TNA iMPACT Video Game

[Dragonslayer]

Well yeah, that price seems pretty reasonable. It really depends on how much they're gonna charge here. Amazon has it listed at approx. 30 Euros for PS2, but at 60 for X360 and actually at almost 70 for PS3... and there's no way I'm spending 60 Euros on an X360 version for this game if it has so many fundamental flaws...

But then again, wrestling game nerd that I am, I might just go out and buy it nonetheless, in the hopes that my financial contribution will enable TNA/Midway to produce a much better sequel next year

 

[grillzman859]

For everybody who gonna buy that game im tellin u now it sucks . i bought the ps2 version.
the controls is very hard to learn . You cannot create a character. they dont have too many matches to play
the only thing i can cay dat is good about dis game is the visuals and story mode. so if u wanna waste ya money then go ahead but it aint worth it trust me

 

[AFC1986]

I think the game is going to be a major letdown as the game looks average and after all the hype it's been getting, I think it's a shame as TNA and Midway have put a lot of effort into the game. Hopefully they will come back with a stronger game next year as if they get all the major match types and improve the online play they, I think the game could rival Smackdown vs Raw

 

[Uncle Sam]

I should hopefully be getting mine on UK release tomorrow. Just why they've got such an odd delay of, like, two days between and American and European release dates is beyond me but hey, whatever.

The major accomplishment of this game is animation. Even when there's multiple options to go, the moves transition beautifully. It's a shame this won't provide more than just a good base for following games after almost three fucking years in development but I'll enjoy it regardless.

Now all there's left to do is decide between AJ Styles and Alex Shelley. Hmm...

 

[Slyfox696]

What no one seems to be saying about this game is that IT'S FUN! The game itself is very fun. I read above someone said the controls were hard to learn. He's wrong. The controls are easy to learn and very easy to do.

Everyone criticizes the game due to a lack of features and roster, but I think everyone who says that misses what the point of a video game is supposed to be. Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 has a million features, but none of them are fun to play, so who gives a shit if they have them? That's not the case on this game. There are several different match modes, several wrestlers, and it's enjoyable to play.

Does it have drawbacks? Sure. Any first release will. But, the game has a very good groundwork from which to produce future games, and is already more fun to play than SvR.

TNA Impact: 7.5 out of 10.

 

[Shock]

I... I don't know what to say. I just got this for the PS2, and it sucks. The gameplay is slow, the graphics are terrible, there's no online or CAW mode. They're even missing important characters. The only good thing is Ultimate X, and even that's not that good. I think they focused too much on Ultimate X while making this game. It needs a lot more.

I give this game a 4/10.

 

[Slyfox696]

I... I don't know what to say. I just got this for the PS2, and it sucks. The gameplay is slow, the graphics are terrible, there's no online or CAW mode. They're even missing important characters. The only good thing is Ultimate X, and even that's not that good. I think they focused too much on Ultimate X while making this game. It needs a lot more.

I give this game a 4/10.

Well, I got it for the PS3, and it is very fun. The gameplay is the quickest of any wrestling game on the market, the graphics are phenomenal, there's both online and CAW mode. All the major characters that people care about are there, and Ultimate X kicks all kinds of ass.

Sounds like you need to upgrade to a current gen machine, and get rid of the last gen machine.

 

[Shock]

Sly, I may be getting a PS3 or 360 at some point soon anyway, so I'll get it then. But I have a question. Is CAW only in Story Mode or is it an individual mode?

 

[Ezzee]

As a first attempt at a wrestling game, I gotta say that this is a pretty good one. I own it for the PS2.

The controls are pretty easy to pick up. They are fairly instinctive, and a nice change from the SvsR games which I think have become pretty complex. If your new to wrestling games, TNA Impact is the better pick up and play game.

The load times are great. They are fairly short, especially compared to SvsR series. Yeah, SvsR give you something to read while it is loading, but it seems to take for ever.

The graphics are decent. Not as good as SvsR, but decent.

The story mode so far is pretty good. Challenging, but interesting, at least to me, and is more fun to me then the SvsR Career Mode.

Character selection is pretty good. Would love to see more, but you get a good selection. Sure, with SvsR you have a lot more wrestlers, but you are still good here.

Move repetition is the only other problem I see with TNA Impact. It seems like everyone has all the same moves. But then again, in the first attempts for many of the WWE games, it was the same thing.

Overall, this game has a lot of potential. There is a lot of room to grow, and a lot that can be improved upon. But overall, TNA Impact is a decent game with lots of potential and lots of room to grow for future installments.

I'd say I would give it a 7 out of 10 stars.

 

[Zandrax]

There are lacking features, such as cage matches or KOTM matches, and the CAW isn't nearly as robust. Plus the AI just isn't very deep. But most of my gaming is done in groups, and playing against each other is an absolute blast.

So overall this is a pretty good game, despite some unrealized potential. I'm sure any sequels will be better.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Got this this morning and I'm fairly impressed. I've only played three matches so far and have lost two of them. The controls aren't coming to me quickly but I think I'll be enjoying it once I've got it down to a fine art. I keep going to do the fucking SmackDown controls.

I created my own wrestler, Samicide, and fucked him up royally. It looks like his flab hangs over his tights. I basically just tried to make him Alex Shelley with a mask on

Just some first impressions. I'll talk about it more once I've properly gotten into it. Mind, I was a bit pissed when I was finally getting into some of the more complex stuff - I'm not used to games that require you to press three buttons at once, it seems unnatural ATM - and Christian apparently got fed up of it, grabbed a chair, wrapped it around my skull and hey ho, Mr. Styles is out for the count. Fucking toggle to kick out bullshit.

There's a practice mode, no? I hope so.

Edit: Oh, and Alex Shelley just looks wrong.

 

[dirtyshubb]

Should hopefully be getting this for ps3 in just over a week when the gf gets paid. The whole move repetition thing is a bit of a put off but like people have said the first smackdown games were like that. Overall im still looking forward to it and cant wait to play some people online.

Question: can you play people from abroad as i know there are a few games that have dedicated servers (i.e Metal Gear Online) as i would like to play people in America, maybe add a few people from here and have a few games.

 

[Enigmania]

I... I don't know what to say. I just got this for the PS2, and it sucks. The gameplay is slow, the graphics are terrible, there's no online or CAW mode. They're even missing important characters. The only good thing is Ultimate X, and even that's not that good. I think they focused too much on Ultimate X while making this game. It needs a lot more.

I give this game a 4/10.

I'm on the PS2 and having a blast. I think it's because you're comparing it to Smackdown vs RAW. The graphics are great what game are you playing?

Anyways...

I finished the Story Mode and unlocked pretty much everything yesterday on it. Would've finished it sooner but I kept losing to James Storm on Friday had a strop and stopped playing then on Saturday kept losing to the MCMG and did the same again

Love playing as Shark Boy & Senshi. The move are a little limited but you just learn to get a little creative.

Ultimate X is too easy for my liking but I did do them in under 3 minutes so it was good for story mode

And The DOA is awesome like to see Kaz do that!

 

[supergav67]

I bought it a few days ago.I tried to ignore the hype on website ads & on the box & took note of the Gaming websites who said it was average.& Im still kinda disappointed.
I have the PS2 version which Im told ,AftEr buying it ,does not not have CAW.Neither does Wii,(nice to have something in common with the whitestick wavers)Another ploy to make us cough up for the PS3 (anyone still raving about GTA IV!)
.So,if that is the case,& given this is the first TNA game Midway have made.Why am I unlocking wrestlers like Benny,Lenny,Sgt Hardin & AJ X?!.
If I cant create Sheik- Davari or Mick Foley,The least I couldve hoped for was to play a TNA legend (who might just come back knowing TNA) like Monty Brown,Raven Ken Shamrock .or Black reign! Its basic old arcade stuff,kick,punch & a button that does,,,something,.The websites are full of gamers wondering how to pin. (advice;Dont do it too near the ropes or he leaves the ring instead of winning the £$%&ing game!) & everyone finds it hard to break out of a pin,even if they spent most of the match kicking shhh out of their opponent,(that computer doesnt like losing!).
The general feeling Im getting is,,there might be a better version next year.Thanks! Put THAT on the advert why dontcha,£20 out of pocket & 12 months later,,,.!

 

[TheOneBigWill]

TheOneBigWill's (early) 'take' on T.N.A. iMPACT!: The Video Game:

Graphics: I would easily say that Midway and T.N.A. blew out the Smackdown series in their first try with very good graphics. Each Superstar looks amazing in detail and down to the wire for their exact look.

The ring is amazing, and even the fans in the crowd as well. The multiple arenas (albeit stupid to me) also have great surroundings, including the chickens. LOL Such a shame you can't use them as weapons though.. that would've been awesome.

I haven't yet unlocked or explored everything, so some arenas are unknown to me, and some wrestlers are still locked to me.

Gameplay/Controls: Point blank, they suck. It reminds me of the old-school Attitude and Warzone games. I feel as if I'm suppose to do button combinations to nail selective moves, when truthfully I think I just have to do a couple button combos to get certain things.

The control system isn't awful, but because it's naturally going to be different than the average wrestling game that's been controlling the market over the course of the previous 8 years.. it'll come off different and complex.

The one thing I find stupid is how the only finishers in the game come from a front lock-up, and hitting B. (xbox 360 controls) Jay Lethal doesn't have his elbow drop as a finisher, and Joe's "Muscle Buster" isn't from the corner. Because I don't believe they took proper time to creatively develop the control system.. I feel they screwed a lot of things over, including finishers only coming from the lock-up position.

As far as the Game play goes, it's kinda JUST like Attitude and Warzone. If you don't connect on something just right, your guy falls forward, or looks like he's completely drunk.

The one thing I give them top notch credit for is REVERSALS! I think you could combined all the Smackdown games in one, and this iMPACT! game would still have more reversals. That's both a blessing and a curse thus far. It's amazing when YOU can reverse practically everything, but when they reverse your reversals, or you can't counter their reversals.. it gets pretty one sided.

Also, they have NO knowledge of weight detection.. or what wrestlers can and can't do. This being more than evident in the case of Kevin Nash IN an Ultimate X match. Or the ability for Nash to deliver top rope moves more than regular power moves.

Create-A-Wrestler: I think it's a work in progress. I've found a couple AMAZING Raven and Jeff Hardy CAWs out there already, and that's just unbelieveable because of the lack of options you have to work with in the CAW mode.

If you have all the stuff and know exactly what you need.. it shouldn't take you longer than 10 minutes to make a fully detailed Superstar. In Smackdown it takes 10 minutes just to typically get through one set of features for the head and upper body.

All of the bodies look kinda "muscly" but also flabby. You (to my knowledge) have no control over altering the way they look, either.

You basically have regular shirts, pants and tights, and about roughly 5 designs you can flip through that include lightning, hearts, barbwire, army camo, and american flag-like stuff. Not really breath-taking, or workable.

Most of my entire moveset is locked right now, so I have no idea how great my guy's moveset COULD be.. but for now what I do know is he's barely betting jobbers in story mode.

The lack of being able to do anything with your intros is kinda a downside, but not by much considering the entrances last about 15 seconds, if that. You can NOT create your own theme music either.. come to think of it, I haven't even seen my guy enter yet.. he's always just "been" in the ring throughout storymode.

Story Mode: I'm not finished with it, and thus far it's honestly slightly better than Smackdown's recently produced. The whole "You're Suicide" is kinda stupid though.. I mean, what's the point in RE-creating someone, when in the end all they'll find out is that you're who they had beaten beyond being able to notice again.

I only just beat Jay Lethal, which was by far my EASIEST match yet.. but in doing so I had to defeat two other random (created) jobbers.. the first looked like Danielson from R.O.H. and he beat me like 4 different times before I finally won.

I've only fought James Storm and Jay Lethal who're active T.N.A. guys, and my stay in Mexico was probably the best just because their "custom" guys looked like actual mexican wrestlers. The two 'Klowns' from the Armory (second chapter) were crap, but I guess somewhat nice designs.

I've also found out that you can work over your opponent's for roughly 10 minutes and barely damage them.. but they can clothesline you twice and hit a finisher and you're out in an instant.

I would've rather been able to take an actual T.N.A. Superstar through story mode than have to follow the path of 'Suicide' the fake made-up guy.. who's going to apparently debut in the coming weeks, or so it seems. I also would've rather just designed my guy to LOOK like Suicide, since my alternative option was a warped looking form of Rico.

Features: Ultimate X might be the only thing T.N.A. would like to build on.. but I'd prefer my wrestling games to have a longer lasting life in allowing me more options than.. Single's, Tag, 3-Way, Ultimate X. (single's and 3-way)

All matches are contested under no-DQ/countout as well.. which is nice when you're losing and chairs are randomly placed outside. I've yet to block a chair shot as well, so I'm unsure if you can. I usually run away, then run back and attack them first.

Ultimate X: Isn't THAT great. It's okay, but once you see all the things you can do by attacking someone ON the cables, and being attacked yourself.. it gets really old, really fast.

Downloadable Stuff: Rumors on the net on gaming sites are that T.N.A. in the first week of November, will set forth it's first set of downloadable content.. which includes..

Curry Man & Petey Williams, apparently. I'd rather they just allowed them to be downloaded NOW. I can't see this game making it until November for me, and neither Curry Man or Petey Williams has what it takes to make me suddenly WANT to play that long. (for the note - the Canadian Destroyer is ALREADY in the game)

Overall: It's graphics are it's selling point, and the fact that it's T.N.A.'s debut game is the other strong seller.. but all in all, I'd rather take Attitude or Warzone (with fully creatable p.p.v. events and arenas) than this game.

People want the gameplay of No Mercy for the N64, and I hear yeah.. but the reason why that likely isn't happening is because it was THQ (Smackdown creator's) who did it.. and copying that is likely illegal.

I enjoyed playing as Styles, Daniels and even other T.N.A. originals.. the moveset is incredibly small and almost non-existant as most guys have the exact same moves, cept for their finisher. In the end, it's NOT worth $60.00.. it'd be barely worth $30.00.

 

[AFC1986]

I tried to rent this last night from Blockbuster as I wanted to see if it was a good game and to I could be proven wrong as I think this game might be a letdown but they didn't have any copies. I asked them when they will get any copies and the stupid fools said that because they didn't get the game on its release there is no guarantee that they will get the game at all. No wonder hardly anyone uses them

 

[Doody-ka-ka]

I tried to rent this last night from Blockbuster as I wanted to see if it was a good game and to I could be proven wrong as I think this game might be a letdown but they didn't have any copies. I asked them when they will get any copies and the stupid fools said that because they didn't get the game on its release there is no guarantee that they will get the game at all. No wonder hardly anyone uses them

Blockbuster usually only got high profile games/hyped games like Gears of War etc. And TNA Impact! isn't really a high profile game, especially not in europe, sadly. Wanted to rent it too but no luck.

 

[Bindy]

Brought the game the day it came put and traded it in within the week. The game did not live up to the hype. While the graphics are decent the rest is not. Its very dated as in gimmicks etc for example sharkboy dosent have his stone cold personna. Established tag teams also have seperate entrances even if there in the same match. The move set is very limited, also they have left out trademark moves such as the ankle lock and deathlock. Though the reversal and submisson systems are pretty alright. The story mode is incrediable cheesy even for Tna standards and you face more jobbers than actual tna wrestlers. The wrestlers actions in the game just remind me to much of warzone for example you can chokeslam somebody and they will just roll and get straight back up. there are no weight limits sharkboy can easily throw nash around within the game. There are hardly any match types and the ulimate x becomes boring the second time round. The CAWs are very limted and it only gives you the option to only create up to ten. Overall id give it 3/10

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I've had it less than a month, and I'm done with it. Actually I was done after about a week. It's ok once you start playing with it. The controls are pretty easy, and it's fun. But there's no reason for me to go back top it. It's enjoyable. But next year they'll need to add something to keep you playing all year round.

 

[CCS]

I bought the game the weekend after it's release. I played it for a few days and i havent touched it since. It's a fun game and the ultimate X match is awesome but there just isnt enough match types to keep my interested. The move sets are pretty limited and it's almost impossible to hit a top rope move. But overall it's pretty fun. My only regret is paying $40 for it when i coulda waited a few months and bought it used for $20.

 

[Dead Kennedy]

Well...the one positive thing I can say after having played it at my friend's who is a TNA mark, is that I could be Shark Boy and AJ Styles. That's basically all I could find that I didn't dislike. The control system is awkward, the selling animations for moves are horrendous and damn me if they didn't manage to create a story/season mode than 24/7 mode for SmackDown vs. Raw 2008. But yeah, Shark Boy is awesome.

 

[Doody-ka-ka]

the selling animations for moves are horrendous

Are you kidding me? The animations in the game is the best thing about it. They're so good that matches are actually fun to WATCH, while a Smackdown vs. Raw match is just a complete snoozefest to watch. Ironic isn't it, lol.

Midway build a solid engine and the game looks great, plays good and is just.. fun.

Improved Impact gameplay + Smackdowns features = perfection, almost.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

I for one liked the game. It had a decent storyline, great gameplay, a decent engine, and an impressive roster for the first game. It was easy to pick up and just play and is a blast when playing with a friend. Create A Wrestler lacks and so does the match types, but overall this was a decent game. The main factor here is that it is fun. Im looking forward to another installment.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I played it for a week then just plain forgot about it. But anyway, here's my checklist for the next game:

More move variety:
You say you didn't have time to put all 2,000 moves in the game Midway? I believe because as far as I can tell you only put about 12 in. The only characters that feel remotely right are Homicide and Hernandez and that's because they can feasibly perform almost any move. Oh, and while I'm on it, no Border Tosses to the outside of the ring - it doesn't hurt my opponent any more than it would usually and I can't get the pin as a result. Nice idea though. Secondary finishers would be nice too. I hear Kurt Angle doesn't have the Ankle Lock. I wouldn't know, but it needs to be fixed.

"Customisable characters":
You claimed this so much, I was amazed to find it was an outright lie. Maybe you meant Suicide was customisable, but that was shit anyway. I'm not asking for much - just some alternative outfits, just some different colour tights or something.

No more completely random characters:
I didn't give a shit so I never unlocked any random characters, but I hear Afro Thunder and Don West were in the game. You could've probably had double the moves or at least two relevant characters in their place. Don't waste fucking time on this bollocks please.

Entrances:
As a whole were shit. No more materials if you can't animate them to save your life. It's beyond me why Kurt Angle came out with a piece of plastic with the American flag on it, or why AJ Styles hood just fell off. People said entrances were bang on. They weren't though, were they? I mean, guys like Homicide just came out and raised their hands. You didn't even see them get in the ring - the one place you could've used three or four generic animations. Oh, and tag team entrances too. It was fucking stupid when you were promoting your tag matches and LAX came out separately.

Turn the lights on:
Yes, the next gen is grey brown. We know. But the iMPACT! Zone has more than a candle lighting it. I suppose it's meant to make your painstaking lighting look sophisticated - just light it up.

DQ:
Why the fuck were there chairs just lying around? That tag team storyline was a fucking pain. I give someone and ass kicking and they just run out and get a chair. I go for a suicide dive to try and stop him but alas, I miss. His partner picks up another chair. I've lost the match by the time I'm back in the ring. Put a referee in that can get knocked out at least. Oh, and fix the ******ed AI.

Game modes:
Nobody would have cared if you hadn't put Ultimate X in, it's your first game. I'd have imagined that a cage match or a ladder match would have been considerably easier to make and their absence is more felt. Just chuck in KOTM and a cage and I'll be happy. Ish.

Better CAWs:
I just made my guy into a generic luchadore. Why? Because it was pretty much that or some fat cunt. Just leave it out if you want, I don't care. Just be able to change Suicide's colours from match to match - it was annoying you couldn't create anything nearly as cool as his original outfit.

Finish the game:
I don't care how long it takes, but the more shitty installments you provide, the smaller and less loyal your customer base is gonna get. Call the next game something other than "iMPACT!" just so it disassociates itself with the first. TNA Slammiversary or something.

 

[Kyphael]

After reading the many reviews on this game, I am so glad I was a cheapskate and didn't get it. After playing any of the Smackdown vs. RAW games, I would have been utterly disappointed. I don't even think I'm going to bother buying it six months from now when it's in the discount bin. Thanks for the heads up, I can happily wait for SDvsRAW09.