Brief Thoughts on WWE All-Stars Path of Champions Mode and Elimination Video

Without going into any spoilers “Path of Champions” is the story mode for WWE All-Stars that involves completing a series of 10 matches that culminates in a title shot. There really isn’t much of a story involved, it is more akin to the champion cutting promos to build anticipation and doesn’t feature any interaction such as run-ins, but it works just well enough to get the user invested in the process. The 10 matches are mixed up nicely to provide variety by utilizing the different match types including extreme rules, cage, and elimination. 

There are three different “paths” to take with the finales being against The Undertaker, Randy Orton, and DX. The mode can be played through using any superstar or even created wrestler. The DX “path” is completed as a tag team and it remains somewhat surprising just how good the CPU teammate AI is in WWE All-Stars as they can be completely trusted to hold their own. The only disappointment is that tag teams are always introduced individually. Hopeful for the actual DX entrance instead HHH and Shawn Michaels came out separately to their own music.

Each play though takes approximately 1 1/2 hours, considering matches generally last a little over five minutes (plus a few will be lost and need to be replayed) and the handful of cut scenes tossed in. Certainly in terms of an intricate story it doesn’t match Fight Night Champion but it actually provides much more content when comparing the two story modes. 4 1/2 hours when combining the three paths compared to less than 3 1/2 hours, and there is actual value to playing POC multiple times through with different wrestlers in order to earn unlockables and achievements.

The roster of WWE All-Stars actually starts with only 20 of the 30 available to choose from. Those missing 10 and the three inaccessible arenas have to be unlocked through “Fantasy Warfare” mode while “Path of Champions” provides the alternate ring gear.

I’ve been quite impressed with the level of content being offered in WWE All-Stars. The “Path of Champions” mode is a nice addition to the offline feature set, and though it may get repetitive over time, I’ve yet to even feel as though that point is anywhere near the horizon. Check back for more coverage over the weekend leading up to a “Hits and Misses” review early next week.