WWE is another one of those large franchises that tends to appear on every console imaginable, like FIFA or Tony Hawk's. Usually when you see a brand name game, you know what you are getting. In this instance, however, looks can be deceiving. THQ Wireless slapped their name on the publishing rights to this one and at this point we should all take a moment to remember the diabolical mess that was Moto GP, which was also a product of THQ's wireless member of the family. So how does WWE Aftershock fare in the ring? Well, I'm afraid it doesn't put up much of a fight, as you are about to find out.

At the main menu you can choose to play through a few different single player modes, multiplayer or visit the N-Gage Arena to upload or download high scores. The menu feels like it's been ripped straight from FIFA 2005 (N-Gage) and just had a WWE theme slapped on. But it's quite nice, as a different superstar is displayed at random each time you make a selection. In the options menu you have the choice of turning on vibration, which uses the vibrate function of the N-Gage's phone hardware. Nice feature, but only available on the N-Gage QD model, due to battery restrictions on the previous model. A little sensitivity on the vibration would have helped, as a punch heeds the same powerful vibration as a full on suplex, which is a bit iffy.

The single player modes available to you are Main event, King of the Ring, Survival and Tag Team. Selecting Main event brings up another slew of game modes, Exhibition, which is a straight up fight, First Blood, which means basically the first one to bleed loses, plus other longer game modes, for when you have a lot of time to kill, like Best of 3 Pinfall, Best of 5 Pinfall, I Quit matches and No Disqualification matches. The in game controls are a little overwhelming at first and you may find yourself checking the control layout a few times during your first few matches. Key 9 makes your superstar run around the ring like an ape, while key 5 punches and slaps. This sometimes feels unresponsive; I know these wrestlers are by large a slow bunch of brutes, but it can be frustrating when you press 5 and the punch doesn't execute, or doesn't execute quickly enough and you get slogged in the face, then an onslaught of slow grapples in your opponent's favour then ensues until you manage to regain momentum. This got under my skin too quickly.

The game looks quite rough. There are a number of different famous arenas to choose from, like 'WWE Raw', 'WWE Smackdown!' and 'WWE Heat'. The only way I could tell these apart however was from the different colours used on the entrance stage. The crowd exists in the form of a dark, blocky pixelated mess with a few dots of colours thrown in for good measure. The flashing lights help to make an otherwise static arena appear less dead. Characters are poised like cavemen, which I know doesn't say a lot for wrestling superstars but this is ridiculous. They look hunched over. Some of their upper arms are far too large looking for their bodies. They tend to run like the tin man from Wizard of Oz, with completely and utterly rigidity. It's laughable, but in contrast most of the actual grapples moves look really fluid, which helps the game's credibility somewhat.

Speaking of moves, compared to console wrestling titles, the move list here is quite pitiful - even compared to WWF Attitude, way back on the PSOne. The superstars all share most of the same generic moves, like punch, dropkick from the turnbuckle, suplex and DDT. The ground moves fall into the same category - leg stomps and one or two different submission holds. Aside from how the character looks, it's often difficult to tell that you are actually using a different superstar. Key 4 performs an Irish whip and picks up weapons, key 3 tags a partner in tag team mode, key 6 acts as a counter attack, key 7 enters into a grapple formation and key 8 picks your opponent up off the mat.

The heads up display is simple and works well, showing your superstar's name, Smackdown gauge, number of total Smackdowns and health status. The health status icon is particularly useful in knowing where you or your opponent is damaged. If you are taking excessive beatings to your head then the colour indicator turns from green to yellow, to red and then dark red. Blood even spurts out at a certain damage level. Attacking your opponent increases your Smackdown gauge. Once it's full, pressing the 5 key in front of a dazed opponent performs that superstar's signature move. Usually after pulling this move off successfully, you can pin your opponent by pressing the 1 key.

A plus, albeit a minor one, is the inclusion of licensed music for superstars. Average quality and short lived they may be, but the songs add a little bit of WWE spirit to a bland game. Crowd noise can be repetitive, as it's almost the same audio on a constant loop. The atmosphere in the ring is like a knitting circle; extremely quiet. Due to storage capacity limitations and possibly licenses, commentators weren't included in this title, which would have made me feel slightly more positive towards it.

There are 10 superstars to begin with and 2 unlockable. Big Show is unlocked via successful completion of the King of the Ring mode, which could take all of ten minutes of your time. Kane however can only be unlocked by uploading a high score to the N-Gage arena. This is where players with no Internet connection lose out; in a game with such a small roster and little replay value, they could have at least made the unlockable wrestlers available to everyone, possibly with a tougher single player mode. This is where a Career mode would have been a great addition; I found myself missing the over the top storylines and general charisma of wrestling entertainment.

Only hardcore wrestling fans and those craving a fix of men in tights on the go need take a look at WWE Aftershock and even they will be disappointed. While it is fun to an extent, it becomes uninteresting after one or two bouts. I think this one could be dropkicked into the bottom of the bin after you finish playing it; maybe that's a little harsh but WWE Aftershock really isn't all that it could have been and goes down for the 1,2,3 count all too easily.

Reviewed by Dan Whelan for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).