"Live the Revolution.” For months, THQ has hyped WWE ’13 as the next milestone in its long lineage of wrestling video games. Partly thematic, partly indicative of the publisher’s continued overhaul of its core wrestling sim franchise, the notion of a revolution is certainly a bold claim to make.

In truth, the revolution happened last year, as WWE ’12 made significant and sweeping alterations to THQ’s formula. This year’s entry doesn’t take as many risks as its predecessor, which is in some ways disappointing, yet perhaps inevitable for an annualized series. While WWE ’13 does set a defining, high bar for the modern, single-player wrestling experience.

 

THQ threw out its entire previous approach to single-player, opting for a linear, six-chapter retelling of the Attitude Era through the eyes of some of its biggest stars. A combination of excellent wrestling footage packages, in-game cutscenes and text-based descriptions help relive the spirit of the time, serving as a history lesson for new and old fans alike. Capturing this essence is critical, as wrestling is as much about theatrics as it is athletics. WWE ’13 succeeds wildly in this regard.

Just as important to its packaging of the ‘Attitude Era mode’ is the design of the campaign. A combination of primary and secondary objectives allows players to determine how they want to play. Winning a match is almost always the basic requirement, but anyone wishing to adhere a bit more to history, and recreate those moments through specific tasks, will reap the rewards through a considerable amount of unlockable content. It’s a brilliant and flexible approach, and should serve as a blueprint for all future wrestling games. Attitude Era mode is consequently WWE ’13’s most successful element by far.

The crowd noise, which for the first time incorporates samples from live audiences and WWE broadcasts, seems to have three settings - deathly quiet, noisy or extremely loud. As any true wrestling fan can tell you, the energy of a crowd can make the ordinary feel incredible, or something brilliant seem decidedly pedestrian. Eliciting that reaction, hearing that ebb and flow, is a critical part of the sport, and it’s that which WWE ’13 fails to capture. Despite the fact that the crowd in the game does more or less sound like a genuine gathering of people, strange variations fails to capture that spirit.

Online play isn’t just limited to competing in ranked and unranked matches, but extends to content sharing as well. WWE ’13 now allows players to play online with their custom creations without the need to tediously upload that content first. The actual process of sharing and accessing content could use some work, however. Though speed tests raised no issues, the actual user interface is a bit dull.
 

Despite all the bads. I enjoyed Kicking John Cena's butt around the Arena as CM Punk. and the Universe mode has gained strength since last years game. Being able to feel like the GM of Raw or Smackdown feels like the best thing. And playing legendary mode makes epic moments! Like The Miz and Santino fighting for the United States Shampionship. and Santino clutches into a roll up pin. then Miz reversing to put him in a roll up Pin. THEN SANTINO puts him in a roll up pin and wins the match... Yeah I was the Miz -_- So I give this 9.5/10.

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