TNA Impact! (Xbox 360) Review

Posted by Chris Lansdell on 10.08.2008

Will the second-string wrestling promotion bring us a first-rate game?



In the wrestling world, TNA is a distant second to the multimedia juggernaut that is WWE. With an entry into the WWE-dominated video game market, their hope would be to make a dent in that domination. The problem comes in attempting to dislodge a game franchise that is not only an established wrestling game, but also one of the best fighting game series available.

Gameplay

Alternating between laughably easy and frustratingly hard, TNA Impact is a study in contrast. The early matches can be won simply by getting your opponent on the ground and striking repeatedly. As you progress, it becomes almost impossible to string moves together. This is on the medium setting. The easy (“Backyarder”) setting offered no challenge at all, whereas the Hard (“Pro”) setting almost made me bald. The controls are not hard to master, and there are some solid ideas. The submission hold system, where both the attacker and the victim need to press button combinations to apply pressure or escape, is a very good idea, however I don’t think I got a single submission victory when playing. The control system is aggravated by not being fully described in any one place, leaving you checking frantically for the button combination to tag while you’re getting your face pounded. The biggest flaw with the controls is the method to escape a pin or a dazed state: rapid wiggling of both the left and right analog sticks. This is a pet peeve of mine and has been since buying a 360.

One of the big draws for me in any wrestling game is the create-a-wrestler mode, which in Impact is tied in to the story mode. Fine by me, I normally check that out too and I like being rewarded with unlockable moves as I proceed through the game. The awarding of “style points” for performance in matches, combos and use of certain moves is another great idea, but you have no say in what moves you unlock with these points. The unlocking also comes fairly slowly. To start the game in story mode you have NO customisation available to you, and the first few moves you unlock are relatively tame. The story itself is very good, and sees you playing a character who refused to take a dive in a title match despite being told to (think Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction, only with less anal rape). You get beaten down so bad that you need plastic surgery (enabling you to customise your look) and you cannot remember who you are. You then fight your way through numerous low-level matches to reach the championship.

The six-sided ring takes a little getting used to, but that’s minor. What IS annoying is the lack of rope breaks, disqualifications and count outs. You can quite easily run through almost every fight just by grabbing a chair. You even get more style points for a chairshot than a regular punch, so cheating is in fact encouraged. And if you don’t, the CPU will.

Graphics:
It’s rare these days to find a game that has bad graphics. Impact’s graphics aren’t BAD, they’re just not great. The loading screen stills are of poor quality, the texture on the ring canvas is VERY strange and there’s no referee figure in the ring. On the bright side, the wrestler faces look great, they’ve done a decent job animating the moves and the pyro is acceptable.

Sound:
Let me start by saying that the voicing in this game is great. They chose the right TNA talent to have big speaking parts, and the voice of the main character in story mode is done well. However, I have a major gripe with the music in the game. Now I’m fully aware that I will be in the minority with this, but cutting short the entrance themes and not allowing you to preview your create-a-wrestler entrance theme is a major annoyance for me. The screens that have music (results screen, main menu) loop the shortened entrance themes that they use, which can get very irritating very quickly. The sound effects are right where they should be, except that Don West is in full on banal mode.

Replay value:
Normally replay is a strong point of wrestling games, with the possibility of playing through the story with a whole range of characters, or with different movesets on created characters. Neither is offered here. The online play seemed to be pretty sparse and I had trouble finding an opponent, so no help there. Outside of story mode there’s very little to keep you coming back. Exhibition matches are really only there for the casual crowd, which is fine and dandy, but there’s not enough variety to keep you coming back to it. The Ultimate X match is great fun the first few times you play it, but wears thin very quickly.

Fun factor:
There is fun to be had here. If you’re not expecting a wrestling simulator but just want a beat-‘em-up with your favourite TNA wrestlers, then this works. Fighting 6 matches to unlock a clothesline however is not fun. As with any fighting game there is a certain visceral pleasure to be taken in beating seven shades of bebuggery out of your friend/acquaintance/enemy, and this is no different.



The 411

As with TNA’s wrestling, this game has a ton of great ideas that are poorly executed, and it feels as if nobody could be bothered focusing on any one aspect of the game for long enough to flesh it out. What we have here feels like a punch of half-built houses. It’s not a bad game, but with a little more time and effort it could have been a very good one. It suffered from being pushed back several times and then rush-released, begging the question, ”What caused the delays?” I said it before, but it bears repeating: if you go into this game looking for a true wrestling game, you will be disappointed. If you go looking for a fighting game with a wrestling theme, it works. It’s not the earth-shattering mega-success that TNA and Midway were hoping for, but it’s not a bad choice to fill an hour.

Graphics	7.5	Great in places, subpar in a few others.
Gameplay	6.0	Frustrating and counter-intuitive at times, damaging at others, fun at still others. A strange mix of features, but so like the TV show.
Sound	7.0	Don West's voice takes it down a whole level.
Lasting Appeal	5.0	I didn't even want to finish it once.
Fun Factor	7.5	It's more fun as a multiplayer party game.
Overall	6.9   [ Average ]

Screenshots
All 45 TNA Impact Video Game Screenshots