Martin Smith enters the gaming world to take a look at how TNA are making an ‘Impact’ in the console market…

Having given up on wrestling games for a long time, I was left more than a bit worried when TNA announced they were to release a game for their fans.

There’s just something about wrestling games over the last three or four years that has left me flat and wanting more. I’ll be honest, the WWE’s series of games have become boring, bland and very much repetitive.

So, when I was asked to take a look at this effort, I was understandably cautious. Would TNA be able to pull off a massive coup and turn me from a Call of Duty 4 nerd to wrestling icon over night?

What we got in reality was a man without a clue in the world, bashing his pad while getting bruised and beaten by the stars of TNA.

Kurt Angle hits Christian with a hiptoss

First things first, I went straight into the ‘Ultimate X’ match. Far too confident Martin, far too confident.

Starting off in a triple threat ‘Ultimate X’ match wasn’t the way to go. But hell, you have to be thrown into the deep end before you swim, so I jumped straight in.

I was AJ Styles and I was ready – or so I thought. While I might have looked ridiculously stupid trying to figure out how to grab the red ‘X’ hanging from the ropes above the ring, I still managed to look cool, calm and relaxed – which is more than can be said about my opponents.

With Homicide and Samoa Joe battling intensely on the wires, I bashed the buttons frantically to climb the wires. I’ll be honest with you guys, I had them right where I wanted them. They were in my crosshairs and I was about to take them out.

However, the problems began and yes, it went downhill. Homicide grabbed the X and ladies and gentleman, we had our winner. I might not have had a clue what I was doing, but I was hooked already.

So I entered season mode.

However, while the controls may have become printed on to my brain, the season mode left a lot to be desired. The game starts with your character, Suicide, beaten up and left for dead by Homicide and Hernandez (LAX).

Air Jarrett!

You then have the task of creating your character from head to toe. I went for a Bobby Lashley look-a-like, with a cowboy hat, leather pants, waistcoat and a Rey Mysterio style mask. Words don’t do it justice – I was the modern day Rick Rude.

Infact, in all honesty, it was a look that I ditched further on in my career. While I may have been undefeated, there was just something about the cowboy hat that made me feel like a Chuck Norris wannabe.

Plus, it made my character look extremely camp and let’s face it, I had no intention of wrestling like that with my opponents.

So, the hat went and I let my bald head shine.

However, the story mode was nowhere near as good as it possibly could’ve been. While your character takes on a number of jobbers and makes his way up the TNA ladder, you are left wondering what exactly the point of it all was. You defeat superstars such as Jay Lethal, Tomko and more and unlock arenas while you compete around the world. Not exactly thrilling.

At the time of writing, I had spent around ninty minutes in the season mode and had completed over forty percent. Ideally, this means I will have completed story mode in under four hours. That isn’t good. With the game lacking any real match types on the main screen, it needed a hook – and the season mode isn’t one that keeps me playing this game for long periods.

One embarrassing moment during season mode was a backstage segment with Eric Young – who is made to look like an absolute fool on this game. Rather than having a video showing a conversation with Kevin Nash, we had a series of pictures with a Nash voice over. This was poor effort for an Xbox 360 title. With all the ability to explore the machine, they gave us pictures and a voice over. No videos, no graphics and no sequences. Very poor, and very disappointing for a game looking to make a name for itself in this industry.

That said, the graphics on the game are quite brilliant and some of the best I have seen, not just on a wrestling game, but in general. Each wrestler has his own individual trademarks, such as tattoos, and we even get certain mannerisms that make you feel completely in control.

Angle takes it to the outside

The graphics are top notch, the game play is great and the ‘Ultimate X’ match is fantastic. So, where are the problems?

Well, if you believe everything you read, then this game is supposedly a disaster. Forget everything else – this game is like the plague.

How I disagree.

The game, while not superb, is a decent effort for a first title and one that I thoroughly enjoyed playing. Let’s get things straight: this is a far from perfect game. It has its moments, but at the same time, it’s a good effort by the team behind the game.

However, I couldn’t possibly sit here without mentioning the bad points.

Without dwelling too much on the negative, one thing that frustrated the hell out of me very quickly, was the lack of common sense in the matches. I kicked my opponents ass for ten minutes, land my finisher and then, while I’m dreaming of world domination in the ring, my opponent kicks out at a ONE COUNT. Even better, I hit my opponent with my finisher, he kicks out of the one count and then gets up immediately. Hang on! Isn’t that meant to hurt the guy??

Another thing that really began to annoy me was the constant reversals in the game. I actually lost to Jay Lethal with him hitting constant reversals, getting his bar full and landing his finisher. It happens once and you can accept it, but after four or five times, it begins to irritate and the game becomes unplayable.

We also had the usual game glitches which dominate every game. In one, Eric Young failed to run in and break up the pin-fall even though I was being pinned in my own corner. Good job Eric! We also had wrestlers running into steel steps, wrestlers reversing holds despite being ‘knocked out’, low blows and chair shots legal throughout and to top it off, we had the annoying analog bash to kick out of pinfalls.

Scott Steiner

While this might be original, it becomes a mess after a few hours of play and I’m certain it breaks the controller somehow, with the analog stick being pushed back and forth as quickly as possible.

We also have the unfortunate lack of match types in the game. You have your usual singles, tag matches and falls count anywhere matches, but apart from that, you find yourself wanting more.

Where’s the Monsters Ball? The Six Sides of Steel? The King of the Mountain match? How about the TerrorDome and the Battle Royals?

Why are we left to the basics, in a game that Midway and TNA expect people to pay good money for?

That’s right – they are all going to be in the next game. Not to mention, we don’t get the TNA Knockouts in this game either. So, you guys will just have to wait a little bit longer to get your hands on Velvet Sky!

The game does have its faults and unfortunately, they stand out like a sore thumb. While the bad points slightly out-number the good points, this game is still relatively solid and a great first attempt to break the TNA brand into the gaming market.

Overall, I was slightly surprised. The negative feedback in the magazines and across the web made me worried that this game would be a massive failure. Let’s not kid ourselves, this was far from perfect, and was let down by some massive problems (such as the kick-out of finishing moves). There was also downright stupidity to leave out names such as Awesome Kong and match types such as the King of the Mountain.

With downloadable content rumoured to be on its way, we could see the above in the game sooner rather than later. Wait…doesn’t it make sense to have them in the game originally rather than make people pay again for content?

Many will point out that the companies need to make money, and that is understandable. However, I can’t help but find it outrageous that they would leave out key attractions to the TNA brand from the start. If I wanted selling on this game, I certainly didn’t see enough here to part ways with my money.

If you want a game with fantastic graphics and great game-play, then this game should be worth at least some of your money. Throw in the ‘Ultimate X’ and the chance to play as Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Shark Boy, Alex Shelley and more for the first time ever, and you could be persuaded to buy this effort.

It may not be fantastic but it certainly kept me playing.

Now, go out and buy the game yourselves. After all, I have a TNA Heavyweight title to win.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

Martin Smith
martin@ifight365.com