Upcoming professional wrestling video game WWE 2K15, from developers Yuke's and Visual Concepts, has confirmed five playable characters who will be part of the roster.
The five confirmed male characters are Bray Wyatt, Cesaro, John Cena, Hulk Hogan and Roman Reign. This will be Wyatt's first appearance in the WWE 2K series. Wyatt has been portrayed as the leader of an evil cult.
The role of Hulk Hogan, who has grown old, is still being debated. It was suggested that he might show up in the role of a host as he recently did in Wrestlemania XXX.
The two female characters who have been confirmed are AJ Lee and Naomi, Just Push Start reported.
There will be a major revamp for the 16th game in the series. It is also reported that Visual Concepts will play a larger role in the game's development. Also, this is the first time that 2K will be involved in the game completely. 2K had previously bought the license of WWE 2K14 from THQ, after the latter went bankrupt.
WWE 2K15 will make its debut on next-generation consoles PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
New Technology Used
The developers are using a new technology which, acording to GameInformer, bears "impressive results." Some of the character models are looking closer to their real-life counterparts, with major revamp and upgrade of character's hair, skin, faces and ring gear. 90 percent of the game's roster has already been scanned by the developer.
Visual Concepts (developer of NBA 2K14) have been doing the job of capturing different facial expressions of the wrestlers, which will eventually add more realistic expressions in the ring. The developer is also working on realistic match pacing and flow. The use of a new motion capture studio will greatly help the game's animations. A demo of John Cena's facial rig showed realistic expressions of pain, excitement and exertion.
It was also suggested by the site that this was all done with its goal to match WWE's TV presentation, which draws a huge number of fans. All these upgrades will result in WWE 2K15 having "five times the number of animations that 2K14," it said.
It was also reported that new WWE content will be added to the game, which will ensure that it has the latest roster and storyline.
Another promising development is in the audio section as the report suggested that it is going through a complete overhaul, five times more than what it was in the last game. In a first, announcers Jerry "The King" Lawler and Michael Cole will be recording together, leading to natural conversation between the two.
The game will have lesser repeats as attempts have been made to keep the audio steam fresh. The studio is said to have done the recording of "a massive 30 to 35 hours of commentary per announcer".
WWE 2K15 is all a set to hit the ring on 28 October for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
