types, and you’ll have WWE Superstars looking to push your in-ring skills and aptitude on the mic to the test. If you make it though, then you could have the perks available that come with the respect of the locker room. Impress the WWE Legends backstage and you could find in-ring perks showering down on you in each fight. Become one of the best and you could find yourself having your own custom WWE or Universal Championship, but you won’t be the twinkle in the GM’s eye.
The next big addition is the Free-Roaming Backstage. This is an addition that fans have begged for since the WWE’s glory years with WWE Smackdown Shut Your Mouth and WWE Smackdown Here Comes The Pain.
In WWE 2K18, players will have the freedom of choice when it comes to accessing the backstage areas of the show. With the backstage area filled with multiple WWE personalities such as current superstars, WWE Legends, GMs, the awesome Renee Young and even apparel tailors, there are plenty of reasons to go take a trip behind the cameras. Interacting with other WWE personalities can also bring side-quest like mini-stories into play, as well as promote the start of rivalries through ambushes or interview interruptions. There may even be the opportunity to link up with another WWE Superstar through a promo if you play your cards right.
Talking of promos, Updated Promos are another big feature within WWE 2K18. Whilst promos were an exciting new feature for WWE 2K17, the feeling of being forced to say the best choice for your character, be-it fan favourite or bad guy was a clear stumbling block when it came to freedom of choice. WWE 2K18 looks set to change things with an all new scoring system for which bases your score on how well you stuck to whatever point you wanted to make, rather than which choice you made regarding your character’s popularity.
Another major change this year can be seen in character likeness. Many of the WWE Superstars have notable traits such as the dancing habits of The New Day or the maniacal fidgeting seen with Bray Wyatt. This year many of these things will be on show with almost 200 new animations spread across multiple WWE Superstars.
The final major change announced today comes in the form of the popular MyCAREER Invasion feature. With the backstage free-roaming opening up a ton of new opportunities for players within the MyCAREER Mode, changes have also been made for MyCAREER Invasion. Players will still be able to have a career populated with friends MyCAREER characters, but they now take on more of an important role. Just like the many other WWE personalities that can be found backstage, players will also be able to interact, partner up as a dynamic tag-team and even ambush your friends characters within your MyCAREER Mode, ultimately choosing what role your friends characters take in your story.
That’s all we have for now but today’s announcements certainly sound like a step in the right direction for the WWE series. Will you be diving into the WWE 2K18 experience? Let us know in the comments below or via our usual social channels.
