WWE 2K19: 10 Entrances They Must Get Right
Good luck getting The Undisputed Era right...
With WWE 2K19's global release now just over six weeks away (9 October), the hype machine is in full flow, and the roster roll-out is well underway.
68 names have already been unveiled. The list is far from complete, and the coming weeks will be packed with new announcements, but it already looks like a typically healthy mix of legends and current stars. Still, these names mean nothing if the developers don't nail their digital representation, and with Bayley, Sheamus, and Kevin Owens looking little like they do in real-life last year, 2K and Yuke's have much work to do.
Glossy presentation has always been one of 2K Games' strong points, but recreating the live atmosphere of a buzzing wrestling arena is tricky. This is particularly true during ring entrances. A wrestler's walk-out is often one of their biggest crowd-popping moments, and while the 2K team usually do a good job capturing them, they risk undermining a character if they don't get his or her grand arrival right.
A well-coded, true-to-life ring entrance is critical to a wrestler's in-game authenticity. Mess this tricky examples up, and the characters will feel like CAWs...
10. The Bar
Sheamus and Cesaro have been shunted down the tag team pecking order in 2018, but they remain one of WWE's most dependable tandems, and their grand ring entrance is among the business' most dazzling.
Though 2K did a solid job of capturing the spectacle in 2K18, the entrance has evolved since then. Gone is Cesaro's suit and goofy lifeguard-looking t-shirt, with both men now sporting kilts, military jackets, and aviator shades. Rather than doing their own thing, they now pose at the top of the stage after going back-to-back, then walk down the ramp with an arm around each other, before climbing into the ring, hitting a corner, and running through their signature poses.
It's among WWE's most choreographed walk-outs, and as important as any move in The Bar's arsenal. The good news it that the game engine is better suited to slower, more considered ring entrances, but the developers still need to nail a lot of individual segments, with the initial burst of light at the top of the ramp the most important. Let's hope each gets the same level of care and attention.