You know that a franchise is slowly approaching its death bed when the follow-up is nothing but a bare bone variation of what its predecessor used to be. And WWE 2K15 is a prime example of that. 2K14 gave us the return of the quicker, arcade style gameplay that made SmackDown Vs Raw 2006 and SmackDown: Here Comes The Pain big hits over a decade ago along with 28 WrestleMania arenas. While the game was still lacking some substance, it was a big step in the right direction of an otherwise old franchise that needs a facelift. While it does get that on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, its predecessors the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 did not. Understandably so since they're much older than the newer consoles, but that doesn't excuse them from stripping 2K15 of the things that made 2K14 very entertaining.
The gameplay has not changed and for the better, but they removed camera cuts for some odd reason. Last year had WrestleMania mode, so this game gave us two modes: NXT mode and Showcase mode. NXT mode puts us in the shoes of five NXT wrestlers: Corey Graves, Sami Zayn, Bo Dallas, Rusev and Adrian Neville. Simply complete the various matches to unlock them and then go through the Proving Grounds addition which is basically Beat The Streak from WWE 2K14, only this time replacing The Undertaker with John Cena. Showcase mode takes TWO (yes, TWO) rivalries from WWE's past and puts you in the task of going through all of the matches surrounding the two men in the two rivalries that pans for two years. And what were the rivalries that they chose? Triple H and Shawn Michaels (2002 to 2004) which is a pretty good feud......and CM Punk and John Cena (2011 to 2013). Now I'm not knocking that feud at all, but I could think of a lot better feuds that they could've used. AND it doesn't help that you would have to buy the remaining showcase DLCs that are not that good at all......well, minus the Ultimate Warrior showcase which is the highlight of the whole ordeal.
WWE 2K15 on the PlayStation 3 is really not worth your time. It lacks the substance of WWE 2K14, and even WWE '13 that gave us Attitude Era mode, and all we got was nothing but bare bones. Stick with WWE 2K14 instead. An outdated roster is still miles better than a game that is just, well, there.