2008/11/19

TNA: iMPACT! (PS2)

TNA's first venture into the video game market is a good effort, but could have been a lot better. First thing you'll notice is that graphics are GREAT. Probably some of the best I've seen in a wrestling game. Audio is pretty good too, with good voice acting from the actual TNA wrestlers.

Then you start playing the game, and at first it seems fun as you pull out some impressive moves. A match or two later, you realize how limited a moveset each wrestler have, despite claims of having motion captured over 200 moves for the game. The matches then get generic, beat down your opponent, charge up your finisher, hit it and win the match. That's all. Not much strategy involved.
Another thing wrong with the gameplay is the absence of RULES. There are no count outs, no disqualifications, and NO REFEREE in the ring even! They didn't even really model the wrestlers with their actual movesets. Some wrestlers are missing their signature moves, like why is it STING doesn't have his SCORPION DEATH LOCK?

Your gameplay options are very limited. It's just Story Mode and Exhibition matches. In the story mode you don't even get to play as any of the TNA roster, but a character specifically made for the game called Suicide, who looks like Todd McFarlane's Spawn. You'll want to play through the story mode to unlock the hidden wrestlers and arenas, but that's about it.

There isn't a whole lot of choices for the exhibition matches either. Singles, Tag, Triple Threat and Fatal Fourways, with the optional Falls Count Anywhere stipulation. The big draw of the game was supposed to be the Ulitmate-X match, but even that was a dissapointment as it's just too easy to win and can be over in a minute.

And what about the hidden characters in the game? TNA has a big roster and it's "open door policy", and you get to wrestle in Mexico and Japan, so there's gotta be some good international talent in there, right? WRONG! For some reason, TNA decided to make up fake wrestlers to fill in the roster, and instead save some of the actual wrestlers as downloadable extras that you can pay for online to download. LAME.

Overall, if you expect to start up a franchise game series, you have to make the first one good enough that fans would want to get their hands on a second edition that's bigger and better than the first, unfortunately Midway failed in this aspect and game is already hitting bargain bins around the world as I type this, just 2 months after it's release!

Overal Rating: 3/10

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