• Home
  • Movies
  • Music
  • TV
  • Video Games
  • Wrestling
  • Topics
  • Latest Comments on Cult of Whatever
Search
Cult of Whatever logo
  • Movies
    Featured
    • The Living Daylights: Timothy Dalton as James Bond

      The Living Daylights is still awesome, thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 28, 2022
      Movie Blogs
    Recent
    • Lethal Weapon: Danny Glover and Mel Gibson as Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs

      Lethal Weapon is still awesome thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | August 9, 2022
    • Nope: Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya

      REVIEW: “NOPE” wants to be more than it is, which is just good enough

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 22, 2022
    • Brave: Kelly Macdonald voices Princess Merida

      Ten years later, BRAVE remains Pixar’s most underrated film

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 21, 2022
    • A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Heather Langenkamp as Nancy

      A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 is still awesome, thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 20, 2022
    • Where The Crawdads Sing: Daisy Edgar Jones and David Strathairn

      REVIEW: Where the Crawdads Sing deftly blends genres to good effect

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 19, 2022
    • Thor Love and Thunder: Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth as The Mighty Thor and Thor

      REVIEW: THOR – LOVE AND THUNDER is an adventure of mirth and sadness alike

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 9, 2022
  • Music
    Random
    • Led Zeppelin 1977 Promo

      Fifty years of Led Zeppelin

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 4, 2019
      Music
    Recent
    • The Beatles: Get Back

      What GET BACK reveals about the Beatles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 15, 2021
    • Simon And Garfunkel at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam1982

      The Boxer is a song about being conned

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 4, 2021
    • Lady Gaga: Chromatica Album Cover

      Lady Gaga’s discography is totally out of order

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 3, 2021
    • Michael Jackson Thriller Album Cover

      Thirty years ago music fans said “Nevermind” to Michael Jackson

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 21, 2021
    • Queen II Album Cover

      On Queen’s The Miracle, and the importance of track ordering

      By Matthew Martin
      | February 16, 2021
    • Linda Paul Mccartney 1976

      50 years ago, McCartney dropped “Lennon” and went solo…

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 5, 2020
  • TV
    Featured
    • Nancy Drew S03e01: Kennedy McMann as Nancy

      Nancy Drew S03E01 Review: The Warning of the Frozen Heart - Uh-oh!

      By Salome G
      | October 10, 2021
      TV Blogs
    Recent
    • American Horror Stories S02e04 Cody Fern and Seth Gabel as Thomas and Walter

      American Horror Stories S02E04 Review: Milkmaids – Very ambitious

      By Salome G
      | August 14, 2022
    • Roswell New Mexico S04e09: Allie Myers and Jeanine Mason as Shiri Appleby and Liz Ortecho

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E09 Review: Wild Wild West- Okay…

      By Salome G
      | August 11, 2022
    • Evil S03e09: Party Time

      Evil S03E09 Review: The Demon of Money – Dark moments…

      By Salome G
      | August 8, 2022
    • American Horror Stories S02e03: Bella Thorne as Marci

      American Horror Stories S02E03 Review: Drive – Unsettling experiences

      By Salome G
      | August 8, 2022
    • The Orville S03: Penny Johnson Jerald and Mark Jackson as Dr. Claire Finn and Isaac

      The Orville season three finale review: Don’t say goodbye

      By Matthew Martin
      | August 8, 2022
    • Roswell New Mexico S04e08: Michael Vlamis as Michael Guerin

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E08 Review: Missing My Baby – The truth hurts

      By Salome G
      | August 3, 2022
  • Video Games
    Featured
    • Arkham Knight

      Batman: Arkham Knight - A fitting end to a trilogy

      By Tom Farr
      | July 18, 2015
      Video Game Reviews
    Recent
    • Nintendo Switch Logo

      Looking ahead to the Switch 2: Predictions and Wants

      By Matthew Martin
      | August 15, 2022
    • Legend Of Zelda

      Can a Legend of Zelda movie work?

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 6, 2022
    • Super Mario 64

      Which system had the better launch: A battle of four Nintendo consoles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 1, 2021
    • Luigi's Mansion

      Happy twentieth to Nintendo’s underrated gem, the Gamecube

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 18, 2021
    • Metroid Dread

      Metroid Dread – Post Game analysis and sequel needs

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 29, 2021
    • Mario Headphones

      The SNES Turns 30: A look at some of the system’s best soundtracks

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 22, 2021
  • Wrestling
    Featured
    • Wwe Payback 2017 Poster 2

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE Payback 2017

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 30, 2017
      WWE Blogs
    Recent
    • AEW Dark: Ricky Starks (22/09/20)

      The future of the AEW World Championship

      By Matthew Martin
      | August 14, 2022
    • AEW Forbidden Door 2022: Claudio Castagnoli

      ROH Death Before Dishonor 2022 kickstarted a new era with a bang

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 25, 2022
    • Vince Mcmahon Stone Cold Podcast

      Vince McMahon is out as WWE chief. First reactions here…

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 22, 2022
    • AEW Double or Nothing 2022: CM Punk vs Adam Page

      REVIEW: AEW Double or Nothing 2022 delivered an up-and-down show

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • MJF on AEW Dynamite 17th November 2021

      Getting AEW to the next level…

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 29, 2022
    • Raw 210501: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

      May 21, 2001 – A (forgotten) date that will live in WWE infamy

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 20, 2022
  • Topics
    • site logo
    Latest
    • Looking ahead to the Switch 2: Predictions and Wants
    • American Horror Stories S02E04 Review: Milkmaids - Very ambitious
    • The future of the AEW World Championship
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04E09 Review: Wild Wild West- Okay...
    • Lethal Weapon is still awesome thirty-five years later
    • Evil S03E09 Review: The Demon of Money - Dark moments...

    WWE ’13: Can WWE Video Games Get Their Attitude Back?

    By John Hancock
    | October 15, 2012
    Video Game Previews
    This page contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Learn more

    The following article is based on several hours of experience playing WWE ’13 at a THQ event in London, England on October 1st. It should be noted that the version played will not be the finished game, and their may be differences in content and quality.

    When’s the last time you loved a wrestling game? I mean really loved it. Loved it like you wanted to play the single player mode from beginning to end in one sitting until the length of time it’s taking forces you to stop (of course, the fact that, in this day and age, a single player campaign is that long, makes you love it even more). “Loved” like you loved No Mercy, like you loved Here Comes The Pain, like you loved WrestleMania 2000.

    I love WWE ’13.

    Wwe 13 Game

    On the surface, it’s just another WWE game, any other WWE game. It looks and feels and plays like WWE ’13 in comparison to WWE ’12 in the same way that FIFA ’13 looks and feels and plays in comparison to FIFA ’12. Not that that’s a bad thing, the graphics are better, the move animations are less choppy, the character models are more realistic. The long hair is still awful looking, I saw an average of one bug every two hours of play, and, whilst certainly life-like as in “they look like humans”, the wrestlers aren’t particularly accurate representations of their real life counter-parts.

    But, over-all, it’s an improvement. Things have been changed, things have been improved, the roster is huge. Thumbs up, I like it.

    I like it.

    So where’s the love coming from? My love of this game is coming from the same place as my love for this sport.

    The Attitude Era.

    The hot selling point of WWE ’13, as has been hammered home again and again and again, has been the Attitude Era and, sure, it’s fun. Old characters, old arenas, an excuse to have J.R. do commentary, fun times, nice gimmick.

    But it isn’t a gimmick. It’s the single player mode. And it’s brilliant.

    We all know the concept; the single player mode puts you in various roles in real-life key matches from mid-1997 to early-2000. For each match, you can just win, or you can try and complete a series of historically accurate objectives. For example, in the match between Dude Love and Stone Cold Steve Austin at Unforgiven ’98, where you play as Stone Cold, you can choose to play the game straight and simply win the match, or you can stick to the objectives like hitting an interfering Vince McMahon with a chair, or counting your own pin, or accidentally knocking out the referee during a quick-time event. Completing these objectives gives up unlockables, but, here’s the twist, they’re unlockables you give a shit about! You unlock alternative costumes, Attitude Era wrestlers, historic title belts, and historic arenas, all of which can be used in non-story single player or multi-player matches.

    Wwe 13 The Rock Mankind

    It sounds mundane, and at most “fun”, but love?

    I should introduce myself and my sins.

    I have a problem.

    I LOVE the Attitude Era.

    The problem isn’t you, it’s me, I promise. The problem here is that I can’t possibly pretend that I’m not bias. The Attitude Era made a wrestling fan. I turned ten in 1997, and I turned thirteen in 2000. There was no better time period or age to be a wrestling fan. Not my opinion, that’s actual provable fact. With that background, it’s IMPOSSIBLE not to smile when you lead a returning Cactus Jack, trash can in hand, down the ramp to savage Triple H. It’s IMPOSSIBLE not to smile when, as Shawn Michaels, you slap Bret Hart in the sharpshooter, and Vince McMahon calls for the bell, forcing you to flee the ring. It’s IMPOSSIBLE not to smile when, as the Undertaker, you hurl Mankind from the top of the cage and are rewarded with J.R.’s immortal, timeless words.

    Wwe 13 Mankind Undertaker

    A word on the commentary. I’m not sure how they’ve done this, if it’s cut out audio, or re-recorded lines, but for a late 90’s wrestling nerd like me, the commentary is absolutely phenomenal. It’s almost word for word the commentary of the actual, real life matches, with HUGE amounts of colour-commentary being taken from real life to compliment the standard in-game play-by-play. Like commentary in real wrestling, it sounds like such a shallow extra, but it adds SO much to hear J.R. run through the story so far, whilst The King, fully back in Attitude Era mode, lauds over each matches heel in ludicrous, self-knowing ironic arrogance.

    The attention to detail in terms of authenticity goes beyond just the commentary. Whilst each match is broken up with text detailing the progression of the story, charts showing RAW’s ratings in competition with WCW Nitro, and video packages using real footage, several matches begin or end with in-game recreations of cut scenes.The one that really stuck in my head was the aforementioned return of Cactus Jack. Whilst Triple H waits in the ring, first Dude Love, then Mankind, and, finally, Cactus Jack, appear on screen to discuss who should wrestle that night. If I’m a fanboy of the Attitude Era, then I’m a borderline stalker of Mick Foley, and this is a moment I know movement for movement and word for word, and so do THQ. The movement, the words, the moment are PERFECT. Either the audio has been lifted straight from the original, or Mick Foley has a very good memory, because, the night I first played through that moment, I instantly watched the original moment back and could barely tell the difference.

    Unfortunately, that same moment, does bring up one inaccuracy. God bless THQ for their faithfulness to the late-90’s. God knows what horrific demands from Vince McMahon they had to refuse, but it’s clear that, in come places, Stalin McMahon has got his historical eraser in full effect.

    The most obvious incidence is the amount of people who no longer exist.

    Remember how I said that, whilst Foley was decided which personality to send out, Triple H stood in the ring? Some of the more pedantic amongst you may be thinking, “Wait, wasn’t Chyna there too?”. Not according to WWE ’13 she wasn’t.

    And then, of course, there’s Triple H, the king of the historical edit.

    It’s a relatively well known fact that, in previous years, journalists have been banned from showing video game footage of Trips on the receiving end of moves, but this game takes it to a new level.

    Remember how big Triple H was in 1998? Now you don’t, he was huge, HUGE IS TELLS YA, HE WAS THE BIGGEST WRESTLER THERE EVER WAS.

    Remember how, at the end of Survivor Series ’97, Bret Hart grabbed hold of Shawn Michaels (yeah, I’m blaming Trips for this one too), and wouldn’t let him go and, when he did, Michaels ran away like something similar to a bitch? Didn’t happen. Michaels stayed in that ring because he felt wronged, WRONGED I TELLS YA, AND WHEN HE GOT OUT OF THE RING, HE TOLD VINCE HOW DISAPPOINTED HE WAS, AND HE WALKED LIKE A MAN. A STRONG MANLY MANNY MAN.

    Wwe 13 Triple H Hbk Mcmahon

    So, yeah, rant over, but there’s that like nugget of annoyance. Thinking about it, even the Chyna thing sounds like it’s probably something do with Triple H too.

    He must have a huge penis.

    Wait, we were talking about a game weren’t we.

    Right, WWE ’13.

    Again, I have to make this clear that this isn’t coming from a video game journalist. This isn’t even particularly coming from a video game fan in the modern sense of the word, This is coming from a wrestling fan, or should that be ex-wrestling fan, and it’s from that place that the love comes from. It’s from the place that finally, FINALLY, I can relive my childhood. I can be in every match I loved, in every moment I marked out far. I can wrestle as ever superstar who’s poster was on my wall, I can hit every finishing move that I irresponsibly tested out on my best friend.

    You can screw Bret Hart, you can stun Mr. McMahon, you can break Mankind in half, you can set Kane on fire, you can fall through cells, you can break through cages, you can raise (blurred) middle fingers.

    Wwe 13 Steve Austin Bossman

    It’s not a video game, it’s a toy box. It’s MY toy box. It’s my toy box from when I was eleven, and it’s impossible for me to not see it like that because it just is, and, if you’re my age, if you’re my sort of wrestling fan, it’ll be your toy box too.

    Gameplay? Graphics? Animation? Online play? Universe Mode? Create modes? They’re there. Want to know what they’re like? They’re like last year, but better. Much better maybe. Perfect? No, but better. THQ has heard every criticism. They’ve solved some completely, they’ve improved others.

    I’m not the person to ask, because I wasn’t playing a video game. I reviewed WWE ’12 last year. It was okay, I played it, I reviewed it. I didn’t play WWE ’13. I was Stone Cold Steve Austin, I was The Rock, I was Mankind, I was Shawn Michaels, I was Bret Hart, I was Kane, I was the Undertaker, I was Ken Shamrock, I was the New Age Outlaws.

    Wwe 13 Undertaker

    I was eleven years old.

    The last wrestling video game I bought was Smackdown vs. RAW 2007. The last wrestling game I loved was Here Comes The Pain.

    I will buy WWE ’13.

    I love WWE ’13.

    Pre-Order WWE 13:

    UK: X-Box 360 | PS3 | Wii

    USA: X-Box 360 | PS3 | Wii

    Share this article:

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit

    Tags

    Attitude Erathqwwe '13WWE Video Games

    COMMENTS

    Please read our Commenting Policy before you join in with the discussion.

    Note: If you have email notifications enabled, please check your email spam folders to ensure emails are not missed.

    Subscribe
    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    Notify of
    guest

    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    guest

    0 Comments
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments

    You might also like

    • WWE 13 Review

      By Chris Blackwood
      | November 23, 2012
    • WWE 12 Video Game Review

      By Paul Kelly
      | November 27, 2011
    • WWE All Stars Review

      By Dave Caffrey
      | April 6, 2011

    FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

    Video Game Topics

    Recommended for you

    • Looking ahead to the Switch 2: Predictions and Wants

      By Matthew Martin
      | August 15, 2022
    • Can a Legend of Zelda movie work?

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 6, 2022
    • Five live play TTRPG podcasts you must listen to

      By Ethan J
      | March 30, 2022
    • Which system had the better launch: A battle of four Nintendo consoles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 1, 2021
    • Metroid Dread – Post Game analysis and sequel needs

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 29, 2021
    • The SNES Turns 30: A look at some of the system’s best games

      By Matthew Martin
      | August 31, 2021
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliate Disclosure
    • Cookie Policy and Settings
    • Terms of Use
    • Photo Credits
    • RSS
    All Cult of Whatever articles, logos, illustrations and graphics are copyright CultOfWhatever.com. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2021 CultOfWhatever. All Rights Reserved.
    • facebook
    • twitter
    wpDiscuz