THQ WWE Wrestlemania X9

Got a PS2, or an XBOX. Don't buy Wrestlemania X9. The worst out of the three latest THQ WWE releases. Smackdown 5 for the PS2 has everything from Hell in a Cell to Bra & Panties. Raw 2 on the XBOX is a very nice and detailed game with very good effects. I suppose WWE Wrestlemania does show blood. But there is no Elimination Chamber, no Bra & Panties and only 25 characters to choose from. Pick your own stadiums and go backstage. The create a player mode id there but very hard to get your head round. WWE fans please don't buy this game.

WWE Wrestlemania X9 is a drastic improvement over WWE wrestlemania X8. Already good multiplayer becomes even better by incuding missions from the single-player mode, which itself is good if not great.

It involves a more street fighter feel than wrestling as you beat Vince's staff sensless whilst performing some predictable tasks (beat up 10 builders, beat up 10 security officers, beat up Kurt Angle etc).

By far the game's best feature is it's 'Create-a-superstar' mode which is by far the best of any wrestling game, ever! It let's you customize your wrestler's entrance down to camera angles and lighting, trust me, it's fantastic!

The graphical capabilities of this game are nearly the best of any game and for a high pased fighting game that makes it truly a marvel to watch. The sounds and (most) peices of music are of top notch quality but some can get annoying after a short while.

One thing (as with X8) that lets this game down is it's single-player mode with 'Revenge' mode being the closest thing to a story mode. Whilst it is good it is in no way a 'story mode'as in other wrestling games. THQ could have so easily included a mode similar to that of it's very own 'WWF No Mercy' (N64) to make the game that little bit longer. It really is a shame they didn't as otherwise this is a truly brilliant game.

Overall it is a huge improvement over X8, a definite step ahead of Smackdown 3 but we'll just have to wait until the inevitable Wrestlemania XX for it to challenge the soon to be released SD5. It's the second-best range of Wrestling games, behind Smackdown and offers more fun the more people that play it!