The developer of the infamous Thrill Kill brings you Backyard Wrestling, a deceptively innovative title that glorifies the frighteningly popular antics of such backyard wrestling phenomena as Josh Prohibition, MDogg20, and Madman Pondo. Chances are you haven’t heard those names before, and that’s okay; the game relies little on personalities in its odd blend of wrestling and party-game combat. Backyard Wrestling’s core gameplay places two fighters in an improvised ring of sorts, such as the parking lot of a mall, the backyard of a mansion, or the floor of an abandoned slaughterhouse. While the game’s title promises wrestling action, the gameplay actually supports something more like Power Stone–esque hijinks: You run around, toss bricks and bicycles, and leap off impossibly high structures onto your opponent. It’s pretty cool to beat someone into submission with a television set before you pick them up and whip them through the glass of a large aquarium on the wall. The coolest thing about these levels is that each one has some sort of “unlockable” hazard, such as the security guard who emerges if you slam your opponent into the SUV parked behind the mall. This makes each match a little different and helps avoid the “wrestle, taunt, wrestle, taunt, pin” pattern of THQ’s WWE titles. Backyard Wrestling’s problem isn’t in its concept but rather in its finish. It just doesn’t look, sound, or play well enough to keep up with the cool core design idea; the graphics hearken back to the PS2’s first generation, the muffled sound does what it needs to and not a bit more, and the controls just feel sloppy and awkward. Collision problems and timing issues mar the otherwise smart rock-paper-scissors nature of the grappling system, and it’s just too hard to avoid getting hit by thrown, apparently heat-seeking projectiles. The reversal system thankfully eliminates the thumb-destroying button mashing of other titles, but it takes tons of practice and split-second timing to pull off. Finally, the Create A Wrestler mode is a joke and seems like an afterthought, but it’s a decent alternative to playing as one of Backyard Wrestling’s mostly unknown selectable characters. Backyard Wrestling is notable for its clever design, but there’s a bit too much sloppiness in its execution to really hook a wide audience. The chaotic action’s fun enough (especially in two-player matches), but only the most hardcore will ignore its faults.
