WWE '12 steps up its game over its predecessors, but occasional glitches and horrible hit detection ruin the game.
Gone is the usage of the right-analog stick to perform grapples. Everything now is centered around the four face buttons, reminiscence of the old games with the right stick's only purpose to switch the directions of a downed or groggy opponent. Also, the speed has increased a bit, seeing as how in the beginning portions of a match, an individual gets off the mat rather quickly than normal giving each match a tiny bit of a fast-paced feeling. This makes WWE '12 feel a lot like SmackDown 2006 the more and more you play. Also implemented into the gameplay is 'Limb Target.' Simply grab your opponent and hold 'L1' to show a dummy image of their limbs. From there, press the respective button near the dummy to attack either the head, both arms and legs for a more strategic approach in your matches, especially if your wrestler of choice or created wrestler is a submission specialist. For example: Alberto Del Rio's finisher is the Cross Armbreaker...and even though a lot of moves revolves around wearing down the arms of his opponent, 'Limb Target' makes it even easier and faster to wear them down and find an appropriate setup to the Cross Armbreaker, adding more depth to a game that quite frankly needed it for so long.
The abilities from 2009 are back again with some of the old ones gone and a brand new one: Comeback. A wrestler with this ability should not be played with. No sooner do they receive a lot of damage, noticeably when their health turns red, they immediately pop up and go on the attack. Similar to the 'Kip-Up' ability, landing a successful attack after activating Comeback starts a three-part quicktime event (similar to Hot Tag introduced in 2009 as well). Failing to perform this results in a reversal and at the mercy of your opponent, but successfully performing one gives you maximum momentum enabling you to turn the tide of a match to your favor in a heartbeat, again adding more depth to the game.
Another overhaul to WWE '12 is the presentation, most noticeably the HUD. The usual land an attack, counter and taunt formula to boost momentum stays true here yet the return of multiple finishers return again. This time, the amount of 'charisma' has determines how many finishers they can store at once, so pretty much you can have up to 3 of them primed and ready to squash your adversary. Also, keep in mind that momentum does not go down in WWE '12 even when you are dominating, giving you that little bit of cautiousness in the mere thought of your opponent hitting a finisher from nowhere and ending the match even when you were dominating. Yes, unlike last year's game where you could see a finisher coming from MILES away, they're back to the usual 'counter or be finished' movement like all the games in the past since 2006.
Executing a finisher has never been any easier: simply press Triangle when you're in the correct position. Two new features for them are the 'Super Finisher' and 'Wake-Up' taunt. Successfully filling your momentum gives you a small amount of time to perform a devastating Signature move to weaken the opponent, thus activating a Super Finisher. These are signified by a burning 'F' by the momentum bar and a lot more powerful than regular finishers so hitting them is crucial. Enter the Wake-Up taunt. Press up on the D-Pad to taunt your opponent, causing them to automatically get off the ground groggy and put them in perfect position for a finisher. Failing to do it will result in your finisher being lost. Not executing a Signature will result in a normal finisher. Having your finisher countered, however, will result in the opponent earning a Super Finisher themselves and can easily turn the tide around of any match.
Don't expect WWE '12 to be a pushover because the A.I has also been revamped for the better. It is much more aggressive, counters a lot more and at times a bit smarter than before (even on Easy). This is good. Too long have we been playing matches against numbed-down A.I in the past, so one that can actually provides a challenge for a bit is a nice breath of fresh air for a semi-dying series.
If competing in the ring with the over 60 wrestlers in the game is not your style, creating your own league of them may just be it. Create mode has once again been revamped with extra content to make the perfect creation all the way to the moveset itself. The facial structure of the CAWs are a bit more realistic, the entrances (most particularly the music) is enhanced to give an 'arena' feel to it, new moves have been added, struggle submissions have returned to the 'tap' button feature of old as opposed to the cheap 'pull and hold' stick trick. The only downside of Create Mode this year is Story Designer which is the same as 2011 and does not work half of the time. Create-an-Entrance now has a custom titantron feature for CAWs and the much-requested Create-An-Arena makes its debut here. It's fun to make your own arena to your likings, though the mere presence of the generic HD entrance set (which cannot be edited at all) will usually ruin several attempts at recreating an old-school arena of the 80s and 90s. Other favorites like the Highlight Reel is also here too.
Nevertheless, WWE '12 is slightly better than its other multi-platform titles of old and gameplay wise could be just as good as the 2006 edition. Unfortunately all of that is easily hampered by the amount of problems that plagued the series for years that still make their ugly presence in this game. Hit detection is just as bad as before, making the Springboard and Outside dives abilities almost useless. Occasional glitches. The rag doll effects from last year (which were a nice touch) are poorly done this year....so yes, no longer can you watch John Cena quiver in pain after slamming onto a chair multiple times. Other problems usually occur more online when the servers do not want to work. Also, users of the Highlight Reel would have to live through the 'hair glitch' for CAWs again.
Even Road To WrestleMania is a major disappointment. Half of the time you'll be watching cutscenes and involved in several backstage brawls that rinse and repeat at every turn.....and when you DO have a match during RTW, it often ends with a command prompt and......yes, a cutscene. Quite the disappointment indeed.
After all the hype for WWE '12, Yukes nailed it with the gameplay but failed miserably when it came to presentation and ignoring the constant problems that plagued the series for YEARS. If you are a fan of the WWE and its game, this should be a no brainer. However, a rental is the best way to go with this game.