The Grade: M.U.S.C.L.E. (NES)

Remember those little dinky rubber toys you would get in those little cap dispensers back in the 1980's and early '90's? Well I do! I loved those little wrestling figures. So even though I hear that the game is pretty bad on the old nes, I can't help but at least buy it and give it a go.

Show off those muscles!

Okay, so its not as good as I originally thought. There's a lot left to the imagination. Regrettably, there's no single player story mode (the game doesn't really end). I can deal with that. The moves are rendered to punch, irish whip, jump, jump kick, diving forearm off the ropes and a finisher. That's pretty lacking. 

The graphics are blocky, and there's no detail. Ouch. That sucks too. Music is either non-existent to short. As in very short musical notes. Oh man, another blow! But, there are some redeeming qualities.

You get an assortment of characters to play. 8 in total. Each one has their own finishing move (not even the WWF games have those!), and there's a little bit of strategy involved with tagging in the healthier partner in certain parts of the match. As well as the strategy of positioning yourself to get the power ball (which enables you to use your finisher). Something else that caught my eye were the different rings you fight in. There's a regular ring, an ice ring, and an electric ropes ring! 

Overall I really liked this game. Its simple as hell, but its nowhere near a steaming pile of turd like WWF King of the Ring, Wrestlemania and Tag Team Wrestling. I give it a D+