10 Things We Want To See In WWE 2K17

2K's WWE series of games continue to evolve each year with fresh new features and wrestlers, but for every new venture the series makes, things still seem to be missing. Here's our editor's list of the top ten things they would like to see in 2K17.

Number 10 - A larger roster This one should be expected anyway. You could argue that we should have quality over quantity, but why not both? There are plenty of wrestlers who deserve an official place in the game who wouldn't normally make the cut and a stronger representation of NXT talent would help too. A larger roster of talent will only help the game and give owners of the previous instalment another reason to buy the new one. We'd also be much less likely to see the same matches repeated over and over and over in MyCareer mode. There's only so many times a person can face Hideo Itami before they lose the will to live. Number 9 - Less wrestler variants Whilst we're on the subject of the roster, let's stop padding it out with numerous variants of the same wrestlers. Some may disagree, but I certainly don't feel the need to have seventeen different versions of Sting and five thousand versions of HHH and Steve Austin. Whilst yes, thus may be necessary to recreate iconic events or matches, I feel that the spot would be much better used to promote current, active talent on the real life roster. Number 8 - Better DLC packs

It's inevitable that throughout the year we'll be surprised by an unexpected returning wrestler, a new competitor will be signed from another promotion or an underrated star will quickly rise to the top. Let's focus on bringing in wrestlers like these after the launch of the game instead of offering the Hall Of Fame class of whatever year, or legends we've seen in the games many times before. The inclusion of Samoa Joe was the only thing that excited me in recent DLC releases, and whilst Blake and Murphy are an odd choice, Los Matadores (a now redundant gimmick) are hardly "Future Stars". Certainly nothing I'd go out of my way to spend my money on. Number 7 - An on-disc manual I'm hardly the most avid WWE player for as much as I watch the television content, but I do really enjoy a romp around the ring every now and then. It's sometimes a few months in between my playing-sprees and I tend to forget some of the controls or mechanics. I pause the game (which I'd rather avoid in the first place) and select the manual option only to be told that the full game manual is available to view on the official website. Why should I have to completely halt the momentum of my match, boot up my PC and browse the web just so I can understand the mechanics of a collar and elbow tie up? It would be fantastic to get an actual physical manual in the box with the disc, but with the way that the industry has progressed I feel that it's wishful thinking. I feel it should be a requirement to at least include an on-disc manual for quick reference so that anybody can properly enjoy the game and play at even the most basic competitive level.

Number 6 - Wrestler customisation I'd love to see full customisation of official in-game talent. Allow us to update entrance music, titantron graphics, ring and entrance attire, move sets and gimmicks to coincide with what's happening on TV. These sort of things are usually updated in each yearly instalment of the game anyway, but things happen so fast in the WWE that these are usually already out of date when they are. We've not had the option for an official face scanned version of Cody Rhodes recently because he's been put in with the Stardust gimmick. Let us take the face paint and vinyl suit off and book our fantasy matches as we please. We'll have missed out all together now that he's been released form the company and likely won't be appearing in future titles. Number 5 - Better create a wrestler options As diverse as the CAW options are, the finished products never quite seem to fit in with the official wrestlers. It would be fantastic if we could import custom titantron videos, entrance music and even loading screen graphics. I attempted to simulate the upcoming Money In The Bank match and whilst the other five contestants were all in the game, Del Rio was never released and so it fell to community creations to fill in the gap. The character itself looked great and the ring attire was perfect, but he came on to the Lucha Dragons video package and no music. He was the last wrestler to enter the ring too, so not only did he feel out of place but it completely destroyed all of my excitement for the match at hand. Having these tools at our disposal would really help an already very creative community take the game and simulation aspects one step further. Number 4 - Better female representation As it stands, the female representation in the game is sub-par. There roster is small and filled with wrestlers a lot of fans don't really like so they are barely played. Most of the female combatants are seen for the most part in the manager role and nothing more. The exclusion of the Four Horsewomen last year was a bad choice on 2k's part. With the introduction of the new Women's Championship at Wrestlemania this year, 2K would really be shooting themselves in the foot not to include all of the fantastic female talent present in the WWE. Bayley, Sasha, Becky and Charlotte are an absolute must but why not include up and coming stars like Alexa Bliss and Nikki Glencross? Number 3 - Better commentary I must have heard Jerry Lawler say that the house had been empty for months over a hundred times on one of my MyCareer mode profiles, and that wrestler hasn't even got to the point where he's been given an NXT title shot. I understand that recording more lines can cost more money, but when you hear the same commentary again and again it takes away your immersion. Please add in several lines for a given scenario; so that we don't just hear JBL repeating himself like a broken record. And JBL, Cole and Lawler don't even commentate on NXT. Tom Phillips and Corey Graves do the last time I checked. Heck, even better, bring Mauro in for Smackdown matches. It might cost a lot but it would improve the game experience so much. Number 2 - More match types There are already a lot of match types in 2K16 but there's space for even more. A lot of multi man matches are very restricted too, and six people in the ring seems to be about the most the game can handle. First, lift these restrictions and then start to add in all of the gimmick matches like Ambulance, Buried Alive, War Games etc. It would also be nice to see variations on the matches we already have. At the recent NXT The End Of the Beginning Event we saw a different type of steel cage used to those on the main roster. Why not add in the recently held Asylum Match? There's plenty of possibilities and certainly opportunity to add them. Number 1 - GM mode With the brand split returning there's no better time for GM Mode to return too. 2K's WWE games are becoming more and more about simulation, so let players experience a simulation of one of the other parts of the wrestling business. Take your pick of Raw, Smackdown or even NXT and book matches and feuds, sign talent and trade with other brands. Control finances, advertising and promotion and analyse TV ratings. Perhaps even bring in content from your creations and have your talent fight for user generated titles or sign your CAWs to your brand. There's plenty of content to be found in WWE games today as it is but this would only contribute to the price of entry further.

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