WWE All Stars review (PS3) ★★★

Don't expect the realistic simulation of WWE programming like with the SmackDown vs. RAW games, as All Stars is infinitely more over-the-top than any of the muscled-up brawls you'll see on TV. The best way to summarise the gameplay would be to envision a child kneeling on the floor and playing with a couple of action figures, locking the poseable arms in a tie-up and lifting the toys two feet above the small plastic ring for a big-time move, before shoving them back down between the elastic ropes. If you've got that image in your head now, then that's exactly what you'll be seeing if you play All Stars: Triple H hitting a Pedigree that reaches the rafters, and Mr. Perfect nailing a PerfectPlex with three mid-air revolutions. It's fantastical, larger than life and lot of fun.

Each wrestler has a physique that makes them look like they'd be able to Powerbomb the Colossus of Rhodes into oblivion in a split-second. To say that they are chiselled out of stone would be an understatement. Their biceps are so big they appear on the verge of exploding; their chins are Bruce Campbell-pronounced; and they have six packs that could probably grate diamonds into a fine dust. These glowingly colourful caricatures bring together the slam-glam of the Rock 'n' Wrestling era and the bright lights and Hollywood feel of today's product to make for some very pleasing visuals.

But aside from the Superstars and Legends looking oh so pretty in all their hulking ugliness, has the execution of controlling these mastodons and Suplexing your foes around the ring been as successful as the presentation? Not quite.

All Stars was built using the Midway Studios engine created for the lackluster TNA iMPACT! game from a few years ago. Following the company's liquidation, the Los Angeles team were hired by THQ and formed the San Diego studio. This very release was soon mapped out for development under the creative auspices of producer Sal Divita, who was a designer on WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game back in 1995, which is really no surprise to learn, as when you first play All Stars, you're immediately gripped by just how strongly you could visualise yourself bashing buttons in an arcade some place and pumping the machine full of coins. It's an authentic and highly enjoyable arcade experience – especially if you're playing with the BrawlStick peripheral. But that's both a gift and a curse.

The fully mo-capped moves look great. Most, if not all of them, are leftovers from the TNA game, which is pretty funny considering the likes of Samoa Joe and AJ Styles were the ones to don the ping-pong ball suits to capture the finest details of dropkicks and bodyslams. The move sets aren't quite as limited as in iMPACT! (which was one of the game's major downfalls), but it doesn't take long for the grappling action to get repetitive. Players can lock-up with their opponents in both quick and strong grapples, throw strong and weak strikes, and even springboard off the ropes to deliver some very cool-looking aerial attacks if you're a high-flyer like John Morrison, Shawn Michaels or Kofi Kingston. Playing as and against different Superstars and Legends enables you to experience the perks of the various classes, which range from the aforementioned rope-leaping, to the incomparable might of The Big Show and Kane, and the chain wrestling ability of technical masters such as Bret Hart.

Outside of exhibition bouts – which include a decent amount of match types like elimination tags, steel cage frenzies and Extreme Rules wars – the Path of Champions and Fantasy Warfare modes extend the life of the gameplay, but not by much. The former is essentially comprised of three Mortal Kombat ladders with occasional cut-scenes, where you must overcome a number of wrestlers to reach your rival. If you play as a Legend, you'll be tasked with taking out the self-proclaimed Legend Killer and WWE Champion Randy Orton, whereas if you're gunning for gold as a Superstar of today, the World Heavyweight Championship will be your target as you fight for a shot at The Undertaker. A tag team path is also playable with DX as the kings of the ring who you must dethrone, but for some reason it features no co-operative play.

Fantasy Warfare on the other hand lets you decide the best of the best in a series of dream matches that collide similar stars of the past and present. Here you'll find such battles as Mr. Perfect vs. The Miz in a contest dubbed Perfectly Awesome; Shawn Michaels against The Undertaker to find out who truly is Mr. WrestleMania; and Ricky Steamboat clashing with Kofi Kingston to discover who is the ultimate in-ring innovator. There really isn't much to this mode since these are matches that you can play any time you like without venturing into Fantasy Warfare, but what give it that extra oomph are the excellent video packages that precede each and every bout. They highlight the careers of the Superstar and Legend in the match and intercut dialogue from promos and interviews so that they come across like actual feuds that have taken place. THQ has done a brilliant job at putting them together.

Alas even with these modes and the unlockables (wrestlers and arenas) you'll be hunting for along the way, they only provide a couple of hours of play, and with the exhibition side of things not being so robust as to hold your interest for a year or however long until a sequel, like the SmackDown vs. RAW franchise manages to do, WWE All Stars isn't the deepest of games once you get into it and finally become acquainted with the difficult reversal scheme, as well as the haphazard implementation of the so-called pick-up-and-play approach.