With its emphasis on flamboyant superstars, trash talk and high-flying assaults, THQ's WWE wrestling sim series is a perennial fan favorite. This season's annual installment features renovated controls, custom fighting techniques and Extreme Championship Wrestling superstars like Johnny Nitro and CM Punk. Topping the list of upgrades are new, more intuitive joystick-based submission and grappling systems, plus the addition of eight original combat styles, with brawlers drawing primary and secondary abilities from these categories. Unpredictable design work can result in clearly unbalanced standoffs, though, as certain opponents may power up and become impervious to strikes or gain access to irreversible grapples. Opponents also tend to rely on the same strategies too often, and clunky combat animations can cause strikes to erroneously miss, presenting cause for frustration. But between extensive online connectivity, custom create-a-wrestler options and support for classic matches, e.g. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, it's a small price to pay for so much replay value.

Issues with spotty AI and imprecise hit detection barely tarnish the otherwise triumphant ode to adolescent wish fulfillment that lets you cane opponents with flaming 2x4s or bitch-slap rivals before issuing ego-bruising taunts. Revisions to 24/7 mode -- which now stitch season and general manager functions into one grand single-player campaign -- might garner a lukewarm reception. Still, with so much high-quality content and gameplay basics to build on, there's plenty of incentive to don the old Speedo and facemask again.