7. Submission Struggles
Something 2K Games have thrived on is making WWE video games feel like more realistic experiences. Simulation is the name of the game for the company, who believe people want a wholly accurate digital representation of what they watch on weekly WWE television. There's definitely some merit to that argument, but sometimes attempts at realism can take away from the fact that video games should be fun. The current submission mini-game involved moving a player-controlled bar around a circle with one of the thumbsticks, either attempting to catch or evade an opponent's one. It sounds fine in theory, and should lead to some exciting tussles - especially with other players - but it actually takes away from the experience after a while. There's a lack of urgency, and that's not something people should be feeling whilst locked in a deadly submission. In some older games, submissions were more simple. There was either a system in place to simply wriggle the sticks wildly, or there was button-mashing. Some may argue that gaming has moved on from frantically hammering buttons on a pad, but there's a sense of pace to it that works well for submissions. In Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain, each player hammered to try and creak towards either 'Submit' or 'Escape', and it was excellent.