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  TNA iMPACT
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Also available on:
PS3, PS2, WII It has been a while in comingTwo years is an eternity in the wrestling business. When Total Non-stop Action released the first teaser images of their upcoming video game, Jeff Hardy, Monty Brown and AJ Styles were the three wrestlers to be shown. During the intervening years, both Jeff and Monty defected to WWE, leaving fans wondering just how many wrestlers will still be with the group by the time the game emerged. Indeed, even WWE with its billion dollar empire and yearly video games have trouble keeping the roster relevant, so how could TNA expect to have an up to date roster when half their wrestlers work for more than one company at the same time? At this moment in time, TNA has done itself proud, with the current announced roster of wrestlers being those that are regularly seen on TV. From top stars, Christian Cage, Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe to the high octane tag team combinations of LAX and Motor City Machine guns, everybody you would expect to be in the game is accounted for. With more wrestlers to be announced (leading to a total of 25 wrestlers on the disk) and even more set to be available via downloadable content, TNA's roster is certainly strong enough to take on the big boys of the WWE. Get a gripAs important as the roster is to a wrestling game, the most important aspect is the wrestling engine – and with self professed hardcore gamers Samoa Joe and AJ Styles acting as advisers for Midway, the hopes are high that Impact will be a viable alternative to Smackdown Vs Raw. It will certainly be different, as Styles in particular has stated on record many times that he despises the Smackdown style gameplay, instead favouring the simulation approach of AKI's games for the N64. Appropriately, the game utilises a similar light/strong grapple feature, with light grapples being performed with Y and strong grapples being performed with L and Y together. The light grapple is quicker and allows for weaker moves, while the strong grapple takes more time to perform, but if the risk pays off, the wrestler can use the more powerful attacks, such as a powerbomb. This carries over into strikes and even context sensitive situations, meaning that to grab the cable in Ultimate X, you must press L and B together. This should hopefully ensure that players don't accidentally grab the cable when they mean to attack, and vice versa. Reversals will be performed with the R button rewarding good timing when it comes to breaking out of moves and countering strikes. Making an impactAnother feature carrying over from the old AKI games is the impact bar. When it fills, wrestlers will be able to perform their signature moves, such as the Canadian Destroyer or the Muscle Buster. Hopefully this bar will also act as a form of momentum bar that affects the reversal timing window, as anybody who played Day of Reckoning (which has a similar reversal system) will attest, it was far too easy to reverse moves, leading to frustrating matches where momentum meant very little. TNA has promised that Impact's matches will focus on the high octane, athletic style characterised by their X Division, rather than focusing on slower paced, submission-centric matches. While this may turn a number of fans off, it's a sensible move on the developer's part, as it fits TNA's product to a T. Add to that the match styles, from the dangerous, hardcore Monsters Ball to the agility test that is Ultimate X and it's plain to see why Midway have chosen to make the action and high spots the star of the show rather than the technical side.   |
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| At a glance |
| The stars of TNA Wrestling arrive in video game form hoping to emerge as the wrestling game champion |