Graphics: The graphics for the wrestlers and referee are VERY well
done.  Not much (if any) poly drop out and the moves are very easily
recognized.  The crowd leaves a little to be desired, however.  During
closeups one can see that the crowd are bitmaps and are VERY
pixelated.  But this detracts little, if anything, from the gameplay.
Rating: 9

Sound: This category leaves a lot to be desired.  The croud noises are
rather generic and don't sound quite right when they chant the
wrestler's names.  The slaps, slams and punches seem rather
artificial, but then again they usually sound that way during a
regular wrestling match. :)  The ring announcer is a nice addition,
although after listening to his introductions for each wrestler once,
you'll probably skip it.  There is no play-by-play or colour
commentator, and this is a glaring oversight.  One nice touch is the
announcement of the elapsed time in a match, as this is a concern in
time-limit matches.
Rating: 7

Options: This is where Power Move Wrestling shines.  There are basic
one player and two player matches, as well as a number of other
options.  These are "Championship" mode, where the game (and your
memory card) keeps track of who has the championship and the title
history; "Tournament" mode, where the twelve wrestlers engage in a
single elimination tournament; and "League" mode, where the twelve
wrestlers participate in a Round Robin tournament.  All of these modes
take advantage of the memory card to save histories and past winners
as well as games in progress.  Inside of the match there are other
option screens, with options for time limits, draws (match which goes
to the time limit either ends in a tie or there is a referee's
decision (like boxing)), which stadium to wrestle in (4 to choose
from), which ring to wrestle in (4 mats to choose from), Stereo or
Mono sound, and the most important, the dificulty option, of which
there are four (Easy, medium, hard, and WOW!).  The only option that
is conspicuous by its absense is a tag-team mode, but that is easily
overlooked when compared to the options included in the game.
Rating: 9

Gameplay:  In a word, excellent.  This is no "punch and kick"
wrestling game like the ones we've been getting for years from
Ack!Lame!, this actually has a good "pro wrestling" feel to it.  From
reversals when you go for a tough move too soon, to numerous
submission holds (4 for each wrestler), to irish whips into the
turnbuckles, to off the turnbuckle moves, to dragging your opponent
into position when he's lying on the ground, to out-of-the-ring
planchas, this game's got it all.  Each wrester has his own style and
signature moves, and they're not tough to execute once you get your
opponent into the right position.  There's nothing like nailing a
moonsault for the win. :)  There are a number of way to win a match,
by pin, by submission (referee stops a bout when a body part takes too
much damage....go ahead, play like the Anderson brothers used to
wrestle and take out that arm....it'll make the guy submit), by
countout (20 count, count breaks anytime a wrestler reenters the ring.
This means that if your opponent beats on you till the count of 18,
then slides back in the ring, you won't be counted out cuz the count
breaks when he returns to the ring.  Good feature.), and by
disqualification (holding onto an illegal hold for more than a 5 count
or holding onto a submission move for more than a 5 count when a
wrestler is in the ropes.  In the manual it states that a wrestler can
be DQ'ed for being on the ring ropes for more than 5 seconds, but i
haven't seen this happen yet).  The Championship can change hands on a
DQ and countout.  All in all, impressive gameplay.
Rating: 10.

Documentation:  It's all in the manual, but it could've been a little
more verbose.  At least this isn't as bad as X-Com's...
Rating: 6

Overall: After I got over my disappointment with not having the NJPW
guys in the game (damn, i wanted to play Muto, Liger and Norton), this
game is better than no pro wrestling game at all, and LIGHT YEARS
ahead of the recent WWF MortalKombat-type fighting games.  If you're a
wrestling fan, and can overlook the lack of real wrestlers, pick this
game up.  You won't be disappointed.  I can only hope that someone
makes a WWF and WCW game as good as this one.
Rating: 9 (10 if it had the New Japan guys)

- Keith E. Young