In the years since the PlayStation exploded the videogame market into the mainstream, there has been a concerted effort on the part of game developers to extend the appeal of gaming past the boundaries of the 18-34 year old male demographic and entice potential female consumers. Rumble Roses XX is NOT an example of this movement. Konami's first venture into the next generation brazenly flaunts the sexualized nature of the game's female-only stable of combatants and the positions they find themselves in over the course of a match from the moment the intro cinematic starts, deliberately flying the face of every effort to shift the depiction of women in games to the politically correct end of the spectrum. The game certainly holds appeal outside of the lovely leading ladies however, boasting a solid grappling system, a robust character creation feature, and online play for up to four people. That said, the absence of a real story or campaign mode and lack of variety in match types leaves the overall package feeling as skimpy as some of the character's outfits.

Sex Appeal

Rather than skirt the issue (pun fully intended, sadly), I'll get the obvious out of the way and confirm that yes, the girls of Rumble Roses XX are just as naughty, border-line tasteless, and wonderfully rendered as you've no doubt read by now, and they fill the screen with enough jiggling 'T' and gyrating 'A' to make Itagaki and the rest of Team Ninja feel down-right prudish. The initial selection of femme fatales cover most of the bases as far as fetishes and personalities are concerned, from the cute exotic foreigner, to the punk-rocker catholic school-girl (a personal favorite) and uptight stocking-clad teacher, the all-American blonde-and-blue-eyed cowgirl, and the naughty nurse among others – all of course, sporting voluptuous curves in all the right places.

Additionally, each character has an alter-ego of the opposite predisposition, so antagonist characters (heels) are complemented by an unlockable protagonists (face) and vice-versa. More than mere palette swaps or costume changes, each of these complementary characters comes with her own distinctive personality and fetish theme, as well as a significantly altered move set, effectively doubling the character roster. For example, the aforementioned catholic schoolgirl has a good-girl cheerleader alter-ego, complete with a new costume, entrance, finishing maneuvers, and a move-set that features less dirty tricks than her bad-girl counterpart. Finally, each wrestler has a 'Superstar' incarnation that features skimpier attire and a more powerful move-set, making for a grand total of well over 20 gorgeous wrestlers to choose from.

The figures and fetish costumes are only half the story however, as the sexualized nature of the presentation really start to kick in once the women begin moving and grappling with each other. Every motion, from the sultry walk down the ramp during entrances that resemble over-the-top music videos, to the litany of suggestive positions the women find themselves in over the course of a match, are hyper-sexualized and played up as opportunities to show off the women's bodies. There is plenty of bending over and leg-spreading, an abundance of panty-shots and bouncing breasts, and a constant stream of girl-on-girl contact and entangled bodies. Everyone stays fully clothes and all the naughty bits remain covered – even if it seems like that would be physically impossible given some of the outfits – but the proceedings are still quite raunchy, albeit presented in a tongue-in-cheek manner. We'll let individual players decide whether or not this is celebration of the female form or exploitation of it, but we'd be lying if we didn't say the titillation value didn't add something to our enjoyment of the first few matches played. The problem of course, is that eventually the shock and awe wears off.

Gameplay

Based solely on the merits of the gameplay, Rumble Roses XX feels a little bare (again, pun fully intended). There is no story or campaign mode to speak of, and the single player game is little more than a map with several venues at which to enter matches against random opponents. Certain venues always feature the same type of match, but for the most part the type of match is randomly selected as well, with no indication provided to the player before they actually select a venue. With no real storyline, progress can only really be measured in terms of money, popularity, and the stats of the player character, and the major goals for completion are limited to collection of unlockable characters and content. Money is earned through winning matches and can be used to purchase new costumes for the wrestlers, as well as artwork, unlockable game modes, and humiliating tasks for a beaten opponent to perform after losing in the 'Queen's Match' match-type. Unlocking everything actually doesn't take as much time as one would think, as it only takes about 6-matches worth of money to earn each of the items, and many of them are not character specific – using one character does not allow access to different exclusive humiliation tasks, and costumes opened with one character are often available for use with other characters. As such, players will typically have no trouble earning all of the extra goodies through the in-game store as they unlock each of the variations of the initially selectable wrestlers, which is simply a matter of winning enough matches.

Popularity and character stats are determined by the actions taken during the match. Seeing as this is sports entertainment, winning alone will not guarantee that character moves up the ladder in terms of fan appeal. Players can increase the popularity of their character through using moves that embarrass the opponent, and making good use of counters and specials. This, in conjunction with a healthy dose of boasting to the crowd (taunting) and actually winning the match, players can gain a few points on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being the most popular. Losing a match causes the character to lose almost double the amount of popularity points gained through winning a match. Once players cross a certain threshold, they will unlock the superstar version of their character, and maintaining a higher level of popularity will make title challenges more frequent. Character stats are automatically affected by the maneuvers players use throughout the course of a match, and have a direct impact on future performance. For example, using a great deal of suplexes will eventually increase the character's skill at performing them, thereby increasing the amount of damage done by each subsequent execution of the move. Running/sprinting more often will eventually lead to your character gaining a faster walking speed, and escaping submissions will increase flexibility, allowing the character to take less damage from such maneuvers. Its a very fluid, natural development system that works quite well, and rewards players for succeeding in matches on their own terms, with their own play style.