WWE ’12

Game Info

When it comes to the button mashing repetition of wrestling games, no developer has done it better or longer than Yuke’s. In the developer’s 11 years of creating WWE games, it’s no doubt that WWE ’12 is definitely the most interesting game in sports entertainment today.

Re-creating the artistic aggressiveness of professional wrestling can be a tricky thing, and in past attempts, pro wrestling games felt more like an arcade brawler than a squared circle simulation. Yuke’s definitely gets it right with their use of Predator Technology, and engine that creates some of the most realistic body movements seen in any fighting game to date. This technology not only makes every move feel crushing and powerful through body movement, but creates bounce and movement with the ring and ropes unlike any wrestling not utilizing this engine.

Yuke’s definitely gives offers plenty of opportunities to showcase this awesome technology in a slew of game modes. Your typical match types are still available, singles, handicaps, cage matches and tables, ladders and chairs. The most enjoyable of modes is the WWE Universe mode. This mode is a more simplified season mode, giving you the opportunity to wrestle in all of WWE’s brand name shows, and allowing you the freedom to place any wrestler into any match with any stipulation. What’s nice about WWE Universe is the automatic storyline creation. Your acts in and out of the ring can influence your allegiance and rivalries with other wrestlers, causing you to face or help those wrestlers throughout the season.

WWE ’12 comes chock full of unlockables including costume pieces, championship belts and wrestlers. However, this is also where Yuke’s fails, as these features are unlocked through your progression of the Road to Wrestlemania mode.

In Road to Wrestlemania, you automatically take on the role of a wrestler, while progressing their rise to the top through pre-determined events, such as interfering in a match or attacking someone backstage. Of course, you’ll face off against someone in a rare match, culminating to a bout at WrestleMania. What makes Road to Wrestlemania truly difficult is the game’s inherited difficulty.

It’s clear that Yuke’s wanted to create the most realistic simulation of professional wrestling that there is, and they definitely achieve that. Unfortunately, while the constant back and forth sharing of advantages is great for the small screen, it creates a completely frustrating experience for a video game. Reversals are all too common for your opponent AI, while seem all but possible to achieve when you try to defend yourself. It’s best to play around with the game’s difficulty sliders to create a wrestling experience that best its your style of gameplay, as well as your enjoyment of the sport.

One thing that Yuke’s never fails at is the creation mode. From creating your perfect incarnation of a WWE superstar, to creating the greatest finisher or coolest intro video, you will spend hours and hours tooling and customizing your created superstar for perfection. With all the tools at your disposal to create essentially any wrestler past or present, who has time for that kind of customization? Yuke’s answers that question with the most ingenious feature in WWE ’12: WWE Online AXXESS.

Online AXXESS makes an amazing return, allow you to save time by downloading created superstars from other WWE ’12 gamers. Online AXXESS also gives you access to an interesting range of custom made downloads, such as custom move sets and custom rings.

Yuke’s definitely delivers a powerful performance with WWE ’12. Aside from being filled to the brim with amazing content, the fluidity of the Predator technology,coupled with Yuke’s attention to detail are what make WWE ’12 the greatest wrestling game to date.