Punch, punch, punch, punch, punch, punch, finisher, win. Repeat
Unlike what happens in the other versions of this game, the number of gameplay options available here are slightly limited. Your first possibility is creating a simple match between two different wrestlers, which allows you to pick one among the few match types that this game has to offer. Unfortunately, these types are limited and hardly amusing, and even if more options are available, everything can be resumed as pin and submission matches. There are no matches that involve more than two superstars, and even the usage of hardcore options too limited, which ends up being slightly disappointing, as it severely limits the actions you can perform in the middle of a match.
This disappointment is also propelled by the general controls that this game has to offer. The strict usage of the lower screen to perform all in-ring actions is certainly an amusing curiosity, but it feels old after a while, and deprives players from all the fun they could be having. At each point in time, players are given three possible actions, different in their strength, speed and required motions. A single punch can be performed by selecting a weak attack and then following the in-game directions, which tell you to draw a single line. However, if you want to grab your opponent, making it possible for your character to unleash some of his most powerful moves, you'll have to pick the strongest option, one that will require you to input more complex motions, such as quick spins.
This scheme allows you to effectively manage the moves of your character, but you never actually get to move them across the ring. Instead, particular moves have certain effects, not only in terms of damage but also in ring positioning. If you constantly strike your opponent with light or strong punches, he will be directed to slightly different places, with one of those possibilities making him head for the ropes, while the other takes him to the corner of the squared circle.
Apart from these basic actions, there are also submissions holds and weapons. This particular kind of holds, while easy to understand and use (usually, you just have to rub the screen, in order to apply additional damage), is extremely hard to unleash. You must first get your opponent to a particular position, before picking the right selection and quickly switching your hand to a place where you may an easier time accomplishing the required motion. Sounds easy, but even if submissions holds are marked with a particular symbol, you will have an hard time getting your opponent to a specific (and usually, unknown) position and quickly clicking the right option, "speed" being the keyword here. Finishers suffer from the same problem, and while some superstars have their task simplified, others end up being a huge pain in the ass - once more, you have to put the opponent in a certain position and click a skull-like icon seen on the upper right corner of the screen
This difficulty also applies to attacking with foreign objects. Depending on which mode you're playing, you're generally asked to pick what weapon you want to take to the combat. Then, when your opponent is on the ground, you can click a button seen on the upper right corner, which allows your superstar to quickly fetch the weapon he selected. Unfortunately, this is an action which can only be followed once per match, and once you have its result in your hand you're only allowed to take a few jabs - no matter how you follow that sequence, after three or four moves you'll lose all the access to that weapon.
Apart from the stated Exhibition mode, there's also one that clearly resembles a story mode. There, you start playing as a fable superstar, no matter who you pick, and you'll have to make your way to the top of the ladder, earning one of the main championships on your way there. There's no way you can fight for, let's say, the United States title, or the tag ones, and so your stuck with that main objective. You're given a calender to schedule your time, and just as real superstars, you'll end up having your matches every week.
Unfortunately, most storylines appear to make no sense at all, and you may end up being constantly lost about whom exactly you were supposed to be fighting with. You're allowed to visit six different backstage areas, where you'll find other superstars and the important chronometers, which you can use in practice sessions. Now, finding other superstars makes perfect sense, but it's pretty weird that everyone just tends to insult your character, even if they are your friends in the current storyline. Your mortal enemies won't attack you either, they just stay there and give you the usual speech, flames included for free, which appears to deprive this game from any kind of RPG-like component that it should have. Once in a while, talking to a certain character actually leads to some place important, but that's more of an exception than an actual rule.
Clicking certain parts of the scenario may award you the previously-mentioned chronometers, and if, at first, this sounds like an enjoyable treasure hunt, you'll later find yourself searching every area after each match, hoping that one of these precious items pops up from where you're searching. This, along with the lack of interest that most dialogues pose, makes the exploration part of the game extremely boring, leading you to the training mini-games, hoping they may appease your boredom. When you've collected a few chronometers, you can head to the gym and spend them in one of the three mini-games available. Each of those plays in a different way and raises your stats differently, just like a real gym would. In fact, performing well in these sessions is claimed to improve the overall power of some of your moves, something that just doesn't appear to reflect in the heat of combat.
Even thought some of these features are actually enjoyable, having to perform them for tons and tons of times may later exhaust your interest in the game. At first, the game is extremely easy, but later on your opponents become so quick that it just becomes close to impossible to do anything besides striking with your weakest moves, as they're the quickest to perform and, therefore, less likely to be countered. This is exactly where the existence of the multiplayer mode should pay off, and it just doesn't.
There's no online option, or even download play. Instead, if you want to have a battle with your friends, they are required to own their very own copy of the cart, which may severely limit the number of people you can fight against. Just like there's no referee in the ring, you perhaps you should consider the replay value of this game to be pretty much non-existent, as you'll be having absolutely no fun once you complete the story mode. Since the character rooster is rather limited (they picked Hardcore Holly over legendary Tommy Dreamer, which says a lot), there's not much point in performing several offline combats, either.
Graphically, this title is a a sweet that pleases your eyes, but that doesn't deprive it from some of its problems. One of the most obvious are the character models, with the Undertaker being as tall as Rey Mysterio, which is just wrong. Truth be told, the superstars' entrances are amazing, in a way that puts the bigger consoles to shame, but they're the kind of thing that, after being watched for a few times, becomes rather uninteresting.
Even if the sound is quite good when characters' entrances are taking place, the same can't be said about the rest of the game. Most sound effects aren't mildly relevant, and the music is often the kind of thing that you may want to turn off as soon as possible.
Unless you're a huge WWE fan, one who wants to play with his favourite superstars anywhere he goes, I suggest you skip this title. Its extremely repetitive gameplay is something that may be unappealing to plenty of players, and it ends up being something you should heavily consider, if you're thinking about buying this game.