If you want to prove that you are a real American, fight for what’s right by buying the WWE 2K15 ‘Hulkamania’ Edition, now available to pre-order from Amazon.com
25 years since his first appearance in a wrestling video game, the legendary Hulk Hogan returns to the virtual squared circle, starring in a collector’s edition dedicated entirely to the master of the running leg drop. Limited to 25,000 copies, the Hulkamania Edition includes:
•A Copy of WWE 2K15: This is important.
•Exclusive Premium Packaging: Proudly display and lord your “HULKAMANIA” Edition over friends and loved ones. Tear it open like it’s one of Hogan’s signature t-shirts, immediately regret all decisions which led to that point.
•Exclusive Collectible Art Card Personally Autographed by Hulk Hogan: The Hulkster himself signed thousands of these cards specifically for the “HULKAMANIA” Edition of WWE 2K15. We sent him the Sharpies and have the photos to prove it!
•Exclusive Funko “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan Vinyl Figure: The good people of Funko made this figure especially for us. Just don’t call it a doll, brother!
•Exclusive Piece of Authentic Ring Canvas from Hulk Hogan’s Monday Night Raw Appearance on March 10, 2014 in Memphis, Tenn. – Own a piece of the actual ring mat that Hulk Hogan laid his feet upon with a commemorative plaque. Display it, scratch and sniff it, whatever you want. It’s yours!
•Two Pre-Order, Launch Exclusive Characters: Hulk Hogan and “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan – Gain access to twice as much Hulk Hogan before anyone else!
•Access to WWE 2K15 global pre-order offer, Sting Playable Characters Pack: Not only do you gain access to Hulk Hogan before everyone else, but you get to pit him against one of his all-time greatest rivals, Sting, before anyone else, too!
WWE 2K15 hits the ring on October 28th for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The collector’s edition is exclusive to PS4 and Xbox One consoles.
Source: “Hulkamania” WWE 2K15 Collector’s Edition [2K.com]
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It’s been a long time since Conan O’Brien offered his valuable (or maybe not so much) service as the Clueless Gamer, but the late night talk show host is finally back at it again with a review of WWE 2K14. The review itself isn’t as funny as previous Clueless Gamer sketches, but seeing him take on the Rock as himself thanks to the game’s create-a-wrestler feature is sure to stir up a giggle fit as you watch from your video viewing device of choice.
Best part of all, Team Coco has provided the complete list of specs so you too can create Conan O’Brien in WWE 2K14 and lay the smackdown as the red-headed phenom. Refer to this PDF file for all the necessary character creator information. The key is making the arms and legs as long and lanky as possible and getting the skin tone to the proper corpse-like paleness. And don’t you dare change the menu screen pose or the ring entrance dance moves!
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A new single-player campaign mode called 30 Years of WrestleMania joins the stacked roster of content featured in WWE 2K14. As the title suggests, this new mode will take players through 45 legendary matches spanning three decades of WrestleMania lore, including such iconic showdowns as Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3 and The Rock vs. John Cena at WrestleMania 28.
During WWE SummerSlam Axxess this Saturday, August 17 at 12:30 p.m. PDT, WWE’s Jim Ross, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Damien Sandow will reveal the full 30 Years of WrestleMania Mode roster via 2K’s Twitch.TV page at www.twitch.tv/2K. A couple nostalgic favorites I’m pulling for are Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart at WrestleMania 10 and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage at WrestleMania 3. Actually, I’ll take as many matches from WrestleManias 3 and 10 as 2K wants to offer. For me, those were the two best events in WWF/WWE history.
Here’s a bit more about how the campaign is set up, followed by a new gallery with screenshots and character renders. WWE 2K14 will be available October 29th on PS3 and Xbox 360.
WWE 2K14’s 30 Years of WrestleMania Mode will organize matches into a progressive single-player campaign, with the format curated by five distinct eras in WWE history. Unique presentation elements transport players through the different eras, including authentically recreated arenas, WWE Superstar entrances and ring attires, as well as era-specific graphics, screen filters and other presentation elements. In addition, extensive WWE-produced video packages and in-game, cinematic cut scenes set the stage and provide detailed background information on key matches. Historical objectives encourage players to authentically replicate popular match moments, while completing objectives will unlock a host of rewards, including additional playable WWE Superstars, alternate attire options, new arenas and WWE archive photography.
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2009 was a big year for the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), what with WrestleMania celebrating its 25th Anniversary and all, and THQ made sure to cash in on the occasion, releasing not one but two WWE games this year, each catering to different branches of the WWE fan base.
I’ve been playing around with both and got to thinking about my days growing up as a proud wrestling fan (I haven’t followed it over the past five years or so), beginning with the wrestling action figures I used to collect and the old VHS tape of WrestleMania III I used to watch all the time as a youngster all the way through my high school days in the late ‘90s/early 2000s when I was able to catch a couple live shows at the MCI Center (now Verizon Center) in D.C., and how the WWE has evolved over the years. An evolution that can be seen in the two WWE games THQ produced this year.
WWE Legends of WrestleMania came first, launching early in the year to tie in with the WrestleMania XXV spectacle, and was basically created as a love letter to long-time wrestling fans (like me) who grew up during the “Golden Age” of the WWE…you know, back in the 1980s and ‘90s when it was called the WWF and was more about actual wrestling drama than sophomoric soap opera (OK, I guess I just tipped my hand here folks…)
Then more recently came the release of the 2010 edition in THQ’s vaunted WWE SmackDown vs. Raw franchise, a game continuing the WWE’s SmackDown, Raw and ECW brand wars and predominant focus on attitude and theatrics (which is kind of why I lost interest).
The good news is that both games are excellent – save for the pitiful audio production in SvR — and are sure to please their target audience a great deal. Of the two I would have to say that SmackDown vs. Raw offers the most complete WWE experience and thus is the better buy if you can only get one of them.
Minor refinements aside, it pretty much plays the same as previous installments, which is fine because the core play mechanics have always been very solid (save for the imprecise targeting). It’s also loaded with more WWE superstars and mode and match types than you can shake a steel chair at, including a revamped Royal Rumble, new Road to WrestleMania storylines, a helpful training mode seamlessly accessible at the opening menu screen, and a nifty Story Designer providing the tools to script out your own WWE storylines and upload them for others to play.
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 is indeed the more robust WWE game, but there’s something magical about Legends of WrestleMania that makes it my wrestling game of choice despite its limited mode count and QTE-heavy, casual-gamer-oriented gameplay. I guess you can chalk it all up to nostalgia, as the game’s simplified play mechanics remind me of many of my old wrestling video game favorites, such as the WrestleFest arcade game, Super WrestleMania and Royal Rumble from the SNES/Genesis era, and No Mercy from the N64, and the awesome Relive, Rewrite and Redefine modes allow me to go back in time with old greats like Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, The Ultimate Warrior, Mr. Perfect, and Jake the Snake and reenact classic matches I fondly remember from my childhood – both Macho Man Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat are missing from the roster, though, and it’s definitely sad to not be able to relive their epic bout at WrestleMania III (it was always my favorite match of that event, much more entertaining than the overrated Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant match-up).
I also love how old video footage from the depicted matches and rivalries is presented before every match, and appreciate how the wrestlers look slightly exaggerated in appearance – making them look larger than life only plays up the nostalgia factor for me.
I’m only 26, but I’m an old school guy at heart, so Legends of WrestleMania is such a perfect fit for me. The game has been slammed by most reviews out there, but I don’t care. It’s so much fun to play and is sort of like a WWE game and time capsule all in one — it’ll stay in my collection for a long time to come, whereas I’ll be ready to move on from SmackDown vs. Raw long before the next installment arrives.
That’s how I feel anyway. What about you? Do you like your WWE old school or new school?
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THQ and JAKKS Pacific have confirmed the complete roster of superstar wrestlers and managers set to appear in WWE Legends of WrestleMania, which body slams PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 24th. Over 40 legendary figures make up the star-studded roster, including the likes of Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Mr. Perfect, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and The Ultimate Warrior. Overall it’s a fine roster — certainly gets me nostalgic as I grew up watching all these guys in the glory days of wrestling before it became the soap opera shit it is now — but sadly there are some notable names missing, like Owen Hart, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Razor Ramon and Diesel.
Check after the break for the full roster, and be sure to drop by tomorrow when I’ll be posting some new WWE Legends of WrestleMania media.
* Andre The Giant
* Animal
* Arn Anderson
* Bam Bam Bigelow
* Big Bossman
* Big John Studd
* Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
* Bret Hitman Hart
* British Bulldog
* Brutus Beefcake
* Dusty Rhodes
* Greg Valentine
* Hacksaw Jim Duggan
* Hawk
* Honky Tonk Man
* Hulk Hogan
* Hunter Hearst Helmsley
* Iron Sheik
* Jake The Snake
* Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart
* Jimmy Hart
* Jimmy Snuka
* Junkyard Dog
* Kamala
* King Kong Bundy
* Koko B. Ware
* Michael Hayes
* Mr. Fuji
* Mr. Perfect
* Nikolai Volkoff
* Paul Bearer
* Ravishing Rick Rude
* Ric Flair
* Rowdy Roddy Piper
* Sgt. Slaughter
* Shawn Michaels
* Stone Cold Steve Austin
* Ted DiBiase
* The Rock
* The Ultimate Warrior
* Undertaker
* Yokozuna
Back when the WWE was actually worth watching — you know, when it was called the WWF, relied less on sleazy, amateurish soap opera bullshit and had all the wrestling greats in their primes like Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Razor Ramon, The Undertaker and my all-time favorite Bret “The Hitman” Hart — I was a diehard fan. WrestleMania III and WrestleMania X are two events I’ll simply never forget. But now I just don’t care about wrestling, for the reasons already mentioned, and thusly have come to the point where I just can’t play any of the WWE Smackdown vs. Raw games with any enjoyment.
Thankfully THQ is stepping in to (hopefully) rekindle the interest of nostalgic wrestling fans, like myself, today announcing the creation of a new WWE video game IP titled WWE Legends of WrestleMania. But don’t worry Smackdown vs. Raw fans, your game isn’t going anywhere. Legends of WrestleMania is going to be its own individual franchise in development specifically to “establish new property for next generation systems.” Legends of WrestleMania is in development for PS3 and Xbox 360 and is currently scheduled to debut in March 2009 alongside WrestleMania 25. Absolutely nothing is known about the game at this point, but THQ’s “relive, rewrite or redefine history” press release tagline provides some clues of what to expect. Will definitely be keeping both eyes on this one.
]]>“We have generated significant year-over-year growth in key global territories with WWE-licensed videogames, including tremendous success with the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw franchise,” said Peter Matiss, vice president, global brand management, THQ. “The development capabilities afforded by next generation hardware, combined with our established history and deep understanding of fighting videogames, allow us to leverage the strength of the WWE brand to further extend our leadership in the fighting videogame genre and bring this new property to market.”
“JAKKS Pacific is pleased to introduce a new WWE videogame property to the fighting genre,” said Nelo Lucich, senior vice president of interactive, JAKKS Pacific. “The WWE SmackDown vs. Raw franchise has captured a collective audience of WWE fans, game enthusiasts and casual players, and we are confident that WWE Legends of WrestleMania will be poised for great success.”