I can't remember the last time I played an enjoyable wrestling game on a portable system, or if I ever played one at all. Therefore, I wasn't surprised to discover that THQ's latest WWE title for the GBA, WWE Survivor Series, is a drab-looking snooze-fest that should be tossed off the top of a steel cage.

Survivor Series has several modes, chief among them Story Mode. After selecting which show you want to represent (Smackdown or Raw), you embark upon a quest to win various WWE championships. You'll have to wrestle in various match types and defeat your opponents in style using a good combination of different moves in order to achieve a higher crowd rating. For example, the GM of your show may request that you not only defeat your opponent, but get a certain rating as well.

Other modes in Survivor Series include Exhibition, WWE Tournament, Royal Rumble, and Team Battle. In particular, Royal Rumble is especially disappointing because, since there are only 16 wrestlers in the game, you can only hold the event for that amount of players. Anyone who knows their stuff is aware that the Royal Rumble is a 30-wrestler event!

To its credit, Survivor Series has a plethora of match types to keep things interesting. There's single, tag, cage, triple-threat, fatal four-way, iron man, three stages of hell, elimination, handicap, and lumberjack matches, and there's multiplay for up to four people via link cables. In addition to that, there are several different arenas to choose from, and there are even weapons in the game, so it's possible to whip out a chair and bash it over a poor chump's head. If anything, all of these features will keep things from getting stale.

If you're a huge WWE fan, the game's biggest draw will be its superstar selection, and THQ did a decent job here. There are only 16 wrestlers to choose from, but they're 16 of the WWE's most popular grapplers. Kane, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, John Cena, Rob Van Dam, Triple H, Eddie Guerrero, and Shawn Michaels are but a handful of the superstars you can select from, and they each have their signature special moves as well as their theme music, though the entrance themes are hit and miss. Some, like Undertaker's, sound fine, but Randy Orton's is a mess. Also, they don't play long enough. The songs that take a while to get going are abruptly cut off as soon as the wrestler enters the ring.

So with all of these superstars and features packed into this tiny cartridge, what's wrong with WWE Survivor Series? Unfortunately, while THQ was including bells and whistles, it forgot to pay special attention to the gameplay, which is slow-moving and boring beyond belief. All of the wrestlers animate the exact same way, and the animation is way too slow. Plus, the game's really easy. All you have to do is keep moving up and down and punching your opponent as soon as he catches up to you. There's very little strategy to the game, and the only challenge is getting your opponent in your sights and quickly pressing Select to do your special move, a difficult thing to do because it requires you to take your fingers off of the buttons or D-pad.

WWE Survivor Series isn't a total waste, as I'm sure hardcore wrestling fans will find something to like about it, but I wasn't impressed. It's slow, too easy, and doesn't have enough wrestlers. If you absolutely need a grappling game for the GBA give this a rent, but the harder to find Fire Pro Wrestling games still provide the best body slam for your dollar.