With the world porno budget topping fifty seven billion (yes that's billion folks) dollars and twelve percent of the Internet dominated by this insalubrious sexual scam, I think it's fair to say that we've got all the porn we need for the moment. Not quite content with this quantity of one-handed artwork, Komani, one of the most reputable publishers around, have decided to add to the global porn pool with Rumble Roses, an outrageous attempt to capitalise on the sexual frustrations of teenage male gamers.

I've always liked Konami but someone needs a good spank for this endeavour, as not only is it a blatant pot shot at the loins of the gaming majority, everybody knows that it's derivative and very much second place to almost any other wrestling title. With THQ behind the development wheel, you can probably imagine which popular PS2 title Rumble Roses takes its cue from and the similarities are profound. This may sound like no bad thing, after all the Smackdown! series is high quality and justifiably admired for setting a benchmark in a genre that singularly failed to capture the intensity of the world of sports entertainment. Unfortunately however, Rumble Roses takes a lot away from the winning formula, leaving you with little other than the mindless titillation of inadequately clothed ladies causing each other pain.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against scantily clad women [Mind overloaded, so many jokes I could make, cannot compute! Ed] and the presence of young polygonal flesh definitely has its place in gaming, but dealing with a wrestling title in this fashion leaves Rumble Roses open to much scrutiny, not least of which being the eternal question - "Is it any good?"

So, apart from the wholesale T and A, there's not a lot to be said about Rumble Roses. As mentioned before, there's a heavy whiff of Smackdown's jockstrap here, perhaps a little better fragranced but a majority of the moves and ringside action are snatched straight from THQ's smash hit. A simplified but equally intuitive control system adds to the overpowering odour and I swear I recognise some of the crowd members. In fact it's probably easier to deal with the aspects neglected by Rumble Roses, as things like the create-a-wrestler were integral to the success of Smackdown! and have been totally overlooked here.

Linear storylines and a lack of match types do little to up the longevity and with only three types of match - Exhibition, Title and Mad Mud matches - there's scant replacement for the huge assortment of options available in other wrestling titles. A paltry range of fighters with little variation in moves takes away yet more of the potential fun factor and, as a final nail in the coffin, the load times are of a fingernail-gnawing length.

All this may sound like a complete dismissal of Rumble Roses but at the end of the day, it's built on a sturdy engine and despite the deficiency in match types (there's not even a tag-team match), the single player storyline is enjoyable in its own way, even if the erroneously titled 'Roses' are a little too serious about their profession. In addition to the story mode, the exhibition matches have a vow system, which allows you to speed your way to the title by fulfilling promises during matches. Of course, what self-respecting girly-fighting title would be complete without a gallery allowing you behind the scenes access to the girls in all their mammorial glory. Needless to say, this morally questionable mode (if you can call it a mode) is good for about thirty seconds until you realise that you're ogling something with less polygons than a Gran Turismo Subaru.

With an abundance of bras, panties, stockings and flesh, the visuals manage to keep your eyes from drifting away from the action and with a smooth, niggle free engine, things chug along nicely with fluid, extravagant moves and special holds. Despite more than a few repetition issues, nothing about the presentation irks and as a whole it stands up well against most other wrestling games. A fairly competent musical score and a whole bunch of squeals and moans from the girls completes the audio-visual proficiency, but then given the premise of the game, it would be unforgivable for it to be anything but perfect on the presentation front.

As a rental title, Rumble Roses is a good choice for a drunken night in with the lads but you're never going to have a long term relationship with this one. [Some of the best nights are the one-nighters! Ed] A dumbed-down version of a classic series, Rumble Roses does little to further the genre or indeed women's lib movement and is very difficult to recommend to anyone but the most frustrated of teens. Don't increase that porno budget any further and stay away - it doesn't even have a one-handed control option!

Reviewed by Tom LeClerc for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).