TNA iMPACT!

Who doesn't love a good wrestling game? All the flair, dialogue, crazy techniques, and colorful personalities certainly make for excellent T.V. watching. It's been proven that most of these games translate pretty well to a playable video game experience, too. It may not be the most revered wrestling franchise, but 'TNA IMPACT!' is here to try and make its mark.

The TNA franchise formed out of the demise of a popular wrestling series, WCW. It was always known that TNA would be chasing behind the prominent franchise of WWE. But it did manage to attract some big names into the ring and keep audiences excitable. 'TNA IMPACT!' doesn't have a game roster to fall back on, so it's trying to live up to potential with this single offering.

Striving for the Impact

'TNA IMPACT!' is going straight for the jugular when it comes to facing the competition. There is an inherent focus on a visual flair to give players the feel of a complete wrestling experience. The character models, animations, environments, and colors present fantastically, adopting all the hallmarks of watching TNA events on your television.

The entries from the 25 available wrestlers are fun, and the in-ring action is high-octane with all the traditional and unique wrestling moves you'd expect. Controls generally feel pretty good as you move around the ring discovering new methods to flatten your opponents. But while you start to hone in on your elite wrestling experience, some of the more noticeable flaws come into fruition.

It's not long before you expend your catalog of available wrestling moves, and gameplay begins to become repetitive. If you are playing against the A.I., you'll also notice that it's not particularly engaging in any capacity - making the game fairly unchallenging. Any sort of gameplay diversity seems to come to a roadblock pretty quickly.

The story mode is a nice touch where you can create your own wrestler. However, the customization options are limited. And you aren't able to transfer your wrestler into a quickplay ring. It's a fair few things that stick out in what otherwise could have been quite the wrestling game. Still, 'TNA IMPACT!' does have its moments of fun - especially in a party setting.

Your Move, Brother

It's respectable to 'TNA IMPACT!' that there was a noble ambition to make this an excellent wrestling game. Not just another piece to the franchise like the endless number of WWE Smackdown vs. RAW games. Unfortunately, it seems like the time constraints and financial issues got the best of the game. The ambitions fell short of the complete wrestling experience.

Pros:

• Fantastic visuals to create an immersive TNA wrestling experience
• Wrestler animations are excellent
• The game feels like it has personality

Cons:

• Lack of wrestling techniques make gameplay repetitive
• Not many options for customization
• Frustrating that the game feels it could have been outstanding