Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood [Xbox]

Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood is every parent's nightmare and every deviant kid's wet dream all mixed together in one convenient package. But take away the shocking aspects and anti-culture roster of fighters and what's left is still just a mediocre fighting game.

In Backyard Wrestling 2, you compete in wrestling matches in inauspicious places like... backyards. Well, and fast food joints, trailer parks, and putt-putt ranges. The objective is, as in all wrestling games, to subdue your opponent with punches, kicks, and a variety of grappling moves. But the fighting action here is less spandex and more dirty denim than your average wrassling game. You're free to use anything you can find to beat your opponent, whether it's a folding chair or a weed whacker. Of course, the more bizarre and bloody the tool, the better.

In BW2, those inauspicious environments are a lot more interactive than last time. You can slam your opponent into a wall and then pick up the pieces and beat him over the head with them. Tables, furniture, and whatever else that's not bolted down can be used as a weapon, and on top of that there are "Enviro-Mental" areas in the arenas near which you can perform special attacks. These are something like the arena-specific fatalities found in the later Mortal Kombat games, but instead of spikes and creatures, you get drain pipes and frialators.

While the arenas are well designed -- most provide multiple levels for combat and plenty of room for body slams -- they don't look too great. Although reasonably well detailed, the indistinct textures make everything look muddy. The fighters themselves look even worse, with blocky models covered in gritty textures, and blurry faces with lips that don't move when they talk. Yes, the game features adult film starlet Tera Patrick, which may be a strong selling point for some, but trust us when we say she looks much better in... well, the grainy videos you can download from many reputable online establishments.

And thanks to the game's terribly lame taunts, she'll definitely sound better, too. Sound effects are repetitive and don't always seem quite on queue, and the soundtrack is a love-hate affair. If you're a fan of AWK or TSOL, you'll probably love it. If you've never heard of them, you'll probably hate it.

There are 30 characters to choose from, many of which are composed of people who are famous to other people in certain circles. As mentioned above, Tera Patrick makes an appearance wearing some lovely pink frilly bottoms. Members of the Insane Clown Posse are also here, along with a number of "stars" from the world of backyard wrestling. If you don't like any of the standard characters, the game allows you to create your own. But, while you're given a decent number of options for customizing your character, most result in very ugly looking creations.

There's also a quasi-career mode for your new characters. You get to learn various techniques while beating the crap out of opponents, and earn small change to buy cowboy hats or thong bikinis. Online play was removed during development, so there's not much else besides the typical versus and arcade modes. The combat system also lacks any real depth to expect to hold most fighting fans' attention.

Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood adds plenty of new wrestlers, arenas, moves, and other goodies when compared to the first game, and so those who liked that title will enjoy this one, too. But, because of its shallow combat and poor presentation, the game loses its thrill very quickly for anyone not a devotee of the subject matter.