WWE 2K15 is the second WWE game to be released under the 2K Sports banner, and as such, it continues to transform the annual series into more fact-based wrestling and less smoke-and-mirrors wrestling.

As always, this year’s offering is packed with all of the bone-crushing, drop-kicking mat-mania any fan of WWE could ask for. The roster is updated to include the likes of recent breakout superstars like Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, and fan favorites like TLC and Hell in a Cell are also available. As in past WWE games, some of the maneuvering and controls can become frustrating, particularly the pinpoint accuracy and timing that countering an opponent’s move demands.

Another tiresome characteristic that rears its ugly head again ~ the amount of time it takes to get back up from being on the receiving end of an opponent’s offensive maneuver, especially one that isn’t even a finisher. It seems like a clothesline from The Miz has as much power as an F-5 from Brock Lesnar when it has you spending five minutes face down on the mat. With that said, the reworked grappling system offers a more fair and competitive edge that has the fight for control more unpredictable than ever.

What really makes WWE 2K15 a unique entry is the 2K Showcase and My Career mode. 2K Showcase puts the focus on two popular WWE rivalries: John Cena vs. CM Punk and Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H. As a player, you are able to relive each rivalry individually, taking part in classic matches that tell their stories while watching archival footage that helps put it all in context.

The My Career mode is 2K’s most obvious effort to draw the curtain back on WWE’s world and show what really goes into becoming a superstar. The idea of a career mode isn’t anything new, but the depth and realism of the one included in 2K15 is unlike previous versions. For the first time ever, your own created wrestler will start out at the bottom of the totem pole as he/she has to try out for a WWE contract at the WWE Performance Center (that’s a real place). From there, you graduate into WWE’s farm system, otherwise known as NXT. In NXT, you hone your skills, earning points that you use to increase your stats as you slowly climb up through the ranks and into main event status. Your goal, ultimately, is to make it in WWE and to the top of the mountain: Wrestlemania.

WWE 2K15 adheres to WWE’s M.O. nowadays: to be honest with the audience about what goes into making a WWE superstar and all the behind-the-scenes production associated with it. Being able to see just how tall the mountain is that these performers have to climb to become successful in the wrestling industry adds a sense of respect and realism, something that makes WWE 2K15 a game about wrestling and not wrasslin’.

For more, visit wwe.2k.com.

By Jason Savio