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It’s been nearly three years since the first All Elite Wrestling video game was officially announced. Many performers within the company have long praised the virtues of ’90s wrestling his video game royalty. especially, WWF No Mercy – AEW: Some even position Fight Forever as something of an homage. But now that the game is finally hitting stores, is the grappling he-sim all it promised fans?
First, we have to talk about the wrestlers themselves. Outside of their instantly recognizable outfits, they are strange, stunted action figures with strange and exaggerated features. Given the game’s clear inspiration, this approach isn’t inherently negative, but the subjective assessment has to end on the performer’s face. Instead of sticking to an all-over cartoonish style, actual scans of the roster’s faces are randomly pasted onto the models with varying degrees of success, and it feels pretty cheesy. CM Punk, for example, looks like his beard is partially bifurcated around his mouth, while Sammy Guevara looks a bit like the fan who once rode in an elevator with Sammy Guevara.
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AEW: Fight Forever will never be able to match the big-budget modern WWE 2K23 presentation, and it wouldn’t be fair to compare the two. However, there were several moments where I couldn’t believe how rough the wrestlers looked. Ironically, it’s more than temporarily resembling custom work from 2K’s grappling powerhouse than anything close to the source material.
Luckily, the movement is great, with smooth arcade-like animations that have been missing from the wrestling game scene for a while, and an exceptional job of capturing some of the more unique performers on AEW’s roster. . For example, Orange Cassidy may stick his hands in his pockets and use sloth-esque mannerisms because he tends to do IRL. We would have liked to see more of his understated appearances.
I really don’t know why this decision was made, but again, more than basically wanting to remake “No Mercy,” the wrestler’s admission was seconds long, and onstage. It just shows a pose and then fades to black. Especially frustrating is that in a multi-man match where a new entrant enters after another entrant has been eliminated, you can watch the new entrant make their way to the ring and realize that full entry is absolutely possible. that’s what you’re proving. There seems to be a stubborn desire not to repeat Fight Forever’s obvious muse, and it’s no surprise that the gameplay feels a little dated.
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Defensively, the grappling itself is easy to learn and overall much simpler than what you’ll find in WWE 2K23. A triangle is a kick, a square is a punch, and a cross is a grappling technique. Additional controls such as taunts, running, Irish whips (throwing the opponent across the ring), and object interactions are available, but novice players may find themselves button-mashing or attacking if thrown into the depths without preparation. can be expected. However, the need for more complex controls and lackluster tutorials will eventually leave those same novices hanging. Sure, you can punch someone in the face as many times as you want until you’re told to pin them, but how do you block and reverse the endless punches you receive in return?
Using L1 and R1 to block grapples and strikes respectively, triggering and reversing just before an attack, Fight Forever makes an interesting decision to leave it up to the player without prompting a counterattack. Some people praise it as a way to increase immersion and facilitate skill development, but the fact is that it’s never been a fun system to learn, and that’s how it really works. in case.
There were several occasions when we were unable to find the right timing to turn the game around, or simply didn’t get the timing right, resulting in a merciless attack. In fact, overall, Fight Forever’s gameplay is uncooperative. In one-on-one matches, it’s very simple. Attack your opponent with a variety of aggressive moves until your momentum meter fills up, then hit signs and finishers, pin or submit, and move on. Add more performers and things get even more complicated, punches and kicks are thrown recklessly and often don’t connect with anyone. On top of that, the wrestler’s health isn’t clearly displayed on screen, there’s no way to see how close you are to escaping an opponent’s submission or tapout, and you can’t tell when you’re back up after being downed. , the match may be the cause. Exercise while irritated.
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We had a particularly frustrating hardcore match, desperately trying to maneuver a table that only our opponents seemed to be able to move, but were eventually put through the same table and pinned shortly after. If the game is actively defying your desire to get the most out of your various tools and you’re losing out, then clearly something is wrong.
Thankfully, a very limited but accessible crafting tool is available, allowing players to build custom wrestlers, teams, or arenas. There are only a few preset faces, hair, and outfits provided, but you can set the entrances, movesets, and ring announcement names. It’s not deep enough to create one of the many missing roster members (including multiple current champions), and you can’t share your creations online, but you can play through your Fight Forever career. If you want your own weird little monster parity mode, at least it’s possible.
Road To Elite is the main attraction in Fight Forever. It will be held for 4 weeks x 4 sets, and first the performers (male, female, custom wrestlers, real) will be selected and signed with AEW. From there, the player has four turns in the week between matches and must manage momentum, energy and overall health between matches, and this can be done in a number of ways.
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Working out lowers your energy, but gives you skill points that you can spend to upgrade your base stats and buy active or passive skills, but only for custom characters. As far as we know, you don’t need to spend these if you play as an established star. To regain lost energy, visit restaurants and taste local delicacies with fact cards explaining the miraculous properties of poutine. You can go sightseeing, participate in talk shows, and play mini-games, all of which can be used to earn cash, skill points, and reclaim energy.
None of these tours are interactive, except for a series of mini-games that truly deliver quality and fun. You just watch the same scene unfold over and over each week. Occasionally you’ll run into another member of the band at these locations, but the exchanges are frankly very bizarre, often ending with the two posing for selfies to add to the album. increase. I found the concept of time management very appealing, but seeing the Penta El Zero M snap a photo with Riho after a stuttering conversation about how fast he munches pizza and eats toast is really weird. Yes, it is.
Each four-week block unfolds a new story and draws a shocking conclusion to the massive pay-per-view. Road To Elite started out the same every time I played the mode, but I was happy to see the diversity in the stories presented. From challenging for the World and Tag Team Championships to taking over a company, you’ll have the option to decline or accept invitations to join the stable along the way, making the experience a little more varied. Unfortunately, it’s here that Fight Forever’s budget-minded nature rears its head again.
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There is no voice acting or commentary across the board, except for an explanation by a barely conscious Jim Ross, so be prepared to read the dialogue with your own eyes. This allows the game to randomly insert wrestlers into specific roles in storylines, but it’s not a beacon of hope if those storylines don’t have a canonical meaning. For example, in one playthrough, I won the World Championship in the first block of weeks, but it wasn’t mentioned until the final block was over, and it wasn’t even mentioned until the final block was over. challenge for it or not protect that. Plus, after winning the tag team championship, just a week later, we were facing our tag team partner in a 1v1 match, but our team’s name was never mentioned again. .
With a little more polish and extra care, Road To Elite could have been really special. As it stands, this is an interesting collection of ideas strangely executed, seemingly lacking the care applied to ensure the experience is consistent throughout.
However, if you’re too lazy to punch strangers on the internet, Fight Forever includes an online mode that lets you do just that. Players can really test themselves by challenging Ranked his matches and earn profile his card-based rewards if they so desire. After several disconnects when trying to join the lobby, I was pleasantly surprised by how smooth the match was, with no annoying lag or performance issues.
While playing either online or offline mode, you will frequently complete the game’s vast number of challenges. From lifetime goals like winning a certain number of matches, to daily and weekly tasks that demand a certain number of wins as a specific wrestler, these challenges earn him AEW his cash. You can spend this in the game’s shop, along with what you earn in other modes. Thankfully, nothing too subversive is trapped, just a few costumes for custom performers, an array of entrance music, and mockery on offer. On the other hand, beyond the premium price to unlock Cody Rhodes, he played Road To Elite once and could buy anything he thought looked interesting, so the shop is kind of redundant at this point. is. Our hope is that the shop will be updated with new items, but for now, players likely have a huge amount of cash pooled, and few things will make them want to spend it.