TNA iMPACT!

Total Nonstop Annoyance

As reviewed by GP member 77:

I am a wrestling fan. I have been for many years. I think my fandom peeked between 1998 and 2001. The hey-day of wrestling, when The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mankind, and The Undertaker ruled the "squared circle." But, after 2001, WWE, then WWF, started to fall apart and became a shadow of its former self. When a friend introduced me to TNA Wrestling (Total Nonstop Action Wrestling), I was instantly hooked. No longer did wrestling hinge on stupid over-the-top storylines, forcing stuperstars down our throats and over produced shows. No. TNA was different. The wrestling came first and everything else was secondary and I liked it. And so did a lot of other people. In just six years, TNA has become the second largest wrestling organization and with good reason. The wrestling is incredible, non-stop and action packed. A video game was inevitable and now here it is and I find myself feeling not just disappointed, but angry as well.Let's start out with what's good about the game. The graphics are top notch. It boasts some of the best character models that I've seen in a wrestling game in a very long time. These models blow the competition (WWE's Smackdown series) out of the proverbial water. Movement is crisp and clean and flows very nicely. Counter moves flow from actual moves in a very lifelike fashion and the wrestlers feel like the have real weight to them which is nice for a change.
The storyline is also, not to bad. It follows Suicide, a wrestler who ends up reaching the top, only to be jumped and beaten to a pulp and left for dead in Mexico. When Suicide wakes up, he needs to design a new appearance (bringing into play the lackluster Create a Wrester) and name and work his way from Mexico back up to the big leagues of TNA. Once there you'll meet and take on all the wrestlers from Shark Boy to Jay Lethal to "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. It isn't a bad storyline as afar as wrestling games go and while it doesn't offer you any choices for your character, it does contain a few tiwsts and turns that keep things interesting.

And that, in a nutshell, is the end of the good stuff. Now for the bad. Let's start with the gameplay. The game relies heavily on a counter system which is pretty much broken. A little icon appears on screen when you are supposed to hit the counter button, but this rarely works. In fact, I can go out on a limb and say that 98% of the time, you cannot counter any move in this game. But the computer has the uncanny ability to counter EVERY move you do (especially when you fight heavyweights). Let me give you an example of how bad this system is. I played one match using Sting against Kurt Angle and at the end of this and every match, the game gives you a stat rundown. I reversed a total of 4 moves during the 25 minute match while the computer controlled Angle reversed a total of 37 moves. 37! And believe me it's not like I wasn't trying. So the counter system, on which the core of the wrestling gameplay hinges, is completely broken and one sided, ruining the gameplay from a single player perspective. All in all it makes the game a pretty infuriating experience from start to finish.

This game needs a lot of help. And as a first effort from Midway in the wrestling scene, I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and call this a rocky first step and not a total disaster. Hopefully Midway will listen to the critisisms of fans, take a few notes from the competition and come out strong with TNA iMPACT! 2. Until then, Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 comes out in Novemeber and it's shaping up to be a great entry. Wrestling fans will have to wait until then.

My GamePlay

This Game Is Okay Its Fun To Play But It Kinda Gets Boring BUT THE Visuals is very nice I would Say Rent Before You Buy

TNA Wrestling

This was an ok game they hit right on the grpahics and superstar motions and gimmics but they were off on alot ,remember this is there first game but the wrestling moves didnt feel right the reversal system sucked it was way to easy to just not pull a move off on a computer or it will reverse it.......i gave it 3 out or 5 stars i love TNA wrestling but they need to improve for next year because it has the tools to make it the number 1 wrestling game but they have some work to do.....here are the 2 things i think they need to do to make this a perfect wrestling game ....1. GEt AKI to do the wrestling moves remeber the n64 wcw and wwe games? the moves were perfect and the graphics were crap they need to get this right to make it a good wrestling game.....2. Take a page out of Fire Pro Wrestling for those of you that havent played it u can pretty much create anything they need to give u the option to creat your own pay per view and titles and leagues and weapons, mma matches id love to option to make up to 500 + wrestlers ..........soo if a game could only combine these things it would be the best wrestling game ever soo TNA /Midway please make this.

In the end its a great game to buy if u love wrestling or love TNA but if u dont just rent it.

Good but not there yet for being the best wrestleing game ever.

This is a great game it owned right. As the title sayed. It not the greateist one ever made yet. One of the reason is lack of match types. They need to add more to it. And expaned to what they have. And they need to make to playable for all skill levle of gamer. I think they should have a jobber mode(very easy) for poeple that are not that god in wrestleing games. Another is to have more player at onces online. At less have four player over LIVE and that the most have six players at onces over LIVE. And that and have more content then they have in there. But there is something in this game that THQ should learn from this game. Have a more realiestic look to the wrestler in the game. And have a more lively comateairey anncouester as what TNA impact had for there play by play announceser. And There thing that midway should learn from THQ. have it where you can unlock the unlockable by a in game stoer instied of going thought the story line to get it. So make sines of the stayle point system they have in the game. So it have some meaning to it. Another is it have enteriest video of each wrestler in the TNA impact roster. Also have costum soundtrack surport. So gamer can put in there owned music for there caw enteriest theme. And ther others that they need to do have been stated early in the actical. All around it a good game. But not as good as the WWE games are in featuers goes.

It feels like the first time... like the very first time.

This game screams, "Freshmen Try." The game makers focused on graphics first, the signature match second, and everyting else was a distant third.

TNA Impact's characters look and move incredibly well. No complaints about the visuals. However, gamers aren't interested in looking at the characters. That's what the TV show, ppvs, and dvds are for. Gamers want to play the characters. Playing this game is a pain.

While the controls are simplistic, pick-up-and-play, the actual gameplay combined with the dumb AI is a horrible experience. Reverals, top turnbuckle, and pinfall breaks are achieved more by luck than by skill. Characters never tire or lose strength, despite what the damage graphic claims.

The TNA signature match, Ulimate X, was done well for the game. I didn't play it much. I played enough to give an honest yea or nay. I say thee, "Yea."

So we have good grahics and good Ulimate X. At this point of development, I guess the experienced programers went home and left the rest of the work to the newbies because the rest of the game's features are incredibly limited and unrewarding.

Those new programers must have thought, "What else do wrestling games have? As long as they are technically present, we've technically have done our jobs. Right?"

1-- Create-A-Wrestler and Story Modes. The CAW has only a handful of body parts, a smaller amount of clothes, and an even smaller amount of moves. The moves are completely locked until you play through the story. The story wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have to win every match in order to progress. Most wrestling games let the player chose what is unlocked by accumilating and spending points. Not in Impact. All matches are no D-Q and no C-O. This further induces the annoyance of having to defeat each match. "To be the man, you have to beat the man" is a great catch phrase. It sucks as a game mechanic.

2-- Illegal Weapons. Folding chair is the only weapon type. No sticks, baking trays, hammers, ring bells, nor tables. (How can you have a game with Team 3D and not have tables?) The chairs are randomly placed outside the ring. "Randomly" as in, I sometimes didn't know it was there until the computer opponent picked it up. The chairs are practically useless too. It can take 12 chair shots or MORE to keep a man down for the pinfall. Mick Foley, on is best day, didn't have that kind of intestinal fortitute.

3-- Different Match Types. Many wrestling games can only handle four characters on the screen at once. Unlike many wrestling games, the Impact programers were crippled by this instead of challenged. Impact only has variations of basic 1 on 1 and tag matches. There is no battle royal, no gaunlet, no w/managers, no ladder, no special referree, and no 6 Sides of Steel (cage match). Players can not make CPU vs CPU exhibitions either. At least on person on screen must be a real person. Wrestling games have been around since the NES. How can some of these matches not be in a 2008 game?

4-- Bonus Material. The game has exclusive videos, an 6-man X-divison match and a Knockouts (women) gauntlet match. The videos indirectly say, "Wow. Look at what the game CAN'T do!" Six characters can't be in the game at the same time. There are no playable women. New opponents can't just walk into the arena. Because of this, the videos are a joy to watch and a slap in the face at the same time.

In conclusion, I wasn't expecting a major revolution with TNA Impact because it was the first for the federation. It is rare for a potiental franchise to get lots of things well from the get go. Still, I was incredibly disappointed. This game is a rental. I can not recommend buying, neither as a TNA fan nor as a gamer. There are PS1 generation games that are better.