Ve3tro.com Review: TNA: iMPACT

Review: TNA: iMPACT – Xbox 360 Review

by Dillon Andrews - October 7, 2008

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Game: TNA iMPACT
System: Xbox 360, PS3 & PS2
Publisher: Midway Games
Developer: Midway Studios

Players: 1 – 4
Online Players: 1 – 2
Genre: Wrestling
Release Date: September 12, 2008

Every once and a while an innovative wrestling title comes along that promises to usher in a new level of authenticity to engage gamers worldwide. TNA iMPACT, developed by Midway (of Mortal Kombat fame) has finally hit store shelves!

Midway promised us an experience far greater than any other wrestling game—or fighting game, including the recent hit WWE titles. Did TNA iMPACT deliver on its claims? Without wasting your time, we can clearly shout out: “No!”

The most simplistic way for a person to break down a game is to look at its main characteristics: audio, visuals and of course gameplay. iMPACT did manage to succeed in all of these columns but not when in comparison to other wrestling titles (WWE SVR Series).

Graphically, TNA iMPACT is almost flawless. Each character looks exactly like their real life counterparts. This is of course due to Midway’s full body scans of the wrestlers that clearly depict every scar, freckle and cut on the modern day warrior’s body. The same can be said for the environments which vary greatly from one another and actually make up decent atmosphere.

“Uh, ugh! Ahh! No, no, no.” All of the wrestlers wince out, whine and flat out plea for their safety when on the wrong end of a beating. This sounds authentic for the most part—except for the fact that most of the wrestlers share the same voice whilst in a match. Body slams, ring noises and outside dives all sound good—but sometimes hollow. Crowd chants were recorded at TV recordings of TNA iMPACT so expect to hear common TNA chants in the game.

Most of the wrestlers that appear in the storyline have a few lines of dialogue. These recordings are well done and effectively pull you into a rather absurd storyline. The only problem is when the game throws up a load screen and you have to listen to the story narratives by a man that sounds like none other than Rocky Balboa.

TNA iMPACT was supposed to breach into new territory when it came to realism for wrestling fans playing the game. It most definitely did not do this. The characters all seem to move in a very static manor that doesn’t seem lifelike. The animations don’t feel fluid enough for you to ever believe as though you are taking part in a wrestling match—or even watching it on television. All of the in ring action falls flat in my opinion and could have been much better.

Matches will begin to feel repetitive as you fight to the top of the iMPACT roster. There are not nearly enough moves to satisfy the modern day gamer—which also means wrestlers on the roster share a large portion of each other’s manoeuvres.

The lacking variety of moves really takes a toll when you look at the lack of match types. There are no ladder matches, king of the mountain matches, cage matches or anything to keep you interested in the title. There are simply tag, single, submission and Ultimate-X matches. To be honest, you probably won’t go beyond the singles matches when playing outside of storyline due to the frustrating qualities of the other match types.

Storyline is short and there is little to no point in playing through it—other than the unlockable characters. For most of season you are fighting random wrestlers who have both a laughable appearance, and laughable name. To prove my point, you face someone named Beardy Mcgee.

The story that you play through is definitely over-the-top. You play the character of Suicide who refuses to lose in a match and is beaten up beyond recognition and dumped into Mexico. It’d be easy to get back though, right? Wrong. The character also obtains amnesia and forgets who he is—but luckily stumbles upon the indy wrestling scene in Mexico. Sound interesting? Try playing through this experience with only about 3 moves to begin with!

As you go through the game you unlock new moves for your wrestler to use. These are usually laughable and almost made the game a joke. Win about 6 matches and you’re greeted with the glorious message of “Congratulations, you can now use: CHOP!”

Outside of that, there isn’t a whole lot to talk about. The entrances for each TNA superstar are cut to about 10-16 seconds each, which destroys all purpose of even including the characters likeliness!

TNA iMPACT set the ground work for a good game in the future. This revolutionary title that was promised by Midway is more to me a demo of what is to come. If you need a wrestling fix I’d recommend the game, if not I’ll have to say pass on this one.

If you have a hankering to play as a TNA wrestler, if not, hold out and see how WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 is and then just create the TNA characters in it

Also check out the extra features on the bonus disc, as well as on the disc itself—there is about 6 full TNA matches, tons of “How-it’s-made” footage and little gems for TNA and Midway fans.

Graphics:
There isn’t much to knock on its appearance, we just wish that there were opportunities to sit back and enjoy the visuals (aka, give us full damn entrances!)

Sound:
Each superstar’s theme is in the game, the grunts and groans are there, the mat sounds authentic–what else can we say?

Gameplay:
As aforementioned, the gameplay is mediocre in areas but does work nicely in others. Counters work flawlessly–and almost every move is able to be countered.

Fun Factor:
The game doesn’t excel beyond other wrestling titles, but there is fun to be had. We just wish there were more weapons to use other than a chair–as well of course we want more match selections.

Online:
The limitations of matches was a downfall, adding the only other two match types (Tag and Ultimate X) would of helped us enjoy the fun.