TNA Impact (PS3) Review

Posted by Derek Robbins on 10.27.2008

Can TNA Impact overcome the odds and upset Smackdown vs. Raw as the undisputed champion of current generation wrestling games? 411's Derek Robbins reviews Impact for the PS3 to determine just that.



For the past several years THQ’s Smackdown vs. Raw franchise has dominated the console wrestling scene. While other games that many would proclaim as better – namely games coming from the Fire Pro franchise – have come out, it’s pretty much just been Smackdown vs. Raw. Imitating real life, Midway has released TNA Impact for the Playstation 3 (among other systems) to compete with the quite dominant WWE franchise. Can TNA measure up or in the end will it simply get buried? Well, let’s just say that, in Csonka’s words, someone’s ‘bout to get “berried”.

Gameplay

So let’s start this comedy of errors off with a bang, shall we? Midway realized that there was no chance (in hell) that they could measure up to THQ’s Smackdown v. Raw’s number of features so they tried to measure up to them in terms of gameplay. After all, Smackdown vs. Raw has remained mostly the same – in gameplay – for several years now. You know what you’re most likely going to get. TNA decided to contrast the more ‘realistic’ style of Smackdown vs Raw with a more arcadey style. You can pick up and play the game right away and be rather proficient, but how does this feel?

Not good.

I wish there was a qualifier. Like, “This game isn’t good, but…” but that just doesn’t seem to be the case here. For starters, most every wrestler plays the exact same. Let’s say that you’re a huge Christian Cage fan and you want to go mano-a-mano with Kurt Angle. You must really like WWE’s cast offs! A casual TNA fan might notice that those two have different styles of wrestling. After all, not every wrestler is the same. The funny thing is? It’s kind of hard to tell that. Almost every single character I used shared moves. They had the same “strong kick”, the same punches, the same everything…there’s not really an excuse for that. When the roster feels like one gigantic palette swap you know that you have some problems.

I guess in terms of balance you don’t have to worry about a character having a ludicrously powerful move set. The problem is, controlling one guy and his 34 identically playing brothers can be kind of a drag. I would like to say that the game can recover from this gigantic set back by being kinda fun, but it really can’t. Not being able to differentiate between your wrestlers – again, for the most part – really hampers it. Yeah, your wrestlers have different signatures but just because one CAW has a muscle buster and the other has a Style Clash doesn’t make those two necessarily different.



In an attempt to further the idea that you can pick up the game and play right away, Midway decided to have the counter system work with just one button. This works just great, in theory, but in practice…it’s kind of a drag. There is no guess work, which you can find in Smackdown versus Raw, if you see a move coming and can press the counter button in time, you’ll be able to counter. It’s as simple as that. Yes, I understand they are trying to be different by being simpler, but this is just TOO simple. I like having to tap a different button for strikes and grapples. It just makes me feel more a part of the action. I guess I could see how someone could like this system, it’s certainly easier…but it’s just not for me.

As has been mentioned, this game has an emphasis on simplicity…so I must ask why they went all out to make the signature system so freaking wonky? Don’t misunderstand me, once you actually figure out how to execute a signature you can do it easily, but does it have to be so weird? Alright here’s what you do, you have to press the L1 button (How you make an attack strong) and grapple (Triangle, I believe). Then once you have them in the grapple you press the circle button. Again, this isn’t a hard thing to do once you master the controls but, seriously, in a game specialized in simplicity, isn’t it moderately ridiculous that you have to do all of that to get a signature move off? On top of that, you can only do standing signatures to the front. No back signatures, no ground signatures, no anything. Also, each character only gets one signature move. Certain wrestlers with ground submissions for signatures do not get to use them, most notably Kurt Angle and Sting. That seems kind of ridiculous considering both are rather recognizable amongst all wrestling fans. Couldn’t they have done something like hold the analog stick and grapple (ala most N64 wrestling games) or just press L1? It seems simpler to me.

Speaking of signature moves, that’s usually associated with the end of the match. In most game modes, the way you end a match is by either pinning the person or making them submit. It seems kind of counter-intuitive then to have both methods of winning being fairly flawed. In pinning someone, they have to shake to the joysticks to kick out. Whatever happened to pressing the buttons? Hasn’t that been a staple of wrestling games forever? It feels awkward. When you get someone in a submission hold, all they need to do is press the correct buttons to get out. (in a race against the grappler). What happens is a series of buttons is displayed and you have to press them three at a time. If you have someone who is exceptionally well at seeing the screen they can easily win these skirmishes. It makes more sense to have a system that requires mashing relative to the damage of the character. This system just seems unfair, to me at least.

One final nail in the TNA Impact coffin is its lack of match types. I know that this is their rookie year, but seriously…could they not have included more? Was “Monster’s Ball?” not an option? Was “Six Sides of Steel” just too hard to program into the game? No, what we get are the following: Single, Tag, Three-way, Fatal Four Way, Submission, Falls Count Anywhere, and Ultimate X. That’s it. I’m glad they included the Ultimate X match type, but there seriously should have been more effort put in here. This game was in development for a long time, so there’s about no excuse for what we got.

You might be asking yourself about the story mode and the create a wrestler mode? After all, these were billed as ‘major features of the game’. Well, there’s a reason why I waited so long to say something. They are, without a doubt, complete ass. The story mode has a pretty bad storyline with a pretty unlikable lead, even by wrestling game standards, and is more a test of patience than anything. Can you tolerate the absolutely abysmal gameplay for upwards of eight hours? It was a struggle…and the payoff is not worth it. Having the entire roster would be great, but considering the unlockable play like the rest of the roster anyhow, what’s the point? And the CAW feature!? Don’t make me laugh. Not only are there laughably few character slots, but there aren’t a ton of customization options and in the end – giving the movesets – your characters feel a lot like the others anyhow…so any feeling of originality one might have from creating a wrestler is gone. You just have even more generic movesets at your disposal. Oh boy.

In short, TNA Impact’s Gameplay falls right on its face.



Graphics

Let me let you in on a little secret about current generation gaming that you may or may not be privy to. For the most part, videogames are going to look good. There won’t be any current gen title that sends the user into a fit about how ugly they look (except for, you know, Disgaea 3.). The case remains the same here as TNA Impact is a pretty decent looking game. The character models are pretty spot on and the wrestlers look exactly like who they are supposed to look like.

It would be a damn shame if the character animations were different since a lot of the grapplers share similar moves…so I am pleased to say that the move animation is pretty solid. There are no horribly awkward looking moves which is a plus. For people who actually have fun with this game, the graphics will be a huge plus because it’s pretty serviceable.

Of course, there are problems too. The menus and loading screens look pretty darn basic and the fact that there is no referee feels kind of silly. Refs, love them or hate them, ARE a part of your typical wrestling match and to not even have one represented in this day and age on screen is really crazy. With how long this game took to make there is absolutely no excuse for that.

Outside of minor complaints, this game isn’t ugly by any means. Your HD TV will be put to good use. The wrestlers look good and that's all you can ask for.



Sound

TNA Impact’s sound is pretty basic. The music is mostly comprised of each individual wrestler’s intro music – or at least, shortened versions of it on loop – and it can get pretty old quickly. The same shortened intros are used for their ring entrances, and that’s sort of a shame because a whole part of the presentation is seeing your favorite personalities enter as they would on TV. It’s sad that it falls flat here.

Another pain in the butt is commentating. It’s not good. While Smackdown versus Raw’s commentating hasn’t progressed one iota in, well, ever…at least it’s not laughably bad. TNA Impact’s is. The way Don West and Mike Tenay call the matches is fairly bland…and most of their comments are either inaccurate or just plain un-necessary. I don’t like it.

At least the wrestler’s voice acting was good. That’s one plus. Even the most magnificent voice work couldn’t save this train wreck.

Fun Factor - I had no fun with TNA Impact. Sorry to say it, I had to force myself to play this game which is a darn shame. I’ve been a fan of wrestling games for a long time, why one of my favorite games of all time is Fire Pro Wrestling: Returns for the PS2…but this game really doesn’t deliver any of that enjoyment. While playing this game, I honestly had to ask myself if the people who were making this had ever played a wrestling game before? It honestly felt more like the very first venture into a genre as opposed to a current gen rendition of it.

It’s not fun and to be honest, unless you are a die hard TNA fan who only purchases TNA products…I don’t think you’ll have fun with it either. Seriously, you’d have to plug your ears and close your eyes to all the criticism…but if you really like the product, I guess there is a small, small chance that you may like the game.

You should just buy Fire Pro Wrestling: Returns for the PS2 and create your favorite TNA personalities there. It’s more fun and it won’t make you question why you blew a load of money.



Lasting Appeal - Let me be blunt – TNA Impact is not designed for long term enjoyment. I really can’t see anybody picking up this game today and still be playing it two months from now. It’s too simplistic and has about no depth. You normally could rely on gameplay modes to give you a longer lasting experience, but again…TNA doesn’t have much of that.

I did not have ANY fun playing this game with my brother. None. If you can’t have fun with someone sitting right next to you, imagine playing the game over the internet where the element of lag is introduced? To say the least it’s not a fun experience. Not even online can save this game, and it’s kind of sad. I had a lot of hope for this arcade-like title but…that hope was shattered in dramatic fashion.

Give this game a rental. I assume you’ll be tired of it after day two.

The 411 - Believe the press. I thought people were just being overly critical of this title until I actually tried it. After all, a wrestling game that promises thrilling arcade-like gameplay? Sign me right up! The press had it right. The game is a darn near unplayable mess. It’s over-simplified to the point where each and every member of the roster plays like everyone else. Imagine, if you will, Street Fighter 2 with Ryu as your only character. It’s even worse than that. The game could have made up for it with some gameplay modes, but again…it falls short.

Things would be different if this game was just a highly hyped disappointment. After all, this game was in development for a long time. I could have accepted that. The thing is, this game is even beyond that. It turned out to be a highly hyped disaster. I would only recommend a hardcore TNA fan try this mess out, and even then…I would do so very cautiously unless they are a masochist.

Look elsewhere for your wrestling fun. TNA fan, WWE fan, ROH fan, whatever you are…You’ll be better serviced somewhere else.

Graphics	7.5	There's nothing that you could call terribly flashy, but at least the wrestlers look like they are supposed to. Outside of the loading screens and the basic menu setup, there isn't much to complain about.
Gameplay	3.0	Too simplistic and most of the roster plays like each other. In short, nothing to write home about. Such a shame, because there was potential here.
Sound	5.0	Horrible announcing and shortened intros that not even high quality voice work can save.
Lasting Appeal	1.5	Give it a couple of days, you'll move on.
Fun Factor	0.5	It's not fun. Unless you absolutely MUST play a TNA game. And even then, only if you shelter yourself from the world and turn every fault of this game into a brilliant success. I cannot express this enough, this game is NOT fun.
Overall	4.9   [ Poor ]

Screenshots
All 45 TNA Impact Video Game Screenshots