Was 2008’s TNA Impact the wrestling video game horrible?
In 2008, TNA Impact was the only high-budget choice Americans had if they wanted a WWE alternative. While TNA Impact did not even come close to the popularity of its competitor, it did get enough traction to warrant a video game.
With AEW Fight Forever coming out at the end of the month, it makes me want to harken back to the last time a competitor brought their video game against the titan. TNA Impact was picking up steam. They had a roster of amazing X Division stars, the backing of Kurt Angle and Sting, and an attitude that felt extreme.
Similar to AEW’s philosophy on gaming, TNA Impact looked at the complicated sim controls of Raw vs. Smackdown 2008 and decided that the fans wanted an arcade feel to wrestling. They teamed up with Midway, the company that gave hard-hitting classics like Mortal Kombat and Primal Rage. The game had a lot of promise: easy controls, Ultimate X rules, impressive graphics, and a TNA-worthy story campaign. Nothing was going to stop them from adding fresh blood to the market.
The game came out on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, DS, and PSP. The next-gen consoles got the beefiest version of the game, including a character creator that could be used in the story mode. The PS2 and Wii got a stripped-down version with no character creator and some questionable hit detection. The PSP and DS got remixed versions called TNA Impact!: Cross the Line. The PSP version added Mike Tenay and Don West as playable wrestlers, but it did not have a character creator. The DS version is the craziest version of the game, throwing out almost everything about the core gameplay.
The game has a Metacritic score ranging from 56-43. The PS3 has the best version of the game, while the Wii version has the most problems. The PSP version scored a 50, which puts it in the middle.
I was able to try the PSP game and I have to say there are good things to like about TNA Impact. The game can be judged by three categories: controls, campaign, and Replay.
Controls 5/10
I can understand what TNA and Midway were trying to do. They wanted to create a game that was fast and easy to execute. This was at the same time that the Raw vs. Smackdown series had those complicated grappling controls that were assigned to the right thumbstick. Each wrestler had a single grapple button that would perform a wrestling move. If you played as Suicide he would perform a chokeslam driver. If you wanted to perform any variations of that move you needed to hold a shoulder button. Suicide could do a piledriver, short-range clothesline, a Japanese arm drag, and Irish whips. When it came to putting out moves on the fly my wrestler would just perform the single-button move over and over.
A single match would include at least fifteen chokeslam drivers. The variation moves were good, but they seemed harder to input. I liked that the game felt more aerial than other wrestling games. Wrestlers would jump and gain hangtime to hit forearms, hurricanranas, hip bombs, and senton splashes. Getting a well-timed kick on your opponent and sending them flying across the ring felt like a Mortal Kombat perk.
After your fifteen chokeslams, big boots, and aerial moves you could end your opponent with a finishing move. These were easy to pull off and felt satisfying.
Hit detection was a bit of a problem (more on PS2, Wii, DS, and PSP). A wrestler would go for a diving senton and land on the wrestler with no hit.
Campaigns 6/10
As the story goes, a wrestler known as Suicide was making it big in TNA when LAX (Hernandez and Homicide) jump you and leave you for dead. You wind up in a hospital in Mexico. Kevin Nash comes to your rescue and allows you to go through plastic surgery so you can recreate yourself. In one of the most dramatic wrestling stories in video games, your character was voiced by Low-Ki. In the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, you can create your character and customize your move set, but in the PSP version, you fight as Suicide. Story mode throws you into gauntlet matches where you have to be continuous wrestlers to progress the story. As you win matches you will make it back to the TNA Impact arena where Kevin Nash will give you a shot at the big times.
There is not much variety in story mode and having access to one wrestler makes it a little tedious. The cutscenes in between the matches and the difficulty make it more bearable. In the later matches the opponents will be very good at reversing their best moves. TNA Impact wanted to make a game where every move could be reversed and they were pretty successful. Defeating opponents earns you them as selectable players. There are some fictional wrestlers that I am sure no one really cares about, but you can also get Jay Lethal, James Storm, and Kevin Nash unlocked.
Replay 5/10
TNA Impact wanted to make a game that focused on gameplay more than quantity. The fighting engine was the key priority. Unfortunately, after story mode, you only have a handful of things you can do. There are the 1v1, 2v2, triple threat, fatal four matches, and Ultimate X matches. There is also an X-Division Tournament and a gauntlet mode you can enter.
The roster is on the short end, 50 wrestlers (including fictional ones) and you will notice the move variety gets a little repetitive. WWE wanted to focus on quantity, while TNA was going to perfect the in-ring action and stick to minimalism. It was a valiant effort, but they didn’t have the tools to succeed.
On the topic of wrestlers, the entrances for the wrestlers are still graphically impressive today. In fact, there are YouTube videos comparing WWE 2K16 with TNA Impact being eons better. Compare the Booker T’s.
Conclusion
It has been 14 years since we saw this brave entry go against the titan of wrestling. The only other franchise to go head-to-head after this was AAA: Heroes Del Ring (another miss). TNA Impact did not fail, but I think they didn’t know what wrestling gamers wanted. There’s a lot of fun to be had, but I guarantee any copy of TNA Impact has been traded into GameStop after the single-player campaign runs dry.
AEW Fight Forever is another brave wrestling entry and they are also boasting about having simple modes, simple graphics, and arcade action. Let’s hope they learn from TNA Impact’s shortcomings.