Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Surprisingly good"

After being disappointed by Smackdown Vs. Raw 2008, I hadn't played a WWE game since. When I saw that THQ was doing a revamp of it's acclaimed WWE games, I decided to give it another shot. I have to say, after playing through WWE '12's Road To Wrestlemania, Universe Mode, and Create a Modes, I'm back on the WWE game bandwagon.

WWE 12's Road to Wrestlemania has been refined from the last one, which I didn't play, but this seemed to be fun. You get sucked into the WWE drama with wrestlers like Shaemus, Triple H, and your own created wrestler (who is named Jacob Cass). I'm not even a huge fan of Shaemus but the storyline was fantastic. That's how much I enjoyed. THQ can take a character that isn't popular amongst WWE fans and actually make him enjoyable. The only flaw with Road To Wrestlemania is the storylines that were written for them are actually better than any of the storylines you would see on WWE 12 programming (I stopped watching wrestling when the Attitude era ended). Other than that, I definitely enjoyed playing through the game mode.

Universe is back and revamped, with the ability to create your own shows and edit your roster. What I thought was awesome about this is that you can bring back any show you want, even WCW Nitro or ECW. With the Arena creator and logo creator, you can make your own show or just recreate an old version of a show you used to watch in the '90s (Raw is War anyone?). I liked Universe mode, but what I miss is General Manger mode, which I think is where they got the idea from (for those who don't what the mode is, it's from SvR 2007, the last good one). When they announced this game, I was hoping they'd combine the two modes. Regardless, Universe mode is fantastic, but obviously needs improvements. I'm tired of the same animation over and over again and I don't think it's necessary for my game to break up my teams without my consent.

This game has a big list of improvements, like the improved controls and the graphics. With a big list of good things, there is also bad things, a lot of them to be exact.

My biggest complaint is the Community downloads, I can usually get one download from them and then the whole thing crashes and takes me back to the main menu, which really sucks, most of the creations on Community Creations are amazing. I grabbed a classic Kane, Gangrel, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, and a well made original SmackDown arena. The people that create these things and upload them are very good at creating them. Don't expect a half-done character, expect the full thing. When I download Gangrel, the guy put in his entrance music, moves, alternate costumes and everything. I just wish Community Creations would let me through most of the time.

The online matches have been improved, with even adding in a 40 man Royal Rumble, allowing up to 12 players in to a match, which is revolutionary for a WWE game. Their were a few connections problems sometimes, but I got through smoothly.

All in all, WWE '12 is a great game, but it's not what fans were asking for. The WWE series got the overhaul it needed, but now it just needs to improve more. THQ kept their promise about being 'bigger, badder, and better than ever', but most people miss the days of WWF Wrestlemania 2000 or WWF No Mercy. They need to some how incorporate that kind of gameplay in the series and make it revolutionary again.