This game sucks! But for the record, I do not blame 2K Sports. When 2K purchased THQ, 2K was basically left with this game, a hand full of steaming, hot crap. THQ simply did not have adequate time to revamp the series. Having said that, I cannot wait until next year's iteration of the series. For now, allow me to get into why this game is awful.
Let's start with presentation. The first thing I noticed was the Superstar's entrance. The theme music during the intro sounded like a whisper compared to the blaring, authentic sounds of contemporary sports games. Even previous editions of WWE games sound more authentic. So, right off hand, the game killed my mood; I just couldn't get into that big fight spirit.
Immediately after the intro I couldn't help but notice the bland character models. Having played other 2K sports games, I knew 2K didn't have anything to do with these boxy, mechanical, and nearly one dimensional representations. Felt as if I were transported back in time to the days of Nintendo 64; except, the mechanics doesn't even come close to NWO vs WCW, the classic wrestling game for N64. Now that's sad since nearly two decades has passed since the release of NWO vs WCW.
The mechanics remind me of Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympics or some other party game. The fact that you're prompted by a Left Trigger icon indicating when to block strikes or reverse grapples takes the skill factor and realism out of the game, making the game less about strategy. It's like two adults play tic-tac-toe. Long gone are the strategic and psychological tactics similar to Paper-Rock-Scissors meets chess. I'm referring to the days when one trigger was used to counter strikes and another trigger to reverse grapples with a few other offensive and defensive tricks thrown in.
As mentioned by just about everyone else, 30 Years of Wrestlemania is the only feature that makes this game bearable, but I'd just rather rent it from Redbox for two bucks, beat it overnight, and return it the next day. I'm not critiquing any other features of this game because this review is for the hardcore wrestling gamer that desires to know how this game stacks up against prior releases. However, I have to be honest: I did not play neither WWE 12 or WWE 13 because I was so pissed at how bad Raw vs Smackdown 2011 was. I thought RvS 08 was bad, then I thought they made needed improvements with 09 and 010, but something bad wrong happened with 011, and now these newer versions are even worse.
I know you guys were not expecting WWE 2K14 to compare with No Mercy, but sadly, 2K14 isn't even on par with any of the Smackdown vs. Raw titles. I would not waste a dime on this game. Wait, I did at least waste $2 at the Redbox machine, but other than that, not a dime more; not for pre-owned, Black Friday bargins, and at a severly reduced price. I advise the same for you.