TNA iMPACT!

To the extreme!

Posted 4 years ago By - Jay Acevedo

TNA iMPACT is the first video game adaptation of the Total Non-stop Action wrestling branch founded by pro-wrestler Jeff Jarett and his father Jerry. In a world where WWE games are kings, it’s rather interesting to finally see a new contender for the “Best Wrestling Game” belt. But will the challenger beat the king? Not yet…but if it continues to build around what they have delivered, it won’t take too long. Here’s our review for TNA iMPACT!


If wrestling has always felt like a big soap opera for you, you will be happy to know that Midway has cooked an interesting and rather funny storyline for the game that pays homage to what we’ve used to see on TV. You play as a wrestling champion who after being sabotaged by his fellow wrestlers becomes amnesiac, has to get a facial reconstruction and has to wrestle his way from Mexico all the way to the top in the TNA circuit by beating the likes of Sting, Kurt Angle, AJ Styles and Kevin Nash through six interesting, challenging but short chapters. In terms of game modes, the game includes nine match types, from the basic singles match, tag team, submission, two-on-one handicap and the popular Ultimate X match, which sees players competing to get hold of a big red X hanging in the centre of the ring. Although there’s a good variety in the gameplay modes, it’s shame to see those modes being reduced to only a few when you’ll be bringing your experience online. Needless to say, it’s an area TNA iMPACT needs to improve in the next versions.

For controls, no wrestling game since the early years of the N64 has as much easy controls as TNA iMPACT. Special moves, submission locks, hold escaping and even the counters are relatively easy to pull off. And since it’s so easy for you, the A.I will also be pulling the same moves on you frequently to a point where it can become very frustrating…so intelligent wrestling will be required, lots of practice and patience.


It’s a good thing to play as Big Poppa Pump, Sting or Booker-T (man, I hate that guy) but there’s no actual fun in a wrestling game if you couldn’t create your own superstar. The game does offer a Create-a-Player mode and while it’s cool to fool around with, the wrestling fanatics will find it a bit limited to begin with. In order to gear your wrestler with more efficient moves, you will only unlock those abilities by winning points during the Story Mode in order to make him better. Another problem with the character creation is that you can’t take your wrestler online to show it off to your friends. It’s not really a big deal but it would’ve been interesting to have that option, especially if I have to spend time upgrading my wrestler during my offline career. But, I guess that option will come along, hopefully as soon as the next version hits retail stores. And yes, the game supports up to 4 players locally on the same console. You have no idea how this brings memories of me playing with friends on my Genesis at WWF Royal Rumble…

Graphics & Sounds

By far, TNA iMPACT is the best looking wrestling game I’ve seen in a while. I don’t remember when it was the last time I said that for a wrestling game. Not only every wrestler is rendered to the last detail but their movement animations are also very fluid thanks to some good mo-cap sessions. Crowd animations are also one of the best we’ve seen so far. Although lots collision bugs and texture ripping can be experienced at times, especially during matches where you’re aligning different moves after another, it doesn’t hurt the game very much. Overall, the visual experience of TNA IMPACT is quite amazing.


As for audio, the game offers a mix of sub-par commentary, average voice acting and great environmental sounds. Is it the best sound build we’ve seen? Not really but like the overall TNA experience, it goes in the right direction and that’s good. The intros are great and it builds up for your match…too bad there’s loading in between the intros or else it would’ve been so great. It almost gives you goosebumps seriously.

Value

There are just two wrestling franchises: this one and WWE Smackdown vs RAW. So if you hate everything from the WWE, then this game will be perfect for you if you don’t mind dealing with what’s missing compared to what THQ has been offering for the past 3-4 years. Of course, it will be hard for WWE fans to shed 60$ for the game and not getting what they really want right away, it’s sad. But remember, this is a freshman title for Midway in the wrestling department. So be patient on this one as the developers will continue to work on what they’ve built. At least, that’s what I’m hoping for.

Conclusion

With Smackdown vs RAW being “the best wrestling game” by default year after year, I was happy to finally see another wrestling game hit the market in order to make the battle for “Best Wrestling Game” even more interesting. Although it shows signs of greatness and as much as I hate to say it, TNA iMPACT isn’t quite ready for primetime yet but I do have hope for the future, starting next year. More modes online, a deeper character customization and a less-frustrating counter system are probably the biggest challenges Midway has to face. It will be interesting to see what the developers have in store for the next TNA game…

Verdict: A rental unless you’re huge TNA fan! WWE…beware.

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