Since
its launch, the PlayStation 3 is home to the only licensed wrestling title that
can be found and under the WWE and Raw banner, it excelled in bringing a true
professional wrestling game to pro wresting fans. Midway, no stranger to
fighting games thanks to its Mortal Kombat series, brings grappling fans
a game featuring the TNA brand that looks to compete with the WWE giant. TNA
Impact! brings all of its licensed stars and wrestling action to the
PlayStation 3 but a few technical flaws simply hold it back from being a great
wrestling title.
“No! Take it back! Snuggles
isn’t an evil corporate mascot!”
Wrestling fans new to the TNA brand will find some familiar faces seeing as
wrestlers such as Kurt Angle and Booker T have jumped off the WWE/Raw ship to
join the successful organization that’s filled with all the same scripted drama
and DDT-filled wrestling action. TNA Impact brings a number of its stars
in the lineup including Booker T, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Sting, Shark Boy and
Brother Devon to name a few. Sadly, the ladies of the TNA Knockout division are
not present … although Christy Hemme is present during the load screens.
TNA
Impact! includes
Exhibition, Online multiplayer and Story Mode. Story Mode is the main
single-player mode that tells a somewhat interesting story that’s actually good.
As Suicide, you were at the top of your game and future TNA star. Then you’re
attacked by a tag team duo that has it in for you and left disfigured and nearly
dead. Waking up in a rundown hospital in Mexico, plastic surgeons prepare to
reconstruct your face so it is here that you actually create your character.
From there you must wrestle your way back to the top to join the TNA franchise
just as you had once planned. This, of course, means you must go up against the
hopefuls and finally the big names like Christian Cage and the likes of AJ
Styles. Story Mode is surprisingly deep and you’re able to earn points to
purchase new clothes as well as unlock new moves for your grappler such as new
body slams as well as hard-hitting chops.
Exhibition mode brings a number of matches that include Handicap, Tag Team, Free
for All, Submission, FCA (Falls Count Anywhere) Match and FCA Match Tag. Fans of
Ultimate X and Ultimate X FFA matches will be pleased to find the match type
that has grapplers attempting to unlock an X while climbing cables overhead. The
good news is that you can play these Exhibition matches with a friend and more
than makes up for the limited fun that is the online multiplayer.
“Mommy! Look! I can count to three now!”
The
good news is that controls are simple to get into so gamers new to wrestling
games can easily pick up this game and perform a DDT or an Irish Whip without
any trouble. Like to pull off Sting’s famous finishing move the Scorpion Drop
then chances are you’ll find out how to do it on accident. This is good seeing
as you can concentrate on pulling off these cool moves and the match at hand
rather than worrying about how to pull off the more complicated moves. What
doesn’t work is the fact that you need to rapidly move the analog sticks to get
out of a pin.
Unfortunately, great controls don’t mean a thing when the AI isn’t very smart
and that your opponent thinks that the virtual fans would love to see the same
moves performed repetitively. How many times must we suffer through Booker T’s
Bookend move? Yeah, it gets very annoying. Yet the worst part is that opponent’s
can be so dumb that sometimes they wait for you to smack them over the head with
a chair rather than pull off a reversal. Pairing up with a tag team partner also
becomes annoying since your partner is also prone to making some boneheaded
decisions in the ring. Then again, most TNA stars do provide a real challenge so
don’t expect to always breeze through this game.
Graphically speaking, TNA Impact! is a mixed bag. For one thing, the TNA
stars and other unfamiliar wrestlers look good and are nicely detailed. You’ll
immediately recognize a star’s signature move or familiar gesture and it’s
impressive to see how natural they move during matches. Then again, certain
backgrounds look rather dull and the washed out textures feel out of place when
the characters look good. The virtual fans look good in some arenas while in
others not so good.
Tourist: “I know they’re
proud of the tango here in Argentina but do they have to do it in wrestling
too?”
I would
like to say that the sound fairs a lot better but it doesn’t. The various songs
are hard rock tunes that are hit or miss depending on your taste but by the
fourth match it just starts sounding the same. There’s commentary to be found
here from the likes of TNA announcers Don West, Jeremy Borash and Mike Tenay.
For the most part, they sound good but much of what they say during matches is
recycled repeatedly. Your character’s voice work during Story Mode is actually
good and there are some decent performances from other key characters as well.
TNA
Impact! for the
PS3 packs quite a punch but just doesn’t connect well enough to make this a
perfect wrestling game worthy of rivaling the WWE franchise. This game has all
the right players, moves and match types but it lacks finesse and better AI
opponents to make the single-player mode more enjoyable than what is presented
here. Sorry, Midway, it’s a good attempt that just isn’t as good as it could
have been. Here’s hoping the next TNA Impact! game will be better.
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Gameplay: 6.5
All the
recognizable TNA stars are here and they each have their own unique signature
move that looks cool in action. Unfortunately, you’ll be seeing a lot of the
same moves in the same match. The Exhibition match types are plentiful and Story
Mode isn’t too shabby. Still, we wish the AI opponent’s weren’t so dumb.
Graphics: 7.5
Visually, the
grapplers look good during cut scenes and in the ring pulling off flying
suplexes and body slams. The backgrounds and crowds could have used some more
attention but what is here isn’t entirely bad. At least the characters move
realistically.
Sound: 6.0
Sadly, the sound
doesn’t make much of an impact either (no pun intended) and that goes for the
rocking soundtrack or the two-man commentary team that repeats the same phrases
over and over again. Story Mode has some solid voice acting, though.
Difficulty: Medium
You can expect
the likes of Sting and Samoa Joe put up quite a fight but then again the
inconsistent AI makes even Kurt Angle seem like a newcomer with very little to
offer. In some matches, the AI shows some improvement but not by very much.
Concept: 6.5
The TNA brand is
represented well enough in Impact and it’s great to see that they included the
nifty Ultimate X matches in the game. Story Mode tells a rather interesting and
fun story that lacks championship belts but is not short on enjoyable matches.
What happened to the TNA Knockouts division?
Multiplayer: 6.5
While it’s a bit
simplified and doesn’t offer a multitude of matches, the game runs smoothly
online and there are enough TNA superstars to pick. Where’s the four-player
action, though? Come on, Midway, let’s see four-player multiplayer for the next
game.
Overall: 6.5
Unlike the WWE
wrestling titles already available for the PS3, TNA Impact! fails to
deliver a true grappling experience TNA or wrestling fans will thoroughly enjoy.
While there are a few match types that really shine through, the grappling
action just isn’t fun or diverse enough to do the brand justice.
