I shouldn't be surprised that I gravitated towards THQ's WWE All Stars at E3. I have a love-hate relationship with wrestling games; I've always wondered why nearly all of them try to replicate the stuff you see on television. Seriously, if wrestling is fantasy to begin with, why not go all out in a different medium? WWE All Stars isn't about adhering to a formula. It's about finding the most outlandish ways to ruin someone's day. It's about being simple while other wrestling games get caught up in their own mechanics. It's about good old-fashioned pick-up-and-play fun. It's about ten-foot leaps and bodies that bounce off the canvas like basketballs.

Over the years, I've developed a distaste for industry buzzwords. Unfortunately, I see no alternative for this situation: WWE All Stars is decidedly a more casual ::flinch:: approach to the wrestling game than is its sibling franchise. That being said, I can only predict that the game's relative simplicity will attract new players. The simple fact that I'm excited for this game speaks measures about how successful this strategy may prove to be when the game actually releases.

WWE All Stars is a return to the roots of wrestling video games. By that, I mean the gameplay borrows much more from the arcade fighting genre than it does the wrestling genre. The wrestlers look a bit more beefed up in this game than they do in real-life, a nice touch that serves as a reminder that WWE All Stars is not trying to be WWE Smackdown vs. Raw. Shortly after I pick the controller up, I'm almost immediately reminded of the glory days of WCW vs. nWo: World Tour: a fantastic first impression.

The controls are designed to allow well-timed button presses to mean all the difference between wins and losses. The gameplay is fast and fun; it feels slightly deeper than the arcade-style wrestlers of yore, but it's got that pick-up-and-play vibe that will probably resonate with gamers who feel alienated from the genre. Best of all, the action on the screen ranges from standard wrestling fare to body juggling. It's a scream.

Wrestling fans who love to get caught up in all the minutiae of the Smackdown vs. Raw games might not fancy the kind of experience that WWE All Stars wants to deliver. However, it's commendable that THQ is willing to expand one of its core franchises in order to reach more players. More information on WWE All Stars is bound to come down the pipeline sooner or later; we'll be there for you when it does.