Beginners will merely hit buttons in hope to begin with, and as a result everything seems a bit random and arbitrary at first. With time and a little practice, though, you soon learn how to climb a corner post, perform a stunning drop kick, and work out where to stand before attempting a fall or submission. In fact, the control system works reasonably well: each button has a different function which depends on the relative position of you and your opponent. It's a bit clunky and limited but you can live with it.

Good sound effects and a noisy, interactive crowd add greatly to the atmosphere, and though the animation is distinctly wooden at times, the action is a lot faster and less cumbersome than a lot of wrestling sims of the past.

WCW has a few gimmicks as well, and plenty of variety, so you shouldn't become bored too quickly. You can design your own wrestler, for one thing, and there's a plethora of venues and a load of different tournaments to take part in too. The all-in, Multi-Tap, World War III 'last man in the ring' game is a laugh, and the Pay Per View TV season will bring in a few bonuses, should you get through it.

And that just about covers things, really. Those looking for Tekken-like graphics, speed, agility and smoothness are sure to be disappointed, but WCW Mayhem certainly lives up to its name. If you do decide to throw your hat into the ring, you'll find that it'll keep you and your mates laddishly amused for quite a while.