WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011

Even here there are real tweaks this year, though: a redesigned physics engine is the most welcome of new challengers, meaning that ropes now sag when ladders are placed on them to be used as ramps and tables splinter beautifully under each crunchy impact. Elsewhere, cage match fans will have more room to manoeuvre inside the chain-link enclosure, and can enjoy a handful of new context-based finishers.

Outside of the ring, however, is where the biggest improvements are underway, as the developers try to capture the wider context of the WWE: the white-trash dramas and backstage machinations, the stories and the memorable moments as well as the matches themselves. The Road to Wrestlemania returns as the main campaign mode, and the free-roaming backstage area first introduced in Here Comes the Pain is back in a hugely expanded form.

In between brawls, then, you'll be able to rove around the WWE universe, chatting to other wrestlers and building up a bigger picture of the narrative as you engage in mini-games and level up your attributes at the gym. You'll even be able to change the direction of the plotting at times through QTE decision sections. Generally, these hinge on whether one large man in unfortunate pants chooses to punch another large man in unfortunate pants, but even if it's not exactly Mass Effect 2 yet, with missions, stats, and a PDA constantly buzzing with offers of new alliances, the story mode promises to create a much greater sense of the soap opera side of WWE this time out. There's even a mini-map wedged in the top-left corner of the screen. (Don't tell Peter Molyneux - he'll be furious.)

Road to Wrestlemania looks simple yet engaging and when taken alongside the brand new Universe option, it adds up to a significant package. Universe is a fresh blend of exhibition and career modes. It draws up authentic calendars of matches and events for you to play through, and keeps track of the games going on around you with the other wrestlers, too. Every element is tweakable, so if you don't like a line-up you can change it, and the game will adapt to your choices, spotting your favourite pairings and turning them into stables if you match them enough, for example.

Every spot in the calendar gives you the option to play the match, simulate it or edit the roster, and Universe accommodates multiplayer games seamlessly alongside solo brawls. (In a controversial move, THQ is following EA's lead and including a pack-in coupon that will allow new-game purchasers to access the online content, while second-handers will have to pay for it separately.) It's hard to get a sense of how well Universe works without playing through a few months of it, but from a cursory glance, it's shaping up to be both flexible and smart, and will hopefully lead to some interesting moments as the game builds a dense network of rivalries and allegiances around your playing preferences.

Smackdown vs Raw may be the epitome of the yearly-instalment franchise, but 2011's new modes and improved options suggest that the developers aren't running out of ideas - or enthusiasm - any time soon. A blend of both the simulation and the circus, THQ's latest may not turn out to be a particularly groundbreaking fighting game, but it's looking like a big step towards capturing the WWE in its crazy, trashy, fraudulent and wonderful totality.