Preview: 'WWE All-Stars'

The biggest date of the WWE calendar is only a few weeks away, and what better way to celebrate the 27th annual Wrestlemania than with brand new arcade brawler WWE All-Stars? With former superstars such as The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin taking part in this year's wrestling extravaganza, as well as a card featuring talent such as The Miz, Randy Orton and Edge, it's fitting that THQ's latest grapplefest should pit the stars of today against the legends of old in a battle to see which era is the best. Never one to shy away from a challenge, DS laced up its wrestling boots, donned the spandex and went to town with a bottle of baby oil, as we accepted THQ's invitation to sample the game at a recent event in London.

Raring to go, we jumped straight into the exhibition mode and were greeted by a character select screen boasting more than 20 wrestlers both past and present, with additional slots open for unlockable talent - taking the final tally to 30. The retro roster is one of the game's biggest selling points and we were glad to see some of our favourite superstars from the past such as Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bret 'The Hitman' Hart, Jake 'The Snake' Roberts and Hulk Hogan all available from the off. Aiming to recreate their famous career match from Wrestlemania VII, we started the day by playing a straightforward one-on-one match between Randy 'Macho Man' Savage and The Ultimate Warrior, which made us feel giddy with nostalgic excitement.

The roster isn't the only part of the game that tips its hat to the past. The game looks and plays much more like an arcade game of old than a modern day wrestling simulation. The sprites are big, bold and blocky, which makes each wrestler looks like a pumped up caricature of themselves (but in a good way). Even the smaller guys like Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero and Kofi Kingston have bodybuilder physiques, so you can only imagine what a musclehead such as The Ultimate Warrior looks like. It all seemed much more colourful than recent entries such as Smackdown Vs. Raw too, which seems fitting considering the light-hearted nature of the game.

The game was very easy to pick up and play and, despite being on the losing end of a few early encounters, it wasn't long before we were on a streak that would make even Goldberg proud. The face buttons are a combination of light and heavy strikes and holds, while the shoulder buttons are used to do most of the other actions, such as running, leaving the ring etc. We were also able to sample the new Madcatz WWE All-Stars brawl stick: a nice, shiny, single stick arcade controller, which was responsive, felt like it could take a hammering and complimented the fast-paced gameplay very well. Hitting opponent wrestlers against the ropes or into the ground resulted in some long-running and highly damaging juggling combos, which made the game feel more like a regular beat-em-up than a modern day wrestling simulation.

Hitting enough moves fills up star slots below the health bar and a finishing move bar to the side, which when full enables players to unleash signature moves that typically involve jumping 20ft into the air and slamming opponents into the ground, sending shockwaves across the mat. Alternatively, guys like Macho Man and John Morrison would leap onto the top turnbuckle and jump the entire length of the ring to nail opponents with the flying elbow or Starship Pain respectively. The cinematic signature moves were by far the most memorable and entertaining part of the experience, although it will be interesting to see whether or not they get tiresome with repeated play. For the more scientific wrestling fan, the game features different character types - such as brawler and acrobat - as well as a host of counters and reversals; we were unable to really sink our teeth into these gameplay mechanics and judge the lasting impact that they have on the game.

In terms of game modes, the only thing we didn't sample was online play, but everything else was available for our scrutiny. The first thing that we tried was the 'Path of Champions', which enables players to challenge for the tag titles against DX, or for singles gold against either Randy Orton or The Undertaker. What follows is a series of ten matches with varying stipulations, including hardcore, tornado tag and steel cage matches. Survive these bouts and presumably it culminates in a championship match and ends. Before it begins, however, the player is greeted with a specially recorded animated promo from whichever superstar they have challenged. The Undertaker, for example, is joined by Paul Bearer in the Funeral Parlour, who proceeds to undermine your chances of victory in his own high-pitched and excitable way.

By far the most promising feature is the 'Fantasy Warfare' mode, which is a series of themed matches pitting legends against superstars. What makes this mode unique is the high calibre promotional videos leading into the matches. Lots of genuine archive video clips are spliced together in order to build up the feuds and, thanks to some clever editing, it all seems like it is happening here and now. An early encounter pitting CM Punk against Stone Cold Steve Austin, for example, uses their vastly opposing lifestyles as a base for the feud. The clips make it look as though Punk is attempting to convert Austin to his old straight-edge society, while footage of Austin showering the ring in beer and talking trash, can easily be taken out of context and applied to this particular encounter.

WWE All-Stars is shaping up nicely and its unique, over-the-top arcade style combined with the host of classic superstars made it an instantly enjoyable affair. The biggest question mark is whether the in-your-face, pick-up-and-play gameplay houses any depth and whether the lack of a career mode will hurt it in the long run. Either way, it's sure to grab the attention of wrestling fans who remember the days when Hulk ruled, mullets were all the rage and a guy wearing pink spandex was cool.

WWE All-Stars will be released on March 29 in North America and April 1 in Europe on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2 and PSP.