Home Gaming WWE 2K16 is finally fixing the Reversal system

WWE 2K16 is finally fixing the Reversal system

3 min read
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WWE 2K16 Yes

I wasn’t too enamoured with WWE 2K15. Sure, it looked great, but it was missing a certain something. Or by reckoning, a lot of somethings.

WWE 2K15 was pretty much the poster-child for that awkward growth spurt between platforms, when the transition can be rougher than cheap toilet paper or Kunaki’s win-loss record on Smackdown. Which is something that hopefully won’t be seen in WWE 2K16.

This year, the franchise is aiming to put some meat back on its frame, with a massive roster that is comprised of 120 superstars. 120 in-ring performers, who all bring their own brand of identity to the squared circle.

And not just a different gimmick, as Cody Rhodes and Stardust should not count as separate individuals with slightly tweaked movesets. WWE 2K16 also looks like it’s going deeper into the simulation of creating sports entertainment.

According to IGN, chain-grappling is back, which will result in players using more transitions and grapples that accurately reflect the style of the WWE performer that they’re using. Superstar attributes now mean that you can break a grapple with pure strength or a quick poke to the eyes.

Working grapples will allow the wrassler who initiates it to regain some stamina, at the expense of his opponent.

One of the bigger changes however? Reversals?

The WWE 2K games have long struggled with this mechanic, as either nailing it allows for players to faithfully duck out of harms way, or more often than not, endure an endless stream of physical abuse after constantly mistiming the god-like reflexes needed to pull one off.

Reversals are now a limited resource, a gameplay mechanic that players will only regenerate slowly over time as a match wages on.

With the new system , players can actually cancel out of a reversal in its initial state and bounce back by reversing a big damage move in the middle of it being executed on your pasty ass, spending two stocks of the counter in the process to turn a match around and debuffing your opponent’s momentum.

I’ve long hated the WWE reversal system. For me, it was a feature that could quickly suck the life out of the game, as there was no margin for error whatsoever with it. Not to mention the timing needed to pull it off, was something that could only be properly accomplished by Swiss watchmakers.

If the new system makes reversals limited for both players and the AI, and balances this with a fair window of opportunity to activate the move, then WWE games might be fun once again. Other small features coming in WWE 2K16 include:

  • A much deeper MyCareer mode that will take you from developmental training all the way through to the WWE Hall of Fame
  • Create a Diva, Create a Show, Create an Arena, and Create a Championship modes are back
  • WWE Universe wrestlers can now be booked for multiple shows
  • WWE Online has now been overhauled
  • The commentary team now consists of John “Bradshaw” Layfield, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Michael Cole
  • Ladder, handicap, and tornado tag match types are back
  • No loading screens between entrances, plus you can actually bliksem your opponent as they enter
  • Improved referee and manager AI

Remember, wrestling isn’t fake. It’s just pre-determined.

Last Updated: August 7, 2015

29 Comments

  1. RinceThis

    August 7, 2015 at 15:11

    • Dutch Matrix

      August 7, 2015 at 15:21

      It must break your tiny heart, seeing your dad give that disapproving look to you time and time again…

      Reply

      • RinceThis

        August 7, 2015 at 15:23

        Noob. I’m ginger. I don’t have a heart.

        Reply

        • Dutch Matrix

          August 7, 2015 at 15:24

          OK your oil pump then!

          Reply

          • RinceThis

            August 7, 2015 at 15:24

            Sho. Someone needs a beer and a weekend beak 😛

          • Dutch Matrix

            August 7, 2015 at 15:29

            I just had a beer! It was a Stoney. Fuck you Internet Explorer! I know how to spell Stoney!

          • Hammersteyn

            August 7, 2015 at 15:30

          • Dutch Matrix

            August 7, 2015 at 15:34

            Tell that to our IT “manager”

          • Hammersteyn

            August 7, 2015 at 15:36

            hahahaha

  2. Hammersteyn

    August 7, 2015 at 15:13

    Can we reverse John Cena’s career? I’d buy that version.

    Reply

  3. Hammersteyn

    August 7, 2015 at 15:17

    “No loading screens between entrances, plus you can actually bliksem your opponent as they enter”

    I lolled

    Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      August 7, 2015 at 15:18

      I was like “Take my money! Now!”

      Reply

  4. Dutch Matrix

    August 7, 2015 at 15:18

    I’d pre order this if they can make this fight happen (Yup. That is The Rock taking on Seven of Nine) (refresh)http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pgb3ABCHoUI/UGyIgA-6M4I/AAAAAAAAEnk/koFsYfi4Spk/s1600/Jeri-Ryan-The-Rock-Tsunkatse.jpg

    Reply

  5. Ghost In The Rift

    August 7, 2015 at 16:48

    “A much deeper MyCareer mode that will take you from developmental training all the way through to the WWE Hall of Fame” where have i seen this before?

    Reply

  6. Mary Ann

    August 8, 2015 at 05:05

    How the hell is that “fixing” the reversal system??? That’s stupid! So now you just gotta get hit and take it cause you can’t keep reversing… I swear, 2K finds a way to do something which fucks up the game every year!!

    Reply

    • Necrovarium

      May 21, 2016 at 10:36

      That’s what I said. I’m spending half the match watching my guy getting his dick beaten into the dirt and the other half praying I’ll get the fucking timing right on the reversal so I can get a single move off, hoping the CPU won’t reverse me. Now it feels like a poorly planned action RPG instead of a “fighting” game. There’s no way to block, so I just sit and stare at that little, yellow bar… just a little more… just a little more.
      FUCK! Now that guy’s is completely full, so I’ll get to counter ONE TIME while I’m waiting for him to finally spend all of his, but by the time I get my ONE timed correctly, that fuckers’ll be full again. Okay.
      Great.

      And it’s even worse in MyCareer, since you will start with only 3, and not until you hit 85/100 do you get your fourth reversal “unit”.

      Also, I love when I’m praying to get that timing correctly, and the text actually says “Too Fast” AAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDDD “Too Slow” on the screen at the same… fucking… time.
      I’m done playing Goldie Locks and the Three Fucking Bears with this game.

      Reply

  7. Lardus-Resident Perve

    August 11, 2015 at 09:28

    Hmmm sounds interesting. I have not played in a while as the last one I got was too disappointing. Hopefully when I decide which console to get at the end of the year this will have proven to be a decent game.

    Reply

  8. Viking Of Science

    August 11, 2015 at 10:39

    I love that “Wrestling isn’t Wrestling” video….

    Reply

  9. CmAliNXS

    August 12, 2015 at 18:56

    will it be available on PC like 2K15 eventually was?

    Reply

  10. Kuro Hebi

    January 9, 2016 at 04:18

    The reversal system is broken as f**k. I swear I press that button on time against many finishers and it never works, I even did it against a friend as we timed it and the same result, keeps saying too fast when I do it righ before the finisher hits. This is bull sh*t. Not sucking money out of me 2k, you lost my faith in you.

    Reply

    • Lee

      January 12, 2016 at 02:27

      I’ve actually had “too slow” and “too fast” show up at the same time.

      Reply

      • Kuro Hebi

        January 12, 2016 at 17:37

        That also has happened before many times as well. I’ve never had reversal issues on 2k14. Like what happened?

        Reply

        • Lee

          January 19, 2016 at 01:34

          I honestly think that the guys over at 2K feel the need to change things unecessarily to make their new products feel fresh and different. Which can sometimes be good, but other times not. I hate this reversal system. I have since 2k15. I get that it’s supposed to convey the idea that a reversal is a split second decision, but this doesn’t convey that at all. Instead, I can’t help but feel like a carrot on a string that’s yanked away as soon as you go for it. When they said that the reversal system was going to be worked on, I hoped for the best and I’m disappointed in that. Instead, we now have an equally broken submission system. Don’t get me started on that.

          Reply

          • Kuro Hebi

            January 20, 2016 at 06:49

            I fully agree with your comment and ugh that submission system is the friggin worse idea they’ve had since the removal of 3 Stages of Hell matches.

          • Necrovarium

            May 21, 2016 at 10:40

            Oh, Jesus… That fucking Tech Submission “mini-game” is garbage.
            I also hate the pin mechanic, too, actually. Just let me mash the button to fill a bar on the screen or something, 2K. Same goes the for the submissions. Also, there’s actually not really a good reason to have a “power submission” and a “technical submission”. It could totally be the same mechanic.

          • Lee

            May 21, 2016 at 17:02

            I agree with that sentiment. I remember playing previous games and submissions were my thing. I’d win a good percentage of matches by submission, but now I don’t want to even want to use the submission system. Plus, the button mashing almost seemed more appropriate. Submissions are supposed to be a battle of power versus tolerance. I don’t get that feeling by chasing a circle.

      • James

        June 4, 2016 at 09:24

        that same things hppens to me alot.
        i think that they simply thought its too easy and made the time be 10% of original (Or 2k14’s?) leading to sometimes negative values giving you both states for spot on click.

        hell of a lot time i keep getting too soon on proper time and hillariously enough offten i get the “F” as its bound on keyboard by default even tho enemy is going to just stand tehre for few seconds and do nothing (particullary when i am facing away and getting up from seated possition or from lying down)

        Reply

  11. Chris Benoit

    October 23, 2016 at 03:09

    They didn’t fix nothing you laying sack of shit.

    Reply

    • The D

      October 23, 2016 at 18:31

      “Lying” sack of shit.

      Reply

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