Mani-Man

There the problem is that we had with all other wrestling games...big promises but little to show for. Like they do weekly Q&A but outside of the Announce Trailer we havent seen much. Like what they say sounds nice and all, but im worried that this will end up like the other dozens of kickstarter etc wrestling games that wanted to remake and capture the AKI Games spirit. We had it too many times by now where people talked the same talk with their game and ended with nothing. Look at how much Pro Wrestling X promised, and now? I dont even know where this stands. Of course im hyped for more wrestling games, but im cautious too.

The Wrestling Code now has the chance to hit the sweet spot with the knowledge of how people feel about WWE and AEW games. If its not all just Smoke and Mirrors on their end, we really could get here a third incredible cool wrestling game. It will be interesting to see. We are in a great timeline. We will see how 2k reacts to AEW, we will see how AEW will evolve their game and we will see what they do with The Wrestling Code...cool times for Wrestling game fans.

This yeah. Like sure you can tell that the lack of Content in FF will be a problem down the line, but that is mainly because the WWE games give us so much and even there this is still not enough. Many people openly buy the wwe games just because of creation suite...that is no secret nor do we need to act like this is not true. Like many buy these games yearly just because they are in feds, because they are caw creators who maybe earn a bit money from it etc. Few buy them actually because they like to play. Im not saying there is nobody out there that enjoys the gameplay, but the big part is content and customization...that is just a fact. Even the MyFaction mode they by now focus a lot of time on is proof of that. Look at the gameplay there and see that its never about gameplay. You repeat the same tasks over and over again, 10 heavy attacks, taunt, finisher etc every match. The rest is...just win. Its all about the stuff outside of the gameplay itself, collecting and getting new cards etc. Look at the showcase mode, a mode that barely lets you play because it doesnt trust you to have fun. Gameplay is not King in the WWE series. Does it need to be? Comes down to. Im not saying buying the game just for creation suite is wrong, because it isnt. But there is no doubt that for 2k/VC the basic gameplay is an afterthought while in FF it was meant to be the focus. And again, isnt that in the end cool too? Like again, we got here two games with two different focus. One lacks gameplay but has tons of content, one has the gameplay but lacks content...two fun games we can play for different reasons. And the best case scenario is that both companies work on fixing where they lack to give us the best possible games...so we win either way.

Hm, i dont know...what wwe2k is i cant even tell to be honest. Like the Combo feature is clearly meant to give more arcady feeling to it...but the game at the same time on everything is slow and tedious. I really cant say which direction the 2k games go. They are in a weird place with their game. It is slow and tries with many sliders to feel realistic, but then much of the flow is broken. Again something as simple as grabbing and opponent and dragging them to the ropes is in wwe2k a very tedious thing that just doesnt feel "realistic" it just feels slow for the sake of it. But i also dont think AEW is one or the other. It doesnt feel super arcady to me because there is a lot where you can slow down and do simulation like matches. While at the same time having a certain speed and flow that is not built for 15-20 minute matches. Both games have their gameplay strengths and weaknesses, that is for sure. Maybe its because the gameplay is pretty much the same for years and i always disliked how slow it felt...but i prefer the AEW gameplay over the wwe2k gameplay by a lot. I like the wwe2k games reversal more, the pin and submission systems, the basic movement in the wwe games is feeling just a bit more free, the running in FF is a bit clunky. I love the whole sound design of the AEW so much, the moves all sound very good...the mat has a good sound and all that. I like WWEs referee more, feels more responsive and lifely. There are here and there things the wwe games does that has potential, but the basic gameplay just isnt it for me for years, so AEW feels better on that. Like all these details and sliders do little for me, i just dont enjoy PLAYING WWE2k games...and on that i dont care simulation or arcade, the basic gameplay is just not working for me at all.

Im having way more fun than i had PLAYING Matches than in the last 5-6 years with WWE, and that is enough to me. It will not be enough over a long period of time of course, because in the end, like many, im in for the creative aspect and even broken and shitty...wwe2k delivers that more than any other game. But i will find myself going back quite often if i want to have actual fun wrestling matches. There is just so much that is working gameplay wise that can with adjustments and content...be incredible. The thing i notice more and more is that WWE2k is just slow and tedious to play when it doesnt need to. Like a lot of the stuff in AEW doesnt even feel super Arcady, just responsive and uncomplicated. Like you said, the lock up...i can actually move in it without pressing a button that then goes into a slow drag mode. I go into the lock up and can fast go behind the opponent, push them into the ropes and so on. The game feels very fluid and responsive. And the thing i noticed with this now is that they made wwe2k slow to make it seem realistic...but it isnt. Its slow to make it seem like. A lot of the movement etc i noticed, is just slowed down because there is no weight to them. So many moves that they sped up or slowed down to make it feel like they are heavy and realistic. Which i find weird thinking about it, considering they do motion capture. There are so many small details etc that make AEW feel more alive because it allows itself to embrace the fighting game idea of it. The WWE games are a bit locked in with having to deliver a simulation etc. In the end, we got two good wrestling games to choose...playing this stupid, childish Tribalism on this, is just dumb. Like i was playing Fight Forever yesterday for a few hours, then put in WWE2K and worked on Caws...like that is cool.

Allstars? When i can i throw it in and play...its so fun. When i want to have fun matches etc, i throw all kinds of Wrestling games in before i play 2k23...that is just how boring the series has become to play for me. And now there is the AEW game that does that too. In the end of the day, having fun playing a game is super important to me. As much as i like doing CAWS etc, i want to actually play wrestling games once in a while and the wwe series just sucks at that to me. I cant remember the last time i actually had fun doing matches in a WWE2k game...maybe 12? Like the gameplay isnt broken or so, it is just boring and sterile. Anything that can scratch the itch, that is where i am. I was hoping the AEW game could deliver on the creation suite too so that many dont need to rely on the wwe2k games anymore...because many do buy the games mainly just for creation suite. So i was hoping this game could deliver on that front too so 2k/VC would need to step up their game. Anyway, 20% cheaper and on PC, AEW Fight Forever is a good deal i think. We dont know how much they update this game going forward so going with PC where modding is possible...is a good idea.

Even more here, they do all the Animations etc via Hand...so it Takes twice as long to finish a Wrestler...being outdated was always a thing. Now they have a bit more room because the core AEW are all done, now its easier to add New wrestlers. But Yeah, a great caw Mode would have been needed to make up for it or in general. Because here is my Problem, we get this comicy graphics, which i like...but we dont Benefit at all from them. There is no super large caw Mode, we cant really Edit existing aew wrestlers, we dont have more than 4 people on screen, no crazy Match types or so. What we got, we could have gotten with a super realistic graphic too, and that Kind of bothers me because they dont take advantage of a graphic that doesnt need as much resources.

That for sure...gameplay it absolutely delivers. Here and there it stumbles a bit, but overall the gameplay is miles ahead of the WWE series. It flows well and you can tell it has not been broken by many years of adding, replacing, changing it. Feels fresh and engaging to the point i played my first online matches since forever and had fun. That would be something 2k would offer via Unlocker or so...for a price of course. Would be neat to be able to buy these skills etc instead of going through RTE with every character...seems a very tedious thing that shouldnt be needed imo. That is one thing i found super annoying because i too wanted to give Andrade additional moves. Anway...game overall is good, but lacks content...a lot. Alone the absolutely basic create mode...man that sucks big time. Like they didnt even give you the stuff of the AEW wrestlers. That alone would elevate this a bit more, but nope...the most basic create modes...i think only battlegrounds offered less than this. Which is simply such a huge problem because the WWE2k series made it so we can only enjoy the creation suite where it offers a incredible amount of content. They failed at everything else, but the creation suite is unmatched. For AEW to offer then something this basic...that is kind of crazy. The biggest problem in General is lack of content for AEW...thats all it is. The Foundation is there and it all works well, feels fresh and is good. The games biggest problem simply is lack of content. Sure the lack of content is super huge...i mean Suuuuper huge. Like there are missing match types and delivering such a basic create mode to a community that keeps games alive thanks to creativity is weird as hell...but the game is not on its foundation bad. If they can deliver 10 no 100x the content, then this has absolutely the Foundation to stay for a long time.

Really hyped for this week. After a fantastic Forbidden Door show, we get Regular AEW and then the Release of the AEW Game...great time to be a AEW fan for sure.

So much cool material released the last 2 days. The Exploding Barbedwire Deathmatch looks so fun. Creation suite barebones, i hope they build up on that fast, but its not a deal breaker. But its sad to see how that part is what some most focus on and shows how awful 2k really is. They have ruined everything else to the point where people can not grasp that Wrestling games are supposed to be played. 2k ruined all game modes, gameplay and perception of what a Wrestling game is supposed to be, to the point where this creative community only had the creation suite left. Now you got here a game that focuses on the part that 2k actively weakened, and that is good. Comes down to how the after launch support looks for AEW. As fun as this all looks, they will not be able to hold people with just that. The Create modes need to be upgraded fast and a lot because otherwise people will not stick around 2-3 years. The community is just a incredible creative one, you have to give them the tools to be that...especially since the focus for years was on creating wrestlers, arenas, titles etc...you can not ignore that part of the community, that would be fatal.

In case people havent seen it yet, the Tag Team matches look like they could be fun this year. You got a lot of positions you can do tag moves from, you can pull the rope down, put manually your foot on the turnbuckle so that your tag partner can throw the opponent into it. One of the things i hate the most in the wwe games is how they made the tag matches a absolutely boring thing. Super lifeless and empty. So this looks like it could make tag matches fun again.

Not yet and by now i expect only the most basic of create modes. Something along the lines of No Mercy, barebones mode. There was a Fightful article i believe that claims that Internal people in AEW are not happy with how little options the mode allegedly gives. So i wouldnt expect too much for the base game. Maybe future updates will help elevate the mode, but for now i really only expect the most basic create modes that dwarf next to WWE2ks.

The older he gets, the more he looks like one you totally expect to be some MAGA dirtbag. Super sad to see, the amount of love i had for Kane for a long time is completely gone. Disappointed in this guy.

Not really sadly. We saw one created goofy caw and the ingame shop with items for it. So far no In-Mode material. The Model looks neat yeah. Cool to see him in the game. Not a huge fan of his earlier look so i hope we get a second attire for him...but incredible cool to see him in a game again. Hard to say, currently there float around some screenshots of the ingame shop and it seems there you can at least buy new attires/Models for some. There they had more modern Young Bucks Models. So at the very least i think additional attires could be a thing. Of course editing in-game models would be super cool, but i wouldnt hold my breath for it.

I hope we get proper Weapons Physics. Because as cool as those 40 or so weapons are, if i cant interact with them...it sucks. The Table physics arent super good, tables fall easily and stuff...that needs fixing. The Material we saw the last few days seem to be of an early build, so its possible that a lot of the stuff is flowing even better than right now. Either way, i still feel like that the one thing holding this game back, will be the lack of Image Uploading and Community Creations. And i dont get why there is not a bigger focus on this. Like even the last one should be aware of how incredible important the Creation Suite is for the WWE games. Many only buy the yearly WWE games because of it...so its weird not to put a lot of focus on this aspect. I feel like this will be one of the problems this game will face in terms of Longevity...that and a possible bad DLC Policy. But outside of this, we are looking at a game that can be a lot of fun and work as a great base for Future AEW games.

The Creation Suite is really the only thing that keeps me going back to the WWE games. I just dont have any fun playing the game and that is the worst. Like the gameplay gives me nothing, there is no spark or anything. It feels so empty and lifeless. I go into the creation suite and do stuff, then when i wanna have actual fun matches, i rather play Wrestling Revolution on my Smartphone or Emulator because that stuff just is more fun to play. And that is sad considering the years i played the Smackdown series.

New Videos of the Bucks and an updated Eddie Kingston. Seems the version that was at this Content Creator event was rather old. Even the TNT Title looks far better now. The Models on a basic level look really really good. Part of me is curious how this would look with a more realistic style...but i still love the visuals of Fight Forever as they are. The Springboard Canadian Destroyer looks a bit too fast but the animation is really neat. In General i like a lot of the hand animated moves, something about them even if a bit clunky etc feel better than Mocap for some reason. Anyway, still good footage and im so hyped.

A few new small things been released, loving the chain wrestling etc stuff. Miro gets a really great Model while Eddie Kingston...well its not Booker T wwe12 levels of bad or Dana Brook/Lita...but its bad. And i dont get it. They all got scanned and stuff, how can there be such a difference in Models? Even wwe2k23 has this problem where some models look incredible and some not...why?

It is a bit like with Football games, NBA etc...its about the details. Like you said, it is about making the gameplay feel rewarding and all. And i feel that is where the 2k games just lack to me. Mainly that is a flavor thing, some like gameplay aspects and some dont. Its again why i love that this game goes a different route, because it gives wrestling fans that want a game to feel different than the 2k games, the option. And that is the best to me because i can sit here and play different wrestling games who focus on giving me different wrestling games experience instead of there just being one. If i dont like something on this game, i go to a different for a different experience. In the end, personally...i win in this either way.

So they had a Live Stream yesterday with quite a lot of footage...actual Gameplay footage not overly cut together. Full Matches and stuff. And again, i look at this gameplay and its just fun, i want to play it myself. That is my most important thing...that i have fun playing. It is what the WWE2k series is lacking. I dont want to play matches, watch matches...because it all feels so sterile and boring. Maybe that is due to the fact we have the same gameplay style etc since what? WWE12? After so many years even the combo feature doesnt help make the gameplay more exciting. Its why i play recently a lot of old Wrestling games, especially Gamecube or still go back to Fire Pro. Like i only do caws in the WWE series, i have no interest in playing. Its pretty much dressing up models, that is all i do because the rest of the game is just not fun. But this game just looks like i will have fun with it, will play it a ton because its fun to play.

Finally a Release Date...and its relative soon finally. Absolutely looking forward to it. The Marketing is awful, there is no room to say otherwise. I hope this picks up in the next weeks. Like we dont even have the full Roster yet. No Community Creations sucks a lot considering the create modes in the game. Dont get why they dont have one when you can create arenas and stuff. The Rest, i like. Been playing a lot of Old school Wrestling games, especially the Gamecube games and the gameplay still is so incredible fun. As i always say, what good does 2k23s Graphics when the game is buggy and lifeless? Nothing. But you cant change the perception on this. A boring talking point used over and over and over again. I said this before, i will give them the Free pass for this game. I will pay the full price for this once, this they have earned because what i see looks fun and that is my main focus for a wrestling game. But they need to deliver in the future, after the launch. If i dont see them evolve what i think is a "Foundation Game", then i will not be a full price customer in the future. But for now im really happy that next month is the Release of the very first AEW console game.

I wouldnt say worse, its more that they shifted to somewhere else. Like some stuff is fixed, but then other stuff is stupidly broken for no real reason. To me, surprisingly its less the bugs and glitches that are a problem and more stuff that is by design not working. Its stuff like Title belts not going under jackets of caws, its stuff like one set of hair or beard not working with clothing yet other longer/bigger stuff working. In General i would say that seems to be the problem mainly for most. Outside of create an arena problems, i see very little bugs and glitches talk...its more the usual annoyance the community has for years. The servers, the limitations in terms of slots and so on...but the game itself seems to run more solid for many.

Never a dull day with Punk involved. There is no reason to bring Steel back at all...and if Punk demands that, *censored*ing get rid of Punk. This shit is just insane at this point. These are grown ass people and they act like god damn children. Someone has to put their foot down and make hard decision. Get your shit together and make a ton of money...how freaking hard is that?

Seems the release is close. Achievements, preload...could be that june 29 is the date. Its about time, this is kind of messy. The Marketing on this and all, is worse than the wwe2k series...and i cant believe i say this. Like, when first announced they talked about it as being this huge investment and important part of going forward with AEW. But where? The Marketing so far was horrible. Not even that the game looks bad or so, just how they try to sell it is so absolutely awful.

As i always say, there are so many small and big issues in this game that should be addressed but barely anybody talks about. And then we get Free Superstars and some fans act like we should fall to our knees and pray to 2k/VC for giving us free characters that should have been in the game day 1. I long ago gave up on tag team matches because its little fun with the mechanics and the awful AI, but i would love to do more tag team stuff for sure.