WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2009 slamming towards DS and PSP

As we we typed this, tens of thousands of WWE fans were getting a bit more excited than they probably strictly should at a string of taut-skinned, orange men grappling with one another at this year's WrestleMania XXIV, which took place in Florida.

And THQ chose this high point of the wrestling calender to unveil its next WWE game, new annual instalments of which are becoming as predictable as the sun rising in the morning and England finishing amongst the bottom three countries in the Eurovision song contest. WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2009, the publisher announced, will be released in the autumn on both DS and PSP (as well as home consoles PS3, PS2, Xbox 360 and Wii).

As in previous iterations of the series, the two handheld versions will vary quite a bit. The PSP approach has most in common with the home console versions, including a new tag team experience which lets players build momentum and attributes, eliminate opponents with high impact double teams and finishers and get the 'Hot Tag' for the win.

If you're completely baffled as to what that is then, well, you're not the only one. Some painstakingly tough research surfing websites full of beefy half-naked men has however revealed it refers to when a wrestler is getting completely thrashed but manages to crawl to his corner, make the tag and his partner comes and pummels everyone in for him. It's not a foolproof move, however, as the Hot Tag attack can still be reversed by your opponents.

On top of these features there'll be a new Create-A-Finisher option and a new Road to WrestleMania mode you can play through in co-op. The game's online features will be beefed up and – for the first time – downloadable content made available.

The DS game's biggest boast is new gameplay controls that apparently utilise both the stylus and D-pad for a compelling fighting experience. A redesigned Season mode features a role-playing type of approach so you can upgrade your superstar's abilities and complete missions on a quest towards legendary goals. A larger Superstar roster, new match types and a Create-A-Superstar option will also add to the game's features and hopefully make it a better proposition than last year's attempt.

From these details, it doesn't sound like there's much that's going to persuade anyone not already into THQ's annual wrestling bouts to suddenly become interested in them. Which is hardly surprising. Either you find its fighting impressively feature-packed and enjoy countering one move after another, or you think it all a bit slow and counter-intuitive. It's love or hate a bit like the real sport, then, so at least you could say it's accurate.

If you're the loving type, click 'Track It!' to be kept up to date on the latest on this year's flesh fest.