Admittedly, my wrestling knowledge begins and ends with those wonderful Slim Jim commercials. My television is dominated by Netflix movies and bad cable. However, Midway is making strides to ensure gaming enjoyment for both TNA aficionados and clueless chumps like me in TNA iMPACT!.
Based on the television show, TNA iMPACT! is the first release for the relatively new extreme sports drama and is the first wrestling-centric game for Midway. Focusing on pick-up-and-play ease, the development team created several outlets for frustration, including Ultimate X, online head-to-head, 2-player competition and a behind-the-scenes Story mode. During my time with the game and design director Mark Turmell, I learned that recreating a hit television show is not as easy as it looks.
"Making a wrestling game is actually really daunting because there are so many wrestlers," Turmell said. "They all have customized moves, and it was very difficult to get all the moves assigned correctly."
There are a total of 25 wrestlers to unlock and play, and from the looks of them, these man-beating machines are spot-on imitations of their real-life selves. Partnering with the wrestling stars of TNA iMPACT!, Turmell said the development team spent many grueling hours working to ensure fan happiness complete with special moves, costumes, arenas and motion capture. Not forgetting gameplay, the team spent even more time getting the game running at warp speed.
"We don't have all the content the Smackdown series has, but what we do have is gameplay," Turmell said.
According to Turmell, TNA iMPACT! runs 60 frames a second, a speed he claims no other current wrestling game can reach. Because Turmell's technological gibberish doesn't mean a thing to me, we step into the ring to test his theory.
Picking up the controller for the first time, I was nervous that my inexperience with previous wrestling games would show, but with a little instruction from good ol' Turmell, I was pounding apart my rival in no time. L.A.X., my wrestler of choice, and I seemed to share some higher awareness, and as soon as my primed thumbs selected an action, he reacted with stylish execution. I had to smile as I toured all the different ways I could punch, kick and throw my Lycra-wearing opponent. There is nothing better than administering an old-fashioned, lag-free chair-beating.
On the graphical side of things, the game looks ready for its September release. The opening scenes for L.A.X. found me checking his skin texture for blemishes, and I think I saw some lint in the weaving of his costume. After a few rounds, I noticed his sweat flying through the air.
The background environs of the reality- and fantasy-based venues were dark and less detailed than the vivid details of the wrestlers, but it was hard to critically examine the nosebleed section while avoiding a drop-kick to the head. One problem arose when the sound wouldn't work, but other than the missed roar of a violently happy crowd, I enjoyed my time with TNA iMPACT! very much, and I can't wait to see how the TNA saga unfolds. Turmell said the future is bright for the newcomer, and his team is excited by the opportunity to dethrone other popular wrestling titles.
"Clearly our intent is to compete with the WWE Smackdown series," Turmell said. "We want create and grow a franchise that we can release on a yearly basis."
Let the grappling begin.
