WWF Royal Rumble - Sega Dreamcast

Last year's WWF Attitude title for the Dreamcast was mediocre at best, with the characters moving like robots and the control very cumbersome. WWF Royal Rumble changes all that, with excellent animation and solid controls. This is a perfect translation of a concurrent arcade stand-up (so save those quarters for more important things, like laundry!).

Nine characters can fight it out in the ring at any one time, making this game a showcase for the power of the Dreamcast. The action turns into quite the melee as over 20 of your favourite WWF superstars take to the squared circle (the Rock, the Road Dogg, Kane, D'Lo Brown, the Big Show, for instance) in a battle of epic proportions.

Like its arcade cousin, the controls in the Dreamcast version are easy to learn and a breeze to execute. One button is used for attacking, another for grappling, and a third is for pinning, running and climbing the top rope. Use the directional pad when tapping the buttons to determine which special move you will perform on your opponent. A double button-press during a match will cause your partner to toss in a concealed weapon, do a run in attack, or maybe even perform a double tag-team move on your opponent.

Each time a wrestler takes damage or delivers a special move, his or her special meter increases. Once the meter is filled, an "S" will appear next to the meter. The letters allow signature moves to be executed, or they can be used to escape or hold a pin. The more "S"s you have, the more power you have in a match (you can save up to five of these important letters).

The single-player mode gets old quickly, but add two or three of your friends and this game becomes amazing. For some, WWF Royal Rumble will be a button-mashing masterpiece. --Todd Mowatt