Ludography
75/100
Players48 ratings
73/100
Critics6 reviews

Where to get it

WWE '13 cover

2012 · Yuke's · Fighting · Platformer

WWE '13

WWE ’13 transforms WWE gameplay through the introduction of WWE Live, completely changing the way players experience the videogame’s audio and presentation elements. Predator Technology returns to further implement critical gameplay improvements, while fan favourites in WWE Universe Mode and the franchise’s renowned Creation Suite offer the utmost in player freedom.

Released
30 October 2012
Platforms
PlayStation 3WiiXbox 360
Genres
FightingPlatformerProfessional wrestlingSportsStrategy
Developers
Yuke's
Publishers
THQ
Series
WWE 2K
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Third person
Themes
Non-fiction
Country
Japan
Age ratings
ESRB T
Time to beat
100hmain story100hwith extras100hcompletionist

About

WWE '13 is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. It was released on October 30, 2012, in North America and November 2, 2012, in United Kingdom. It is the fourteenth overall installment in the WWE series, the sequel to WWE '12, and the last installment to be released on a Nintendo console until WWE 2K18 for the Nintendo Switch in 2017. It was also the last WWE-licensed game to be published by THQ before the company's demise in January 2013, ending their relationship with WWE after 14 years.

WWE '13 focuses on the promotion's Attitude Era, replacing "Road to WrestleMania" with a new "Attitude Era" mode where the player plays through six different storylines inspired from that time period. In addition to an updated "Predator Technology engine", the game adds in a new audio system called "WWE Live". The game is said to be the second phase of a "Revolution" in WWE video games, with cover athlete CM Punk taking charge.

Keywords

  • wrestling
  • wrestlemania
  • achievements
  • online
  • digital distribution
  • playstation trophies
  • alternate costumes
  • professional wrestler
  • customizable characters
  • character select screen
  • bink video
  • color customization

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

WWE '13 runs on the second major revision of Predator Technology, introduced in WWE '12. This revision allows for more fluid animations, and improves on weight detection system, contextual animations, and automatic attack homing, to ensure that the character always strikes toward opponents. The contextual animation system has been refined to ensure that it dynamically swaps out moves to make sure that the game is using the appropriate move animations at any given time and state. The weight detection system makes it so that small superstars such as Rey Mysterio are unable to lift larger wrestlers such as the Big Show.

The game's new homing system is designed so that when doing high-flying moves, a player will hit the intended target with better precision. The homing system also tracks tables so that they will be better detected when doing grapples on a ladder in TLC and Ladder matches. This feature allows for environmental moves such as ring breaks, barricade breaks, announce table breaks, and catching (mid-air) finishers to be possible.

Story

The game's "Attitude Era" mode feature 35 superstars and over 60 cutscenes that detail aspects of the Era. To fill in the gaps and storylines necessary to understand a feud or match's context, THQ worked with WWE editors to produce 20 video packages. The "Monday Night War" with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), a major element of the era, is given a nod through the way of a rating chart that follows the player as they progress throughout the mode. Smaller details, such as entrances, arenas and television graphics from the time period have also been recreated.

Players have the option to recreate several moments from the Attitude Era, allowing them to unlock over 100 items. Commentary from Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross, who were WWE's main commentary team during the period, are present, with re-recorded commentary along with archived audio in certain points during in-game cutscenes. Though Lawler is present in Exhibition and Universe modes alongside Michael Cole, Ross' commentary is only featured in "Attitude Era" mode.

Reception

WWE '13 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

IGN gave the game an 8.4 out of 10, praising the Attitude Era Mode, but panning the commentary, stating that aside from a few moments in Attitude Era Mode, "WWE '13 feels like you're listening to a couple of guys reading generic statements off of cue cards." They also dislike the new camera angles and audio samples of crowd sound saying that "they ruin the feel of an entire match".

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Wii30 October 2012North America · Worldwide 30 October 2012 · Europe 2 November 2012
Xbox 36030 October 2012Worldwide
PlayStation 330 October 2012Worldwide · North America 30 October 2012 · Europe 2 November 2012

Editions and related releases

Included in
The 2k Sports Collection

In the same series

Games like this

Collections5 collections

Years

Series and characters

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.