TNA iMPACT Review
After years of us having to put up with the crap THQ put out in Smackdown vs. RAW series, we now have a new wrestling game out on the market, TNA iMPACT! The game itself uses the Unreal Engine and since this is the first wrestling game Midway have made to this standard, we can’t really compare it to Smackdown vs. Raw. Remember when Smackdown first appear on Playstation. It was the first in the series and so is this.
TNA Box Art
For those of you that haven’t heard of TNA before, here’s a little background. After WCW went bankrupt, Former WWE and WCW wrestler Jeff Jarrett had an idea to create a wrestling company that gave up and comers like Samoa Joe and AJ Styles the chance to showcase their skills in the ring. TNA moved from a 4-sided to a 6-sided ring and now holds a national TV programme on a Thursday night also called TNA iMPACT.
So back to the game, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe spent a lot of time down at Midway to try and get the details done right. They had a lot of input in the game. TNA used motion capture sensors to get all the move perfect and give everyone there acquired move set. A lot of effort has gone into this and you can tell!
The story mode of the game focuses on a wrestler called Suicide. Suicide makes his way to the top before LAX take him out and he has no idea who he has. Now that’s were you come in. You pick yourself a name and clothes and then work your way upto the top. You start in Mexico doing a gaunlet match. after you pass, you then make it to America which you do the same thing at an army base until the last guy when you face James Storm for TNA contract. Once in TNA, you work your way up the ladder claiming all titles available. You team with Eric Young for a thrilling tag team storyline. In the end you come face to face with Jarrett, the guy who sent LAX to take you out when you were Suicide. Your memory comes back and once you beat Jarrett, you become the TNA World Champion and the number 1 in TNA!
TNA Founder: Jeff Jarrett
There are a few match types available in the game, but not as many as you expect. You don’t get Full Metal Mayhem, Elevation X, Terror Dome, Six Sides of Steel or King of the Mountain match amongst others. You get your Singles, Tag Team, Free For All, Ultimate X and Ultimate X Free For All. There are also a few arenas to unlock. The arenas you fight in looks all the same with different rings mats and a different colour building. There are always chairs dotted around the ring, something not in TNA on Television. You can’t walk up the entrance ways or go near broadcast table. There is no fighting in the crowd, but to be fair, it took THQ about 6 years to add that feature. There is also no full entrance down to the ring. Once they ar eintroduced, it cuts out. One good thing about this game compared to Smackdown vs. Raw is that the loading times ar emuch shorter!
TNA iMPACT doesn’t boast a good online section. Some of the achievements are for leaderboard position, but a lot of people quit when losing, but it doesn’t affect there streak and they stay at the top/undefeated. I have played about 50 games online and about 15 have quit when losing. It’s a shame that these few people spoil the game for the rest of us. Another issue with online is that Ultimate X is very laggy no matter how good a conenction is. Unlike in exhibition pressing A doesn’t work as soona s you press it, online there is a one second delay which can be annoying. I’m 50/50 for Ultimate X matches online!
