An Upset by the Upstart: TNA Impact! Reviewed


With a history spanning nine years, and three console
generations, the Tony Hawk franchise was long considered the quintessential
skateboarding videogame. In recent years, however, the series offered marginal
improvements to its gameplay; its annual installments seemed urged by
shareholders, not gamers. Along came EA’s Skate, a title which took a
completely dissimilar approach to simulating skateboarding. The innovation paid
off- Skate outsold Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground, by a 2:1 ratio, and forced Tony
Hawk
developer Neversoft to take a year off to rethink its approach.

THQ’s Smackdown series has a lot in common with the Tony
Hawk
franchise. Both series’ have grudgingly evolved from nearly decade-old,
Playstation One games. The Smackdown franchise is known for giving players a
relatively minor amount of new content from year to year, instead rehashing old
code with only a nominal amount of graphical improvement. The vulnerable series
is also in danger of losing its fanbase to a punky upstart that looks to
reinvigorate and retool the console wrestling game. Can TNA Impact! for the
Xbox 360 and PS3 become the new king of the canvas?


The developers of Impact! clearly wanted to move away from
the slow and methodical play of the Smackdown series and offer players fast, and
fluid arcade-inspired controls.  For the
most part, the Los Angeles-based Midway development team has succeeded- punches
and kicks are pulled off with a button press, and can be intensified with the
modifier button. Most actions are intuitive and recall the ease and rapidity of
a fighting game. While the animation is buttery-smooth, occasionally the player
will find themselves not making contact with an enemy wrestler, as the hit
detection suffers from the intermittent glitch. Reversals and double-reversals
can be pulled off with a timely button press, and add a burst of excitement to
the proceedings. One dilemma we’ve had with most modern wrestling titles: a
canned animation sequence must play out before your on-screen persona executes
his next move. Impact!, however, allows players to interrupt all attacks,
creating the sensation that you are in constant control of your wrestling, not
just influencing him.


Distancing themselves from the larger and sluggish character
models of the Smackdown series, Impact!’s wrestlers are slightly smaller, yet
astonishingly detailed. While some might bemoan the lack of any female
wrestlers, the textural quality of the combatants in the game nearly overcomes
this shortcoming. The game’s venues seem painstakingly modeled after their
hexagonal counterparts- while at E3, a designer showed us a faded bloodstain on
the canvas the remained in the final texture maps. The developers at Midway
managed to capture the physicality and speed of professional wrestling- throws
and finishers looks sufficiently punishing. 

Despite the team having spent over two years developing the
title, Impact! has its share of faults. While each wrestler has their own
signature moves, the great majority of their taunts, slams, and strikes are
shared with other characters. So while characters are balanced, there is a
certain uniformity that dulls character selection. Story mode is hampered by a
dawdling pace to unlock a nominal amount of new player moves. Additionally, CPU
A.I. during tag-team matches in unapologetically poor- be prepared for a lack
of any assistance from your computer partner in moments of need.


Online bouts are limited to single matches with no option
for created wrestlers. Currently, online play is relatively lag-free, but
players accustomed to the fluidity of local matches will notice the occasional
gameplay hiccup. TNA Impact! is a title that seems built around dorm/frat house
play-  the game almost requires the
face-to-face trash talking these settings offer.

Overall, TNA Impact! dethrones the aging Smackdown Vs. Raw,
but not in the crushing manner we were expecting. Impact! has the speed and
fortitude to shame its rival, despite some sloppy execution. Hopefully, we’ll
see a return next season with an increased amount of finesse and mastery of
wrestling nuances.

Final Grade: B

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

47 comments

  1. Finally, an honest review. I am a big TNA fan, and I though IGN, 1Up and Gamespot didn’t get it. This is soooo much better than SvR, and hella fun to play with friends.

  2. Bought this yesterday and I think it should get an A-; other than the minor problems you mentioned it so much fun.

    When you play with other people, the tag problem doesn’t even matter.

  3. Who’d want to play a fake ‘sport’ with a bunch of sweating guys grabbing each other? Wrestling is gay.

  4. Nice looking wrestlers, although they have this blank expression on their faces.

    I guess that’s realistic.

  5. I was reading the reviews on this.

    Gamers are giving this game an 90%, while critics are giving it 60%; it looks like you guys were fair, and probably gave it the score it deserved.

  6. It’s called TNA and there’s no female wrestlers?

    They should take it off the market for false advertising. Hahahaha

    Great review!

  7. If nothing else its nice looking.

  8. Wow, is this out? I might have to gamefly it.

  9. Sounds good. I wonder what the xbox live community will be like

  10. My friend got this last night. It feels like old school wrestling.

    I’m hurting today because we were up to 2:30 AM drinking and playing.

  11. Ring texture in the first screenshot doesn’t look that good.

  12. Great review. How many wrestlers are there?

  13. Great review. Looks like a very fun party game.

  14. Where’s the ref in the pics?

  15. Although it looks weird, there is no ref in the game.

  16. Shoulda got an A; iMPACT! was robbed!

  17. Which version is better 360 or PS3? Or are they about the same?

  18. Glad to see they changed the wresting game. it was getting tired.

  19. You got it right- iMPACT! is how it is typed.

    Every website I’ve seen is getting it wrong.

  20. 25 Wrestlers:

    * Abyss
    * AJ Styles
    * Alex Shelley
    * Booker T
    * Chris Sabin
    * Christian Cage
    * Eric Young
    * Hernandez
    * Homicide
    * Jay Lethal
    * Jeff Jarrett
    * Kurt Angle
    * Rhino
    * Samoa Joe
    * Scott Steiner
    * Sting
    * Tomko
    * Afro Thunder
    * Brother Devon
    * Brother Ray
    * Don West
    * James Storm
    * Kevin Nash
    * Mike Tenay (Unlockable)
    * Robert Roode
    * Senshi
    * Shark Boy
    * Sonjay Dutt
    * Suicide

  21. Wow maybe this could be a whole new revolution for wrestling games, I need to get myself a 360 or a PS3 to play this it looks fun! Although I doubt there’d be a PC version =(

  22. Awesome review. The other site dont seem to get it. Those pansies probably wrestle their boyfriends.

  23. Looks fun. Great review!

  24. Not really my type of game, but I agree this would be huge in frathouses. Good times.

  25. Was this game pirated? I’m kidding insider Cheapass gamer joke.

  26. Excellent review, deagle.

  27. Great review

  28. Is it ‘Totally Nonstop Action’?

    On a serious note, I had a friend who got to try out this game early. He basically said the same thing as the review. Is has flawed but fun as hell.

    Now, can you tell me why the other webistes are flogging the hell out of it. Giving it Cs and Ds.

  29. Got this game yesterday. It’s so freaking fun with a few people.

  30. This game is unfairly getting ragged on my alot of the media. Got it about 30 minutes ago from Blockbuster and I can already tell I’m going to buy it.

  31. Looks like a return to arcade games. I remember a WWF game for the PS1 that was fun as hell. Before there were all these moves to remember.

  32. WWE>TNA

    The copycat never beats the originals.

  33. No ref=no buy.

  34. Played last night, the game the was pretty laggy online, but we still had fun. two player matches look like the way to go.

    Let us know, if they release a online patch.

  35. Nice looking graphics.

  36. Looked at a video- I like the way the bodies are different. Midway seems like they did a great job in that department.

  37. No chicks? I bet they’re saving them for DLC…

  38. I’m going to have to buy it this weekend, reviews be damned.

  39. Wrestlers look good; but the game is just ok.

  40. Yeah, rastlin’ Gather up the inbred bucktooth cousins and let’s duke it out all oily and shit.

  41. Cant wait to play this.

  42. Looks like fun. Too bad I’m broke right now.

  43. I bought it and I’m disappointed.

    Alot of the wrestlers feel the same. There’s no sense of big and slow vs. lean and mean.

    Entrances are too short and not that interesting. and the play by play repeats itself too much. at least is not slow.

  44. Any surprizes about the game?

  45. I was surprised that the game uses the Unreal Engine.

  46. Looks like a nice start, but I’ll wait for a sequel.