Unlike WWF Betrayal for the Gameboy Color, Road to Wrestlemania is a straight up wrasslin' game, and a mighty good one at that. The fighting system is very similar to that of Fire Pro Wrestling, where you have one attack button and one grapple button. When you lock up with your opponent, you can use either the A or B buttons along with a press of the d-pad to execute either a grab or a strike. Grappling and executing most moves takes a good degree of timing to do successfully, as you can't mash on the buttons and expect a move to come out. Executing moves also depends a lot on how much damage your opponent has taken. If they are near full strength, it will be difficult to get them into a piledriver or a DDT, but if they are just about done, you can do these moves rather easily.

Like in THQ's N64 wrestling games, your stamina also plays a factor in whether or not you'll be able to pull off some of your moves. If you're low on stamina, you won't be able to lift up a guy for a suplex, rather your opponent will most likely clock you in the head before you're able to slap a move on him. Aside from the basic grappling moves, you can also apply submission holds to your opponent, which change depending on their position on the mat. You also have two moves from the top turnbuckle (elbow smash and double axe handle), a powerslam if your opponent is running towards you, and a running clothesline. I found it fairly easy to get into the game, especially compared to Fire Pro Wrestling. The entire system is extremely simple, and that's probably better for the game considering its target audience.

There are 24 wrestlers that you can choose from, including favourites such as Triple H, The Rock, Kurt Angle and the Hardy Boyz, not to mention a slew of single player and multiplayer modes to choose from. You can choose to work up the ladder in Season mode, go through the fight of your life in the Gauntlet, or particpate in any of the other gimmick matches that are thrown into the game, such as the Royal Rumble, King of the Ring or a Cage Match. In addition, you can also face off in tag team, triple threat and handicap matches. Needless to say, you'll find all the tools to recreate your most memorable matches in this game.

Graphically the game is solid, but it doesn't exactly light up the screen. The animations are pretty stiff, and makes the action seem a lot slower than it is. The Titantron videos that accompany each wrestler's appearances are very good considering the medium they're on, and they're even accompanied by the appropriate theme song! The sound is on par with the graphics, aside from the theme songs, there are a few bone crunching effects, and the occassional voice sample for the referees.

While the actual gameplay in Road to Wrestlemania is put together very well, I'm sort of miffed that there isn't nearly enough to do in the game, and I do blame on that on the grapple system. Despite being fairly simple and (gasp) even fun at times, the whole formula of a match will usually break down to kicking your opponent and then body slamming them, and repeating until you're able to pull off some of the more powerful moves. And once you land that DDT or snapmare takedown, you can just pick up your opponent and do it all over again without retaliation. It can make most matches dreadfully boring, especially if you're participating in modes that take a bit of time to complete, such as the King of the Ring. THQ could've also made the game infinitely better if there was some "Create-a-Wrestler" in the game. I don't think I need to tell anyone that I miss the inclusion of recent WWF stars such as Booker T or Rob Van Dam.

Although the game has a few chinks in its armor, Road to Wrestlemania is a worthy addition to any wrestling fan's game collection. It houses some of the biggest names in the industry today, and by golly, it's a damn fun game to play with your friends. I mean, who wouldn't want to deliver a Rock Bottom to X-Pac?

· · · Reno