And we thought the regular WWE was daft as a sack of badgers. Crush Hour pulls off the bizarre honour of making mulleted men getting sweaty together in gaudy unitards seem normal. And it does this by putting them in souped-up weapon-festooned death wagons and letting them loose in gigantic arenas. God help us all.

This is Twisted Metal: Black for SmackDown! fans. Choose Chris Jericho in his muscle car, Bubba Ray in his pickup, The Rock in his, erm, sports car or any one of a potential 32 superstars and get busy in thirteen arenas themed around WWE events. Hell in the call, cage match, SmackDown! Petrolhead versions of these and other WWE spectacles are on offer in both exhibition and career modes. And each of these is scattered with power-ups, weapons and modifiers perfect for frying and shunting your opponents into oblivion.

As you'd expect, it's ludicrous, OTT and about as subtle as an exploding greenhouse, but for a while, at least, it's quite fun. The best arenas are themed sprawls dotted with dead-ends and hidden tunnels, and it's good to see that the AI opponents have been programmed to be vindictive buggers. Sadly, though, unless you're a die-hard fan of the WWE grapplers (who supply their voices here) there's nothing really to recommend Crush Hour's spin on car-based deathmatch action over Twisted Metal: Black except the budget price.

Graphics 50%
Chunky and bold. A bit like Kane really.

Sound 60%
Wrestlers' voices give the stamp of authority.

Gameplay 50%
Slight variations on deathmatch but that's about it.

Lifespan 40%
Multiplayer prospects are undermined.

Overall 50%
Aimed at younger WWE fans, this budget-priced, spandex-clad spin on Twisted Metal just breaks even.