Mark grapples with WWE's latest competition...

2001 saw a sensation in the world of pro wrestling, as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) bought their competition, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) after a bitter TV ratings war. Fans salivated at possible cross-federation superstar matchups, but ultimately the much hyped invasion of WCW stars, joined by the also-defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), fell a little flat, with many of the biggest names missing and a storyline that felt like a missed opportunity.

Sports Entertainment Wrestling

Since then, the newly named World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has had a monopoly on ‘Sports Entertainment', as they call it – but more recently, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) has emerged to challenge WWE that supremacy. Fronted by ex WWE, WCW and ECW stars like Kurt Angle, Booker T, Sting and Rhino, and with a host of upcoming young talent too, TNA is growing in popularity and gathering a considerable cult following.

All of which contributes heavily towards the hype for the federation's first videogame, TNA Impact! Named after TNA's signature TV show, TNA Impact! is highly anticipated amongst wrestling fans, who've been waiting an age for a successor to what many regard as gaming's last must-have grappler; 2000's AKI developed N64 WWF No Mercy.

Much to our surprise, TNA's wrestlers themselves have been amongst those waiting. The recent press event, attended by X-Division Champ Petey Williams, World Champ Samoa Joe and triple-crown winner AJ Styles (our interview with whom you can find here), began with Joe himself declaring his fondness for some great wrestling games of old, including obscure but well-regarded Japanese titles, and the WWF games running on the AKI engine.

Grapple-happy

There was a general feeling that recent year's efforts hadn't done the genre justice – and that in realising this, TNA Impact was the title to right that wrong.

This may be an ambition that's a tad too lofty for the current code, however. Our hands-on with TNA Impact's unfinished form showed some promise of an entertaining, responsive and fast-paced brawler with a lot of TNA's best hallmarks, but one that exhibited several areas for improvement, too.

To its credit, TNA Impact employs a moves system similar to the AKI games, with the bulk of a wrestler's moves repertoire – suplexes; piledrivers; DDTs; finishers; all of the hard-hitting stuff – accessed by first grappling your opponent, and then pressing different combinations of attack buttons and directions. Alas, compared to No Mercy's two grapples and myriad moves, TNA Impact presents one grapple type, and a less diverse selection. Bouts can thus become repetitive, and the lack of an option to drag your opponent round the mat or pick them up is a missed opportunity.

Most of the usual conventions are here, though – quick-fire kicks and punches, irish whips, turnbuckle attacks, a counter button for well-timed reversals, and a meter which you build up through successful moves, reversals and taunts, letting you employ finisher's like Kurt Angle's Olympic Slam and Booker T's Bookend. The great news is that it all looks great, with TNA Impact boasting top-notch character models and lifelike animation.

Sucker punch

Where TNA Impact differs is in how responsive it feels, how fast the fights are, and in some of the on-screen happenings. The six-sided ring is a first for a wrestling videogame, as are matches like TNA Impact's Ultimate X, where the goal is to down your opponent long enough to climb the turnbuckle, inch along overhead wire to get to the middle, and successfully time a button press to unhook an giant plastic X or a title belt. Currently the timing needs to be exact, which makes it a little tricky, but with some balancing it could be a real selling point for TNA Impact.

And TNA Impact is really a game full of unique selling points. TNA itself is a fresh, upcoming federation, and the game has a similarly unusual pace and responsiveness about it. Throw in a character creator, online play and content downloads for new wrestlers and you have a release which may just deliver a sucker-punch to the all-conquering WWE games.

Preview by: Mark 'Axe Kick' Scott
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Review Published: 26.06.08