Five Improvements THQ Should Make for WWE '13

The future of the WWE's annual video game seems to be pretty dicey at the moment. Each installment of the former Smackdown series—they have now opted to simply call it WWE '12, WWE '13, and so on—seems to get even more criticism from fans.

The fans seem to be upset with THQ's inability to make a satisfying game and to add to the ugliness THQ's future as a whole seems to be up in the air. Personally, I enjoyed WWE '12 quite a bit, but there are always changes that can be made to improve, and THQ might have to do that if it wants to keep the WWE video game series.

1. Server Issues

Maybe one of the greatest additions to the recent WWE series of video games is that there is now a server where you can download other players' creations, whether it be a wrestler, arena, storyline, or match. In the past, if you wanted to make someone else's created character then they would have to type out all the information, post it on a website, and then the second player would have to make the character step-by-step.

This makes it easier to use a character somebody else has made. One of the most fun aspects of the WWE games is being able to take an old school WWE wrestler, a TNA wrestler, or even a comic book character and place them in the WWE world.

The problem is that the server for WWE '12 was horrible. When I tried to use the server I couldn't get a single download for probably the first 50 tries, and when it did work you could only get maybe one download before being booted back out of the server. To make matters worse, this is a feature in the game that users had to pay to use.

2. Road to Wrestlemania Mode

Let me say that I'm actually a fan of the new "Road to Wrestlemania" mode. In previous versions of the game there was one story. The player would choose a character, and no matter what character you chose that one storyline is the one that would be played. In WWE '12, there are three different stories, but there is a catch: The player no longer chooses any character. Instead, each story is designated a specific wrestler.

The first story the user has to be Sheamus, in the second story the user has to be Triple H, and in the third story the user has to be a created wrestler. The positive of this mode is that each storyline was better than previous versions of the game because it was specific to one character. The story mode didn't take a wrestler like The Undertaker and try to force him into a storyline more appropriate for someone like Rey Mysterio. The Sheamus story was great for Sheamus, the Triple H story was great for Triple H, and the created wrestler story was great for a created wrestler.

The negative of this story mode is obvious. Not everybody likes Triple H and Sheamus. In fact, most video game fans are more likely to be internet wrestling fans, and those people for the most part hate Triple H. If the WWE is going to do storylines for specific wrestlers, then it needs more than three and it needs to do a better job of selecting a good variety of characters. Perhaps have one face and one heel from the main event, two wrestlers from the mid card, and a lower card wrestler. Also, between those five characters, mix the styles so that maybe one is a brawler, one submission wrestler, one high flyer, etc. Give the fans some options while also maintaining good stories.

3. Create-A-Wrestler

As I said before, one of the most popular aspects of the WWE games is the ability to create a wrestler and enter him in to the world of the WWE. When each WWE game hits, there are tons of fans that immediately go to the CAW (Create-A-Wrestler) before they even wrestle any matches. There are many people online that take pride in the fact that they make the best CAWs.

The problem is that throughout the years there hasn't been much advancement in the options or quality of the CAWs. If WWE '13 wants to satisfy fans, then I believe the absolute easiest way to go about it is to simply make the most CAW options ever. If the Road to Wrestlemania or the Universe mode is lacking, then most fans are willing to overlook those modes if the CAW mode is better.

4. Women Wrestlers

It's no surprise that the women wrestlers aren't taken seriously in the video game, because they aren't taken seriously in the company either. The women get the shaft in every possible way. There is no storyline mode for the women, they don't make many appearances in the male storylines, and even the quality of graphics for the characters don't seem as good. Hopefully, THQ will eventually figure out that even though women aren't considered an asset by the WWE that they can be an asset to the popularity of its video game. Better, quality women characters and a storyline for them will make a lot of fans very happy.

5. Improvement to Universe Mode

Again, I enjoy the Universe mode and could have fun playing it for a long time. There are some improvements that can be made, and the key is the more options the better. Give users the ability to delete televisions shows or add their own. Let them choose how many matches are on a show. Give the users complete control over the brands, shows, belts, and wrestlers.

Sources:

WWE Games

Lee Andrew Henderson has been a fan of wrestling since the WWF in the mid-80s. Since then Lee Andrew has been a fan of WWF/WWE, WCW, ECW, TNA and ROH and followed all the news and results surrounding all of these wrestling federations. Lee Andrew Henderson can be found on Twitter @LeeAHenderson.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Read more here:
Five Improvements THQ Should Make for WWE '13