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TNA IMPACT XBOX 360 REVIEW |
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In the late
90s, Midway was king of the ring when it
released WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game on a
number of 8-bit and 16-bit platforms. It
featured cooperative play and eight of the
famous wrestlers to graze the front cover. With
names like Yokozuna, Razor Ramon and Bret “The
Hitman” Hart, who could forget Wrestlemania?
Though the game lacked balance in the gameplay
department and technical options, it was still
the best wrestling experience of its time! Since
then, Midway stayed out of the spotlight,
working behind the scenes on what would be their
next big come back title. After a decade in
silence, Midway howls back with a brand new
wrestling rip that has created a lot of WWE
buzz, going up against THQ for a piece of
wrestling action. This time, you have an entire
league of prominent wrestlers, ranging from
Sting and “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner to Gold
Medalist Olympian Kurt Angle and “The Samoan
Submission Machine” Samoa Joe. And they all can
be found exclusively in TNA iMPACT!
Though the pace of the game might seem a bit
arcadish for some, deep down you’ll find that
the competition is quite fierce! The controls
are simple and you should be able to dunk your
opponent onto the mat in no time. TNA iMPACT has
plenty of single-player action to brag about,
but two of the most exciting modes being offered
in the game are Story Mode and Ultimate X. The
Story Mode provides some very interesting
twists. It features great dramatic cutscenes
with the right blend of soap opera. The best
part is that as you unravel the story, you
unlock most of the game’s hidden stages that
serve as new wrestling arenas. In Ultimate X,
the goal is similar to WWE’s ladder match. The
only difference is that instead of climbing up a
ladder to get the briefcase, you’ll be climbing
up a pole, then monkey your way onto a long
stretch of cable where the red X is hung in the
center. It’s an exciting strategy of tag of war,
where it challenges you to a mini-game that
involves nailing down the sliding cursor to the
center of the meter. Do this a certain number of
times and you’ll grab the X prize and win the
match! But be careful though; your opponent can
try to latch on to your dangling legs and
powerbomb you into the mat.
TNA iMPACT gives players the power to level up
on wrestling moves. Improving your character’s
potentials is pretty straightforward. When you
win a match, you pick up cumulative style
points. Depending on the degree of difficulty of
techniques used, you get more style points for
reversing your opponent’s attacks and performing
stronger grappling maneuvers. The points you’ve
earned are always carried over to the next
match. So if you reach a certain milestone, say
400,000 style points, you get access to better
and more advanced moves like fancier choke slams
and a plethora of crazy body slams. Not only
that but also, you also get access to
great-looking finishers! The finishing moves are
fun as they are incredibly easy to execute; but
the downside is that each character can only be
equipped with one at a time. TNA iMPACT has
thrown in the ability to create your own
wrestler but the list of customizable options is
somewhat limited. You have the usual adjustments
of physical attributes and body-hugging outfits,
complete with tattoos and hip accessories.
Sadly, you can’t define your character’s height,
enter any specific skill ratings such as
strength or stamina, and not even have room for
customizing his intro sequence. |
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PRODUCT
OVERALL RATING: 8.5 OUT OF 10 |
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In the
gameplay department, the animation is incredibly
smooth! The game runs at an excellent frame rate
with good physics and realistic character
movements. Strikes and grappling maneuvers are
relatively easy to pull off. The controls have
good response time and so you’d be able to
deliver the kind of torture to wear down your
opponent. Running attacks, on the other hand,
can be a little tricky. You need a certain
amount of space to try to connect those quick
clotheslines and cheap dropkicks. Otherwise
you’ll completely run pass the target. Recovery
is slow in this game. So, if you’re getting
pounded on the mat, try rolling to the side to
buy time in getting up. This type of situation
does not apply against your opponent; the
computer recovers very quickly, and makes it
tough to pin him down for a count out. Picking
up your opponent on the ground takes some work.
Instead of being able to pull him back up, you
end up performing various arm submissions or
ground chokes. The game is very particular when
it comes to ground maneuvers; so if you just
want to pull your opponent up, make sure you’re
symmetrically aligned to his head.
In the graphics department, the game looks very
impressive! It’s obvious that Midway has plugged
in tremendous amount of visual touches to
enhance the way characters move their lips and
express their emotions. It is too bad though
there is no blood in this game, but still you
get a spectacular introduction of fireworks and
lighting effects when your character enters the
wrestling arena. If only there was a way to
bypass these entrance cutscenes so that players
can immediately get right into the action.
Needless to say, Midway did a fine job of making
the environment feel like you’re in the
“front-row” seat. The crowd goes wild in the
stands and reacts like it’s Wrestlemania all
over again! Thanks to the great sound effects,
punches and kicks connect with convincing blows,
while the heavy-duty grapplers such as suplex
and sidewalk slam provide an immersive
bone-crushing impression. The music is a mixture
of punk rock and grunge acoustics, the right
theme for the right instance. However, the
announcers can be a bit annoying at times with
their repetitive commentaries, but this aspect
can be easily overlooked.
Midway’s wrestling come back title is a great
one! It’s long overdue but worth the wait. TNA
iMPACT has gone a long way toward making the
“sports entertainment” as unique as possible in
the ring, and Midway captures most of the
experience at the palm of your hand. The game’s
Story Mode is quite a spectacle with its
never-ending twist to the plot that has you
constantly switching allies. The gameplay should
please a lot of arcade fans as pulling off
monstrous slams are such an adrenaline charge.
However, character customization is somewhat
average due to limited components to design a
completely outrageous wrestler. Needless to say,
Midway is off to a good start with their first
wrestling title since the “Wrestlemania”
heydays. We are expecting a whole new TNA next
year, if there is such a sequel. We are looking
forward to more match types and additional moves
that differentiate superstars from each other.
If there is one crowd that could truly
appreciate what TNA iMPACT has to offer, it’s
definitely the group of casual gamers. Given the
game's amazing first impression, it's a sign of
better things to come. |
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