I don’t keep up that much with the mobile gaming scene as much as I’d like, but since it’s January and we are in a dead period I figured I’d venture into the Google Play Store and explore. Luckily enough January has been a pretty great month for mobile gaming with WWE Immortals being the latest thing to eat up my time during what little free time I have.
What’s strange is that WWE Immortals is a game that on paper should be terrible. Whenever wrestling games deviate from the norm they tend to crash and burn. Does anyone remember WWE Crush Hour? Of course nobody does, heck, it was difficult enough finding an image of it on the internet to use as a joke when live tweeting the Royal Rumble this past weekend.
So then, why does WWE Immortals work as a game, let alone a really solid fighting game for mobiles? That has everything to do with what lies under the surface of the game. WWE Immortals was already released to mobile devices some time ago, albeit under a different name. You probably know the game better as Injustice: Gods Among Us, the breakout fighting game for mobile devices based on the DC universe with heavy Mortal Komabt influences.
Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel or spend the time building a game from the ground up in an untested market, the WWE smartly tapped the team behind Injustice to essentially re-skin the mobile game to fit the WWE Universe. Yes, it sounds like a wacky premise, but when you understand how kids (and the WWE bigwigs) see the superstars you’ll see how this idea works.
The premise for this adventure is only slightly above what a WWE storyline would try to pull on television. Bray Wyatt steals a lantern of immense power with the help of The Authority. This being WWE it wouldn’t be a story without a case of betrayal and The Authority take the lantern for themselves and unleash its power onto the world. This lantern is some sort of nexus of alternate realities and WWE superstars come flooding in all bearing incredible powers. These alternate world superstars come in good and evil versions of themselves in different variations. Even better is that many stars will give you buffs in battle if they are allies or adversaries. It’s all a bit silly, but still manages to be entertaining thanks to the solid gameplay.
Three-on-three fighting is the name of the game in WWE Immortals and thanks to this being Injustice with new skins, it works great. You select your team of characters (you can earn character cards during play or buy them in the store) and do battle in various out of this world locations. You can tap your opponent to strike them and the more you tap the bigger the combo that culminates with a swipe maneuver. If you swipe your opponent you can do a much more powerful attack, but these are much slower and can leave you vulnerable to a counter attack. If you find yourself on the defensive you can touch two fingers on screen to block your opponents attacks. It’s not the most technical or in-depth, but it works well.
WWE Immortals also borrows the special system from Injustice and each superstar will have access to three super-moves. The first move is free to each, but the other two will have to be unlocked with their respective card during play. You’ll also have the opportunity to upgrade each super-move with credits you earn (or purchase) thus making your special all the more powerful. With the first two specials in your arsenal you’ll be required to quickly tap, or quickly swipe, to build up power before unleashing, but the third tier special is automatic and will trigger an event animation that is always a blast to see.
I have always wondered why companies with big properties, be it WWE or a movie franchise, don’t just hire a team that has already produced a solid game and in-turn re-skin it for them. Sure, it isn’t the most original idea, but at least you know you’ll be getting a solid, if silly, game out of the whole thing. The graphics and animations look great and the game is simply a lot of fun to play (if basic) in short bursts. WWE Immortals is a welcome change from the standard wrestling game and one that is sure to delight WWE fans, and fans of fighting games alike.
WWE Immortals is available now as a free download on the Google Play Store and on the Apple iOS Store.
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