Backyard Wrestling ships

After a prolonged and costly promotional campaign, Eidos' Backyard Wrestling is finally stepping into the retail ring. The game shipped late Tuesday and should be smacking down on retail shelves shortly.

Going after a similar demographic as Electronic Arts' Def Jam Vendetta, Backyard Wrestling relocates the body-slamming action of professional wrestling to everyday settings. The game also features some Jerry Springer-style humor, with players trashing the set of a daytime talk show and making a brief detour to a "gentleman's club."

The M-rated game also includes some video clips of real-life backyard wrestling, where youths imitate their pro wrestling heroes by smashing each other with chairs and leaping onto tables. Little wonder, then, that the game's full title is Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home, and is preceeded by a 30-second legal disclaimer.