Everybody knows that WWF is the biggest pile of old grannies' turd this side of Sky One. It's plop. No realism, no real blood and all stamping on the canvas. Despite this, it draws in thousands of viewers every week. How?

Bam Bam Bigelo, Bret 'The Hitman' Hart and co are popular people, and the number of games churned out by various companies is a testament to that. But, none of them were any good frankly. They were pretty funny until the novelty wore off and, after that, they were pants. But amindst all that crud, one game stood out from the rest: Wrestlemania The Arcade Game. It was a success due to the immense playability. The characters all had outrageous moves, huge combos were possible in a bash-the-buttons frenzy, and it was a top good laugh. How does it compare on the Saturn though? Well that's what we're here for, folks.

Well, the WWF has been around in one form or another for bloody ages now, but this version is the newest attempt at creating the perfect wrestlefest.

Get into "The squared circle" as the commentator so perceptively puts it, and beat the crap out of other blokes in leotards.

There are two skill levels to this game, but instead of coming in the form of easy and hard, boring old rubbish settings, you get the choice of either the Intercontinental Championship Belt (Easy) or the World Wrestling Federation Championship (slightly harder). The difference in the battles is the number of people you have to fight in the process.

The easier belt (I can't be bothered to keep saying interwotsit thing) starts you off against a single wrestler, followed by two fighters about three fights later, and then, for the final fight, you have to beat three men.

All that changes for the harder setting is that you get to fight two people instead of one, and the final bout is against four men! Blimey.

Another nifty little feature of this game is the combo meter and the effect it can subsequently have on the battle. It works in a similar fashion to the strength meters featured in Streetfighter Alpha. During the bout, the bar will slowly rise with every hit and special attack that is landed on an opponent. When it reaches the full level, this is the time to hit those buttons as the combo is charged and ready. To activate the combos, you must be in a grapple, then press forward twice, followed by all of the subsequent buttons. If done correctly, it can result in up to 26 hits for certain characters.

The idea of the game is simple - beat up your opponent. Now, this can be done in a variety of ways, either using the standard punch and kick type moves, or by utilising some of the more adventurous throws and holds, or high risk attacks, to give them their proper name.

These manoeuvres gain their name from the added risk element that accompanies their various button presses. The risk is that you are more likely to succumb to reversals, which damage your energy bar.

I used to love wrestling and the WWF (I'd like to take this opportunity to stress the word *used* there), but when I realised that they don't actually hit each other and all they do is stamp their feet, it all started to become a bit, well, crap.

Even the games had no enjoyment any more as far as I was concerned. But that all changed when this CD came along. It's a top laugh and make no mistake about it. The moves are so 'bonkers', as Marcus would say, that they can only provide giggles and are especially satisfying in two player mode.

The combos mean that there is a little to be mastered in the longer term. But the real let-down is in the difficulty level. On my first go I got to the Intercontinental final using only one continue, so to say I was a little disappointed would be an understatement. Overall, it is the best in two player mode, but leaves more than a little to be desired in the one player game.

Speaking as someone who was never taken in by this American atrocity, and as someone who never really saw the attraction of the 16-bit WWF games, I approached this in a less than sympathetic way than Steve.

And, sure enough, I was disappointed. Yes, it is very funny and yes, there is considerable comedy value in watching this motley assortment of chortlesome charlatans bounce all over the ring at your behest.

Behind all this, however, lies the nagging doubt that this is far from the world's greatest beat-'em-up. Once the laffs have worn off, how often will you come back to this? I for one won't be sticking around to find out.

Graphics 85%
P. The wrestlers are presented fairly well, and the ring and background looks good.

Animation 89%
P. The characters move well and all their moves are fluid.

Music 79%
P. Each character has their own winning music.
N. But other than that, other music is non-existent.

Effects 87%
P. A few crowd noises, and some cool punch and slam noises, cover most of the effects needed.

Playability 81%
P. In a two-player game, you can't go wrong with this.
N. But when you're on your Jack Jones, this is sadly lacking.

Lastability 79%
P. Again, good with a mate.
N. But all the lone gamesplayers will find this lacking.

Overall 80%
As wrestling games go, you probably won't get much better than this in multi-player mode. This is nowhere near good enough in single player mode, however.