Boasting the involvement of 19 characters from the TV series, complete with accompanying sampled sounds and venues lifted from the show, the aim is to take control of a character and battle to be the Springfield Champion. Each character comes with their own taunts and moves (for instance, Barney attacks with a beer pot, while Homer will strike you down with his bowling ball), and although the game perhaps too often descends into a melee of random button hammering, it's fun trying out the different characters (some of which are locked at the start). Each bout is also enlivened by the various power-ups that appear throughout the ring (which serve up extra fighting options), and the taunt mode, which gives you a brief period of invulnerability.

Simpsons Wrestling never has any pretensions about being more than an enjoyable little fighter. That's fortunate, because it's no threat to the current fighting game champions. Yet while this is best described as short-lived entertainment, it's still certainly fun while it lasts. --Simon Brew