TNA Impact!

Gameplay is heavily dependent on reversals. You can reverse just about any move that anyone does on you, and the computer AI will use that a lot too. It seemed like fun initially, but I soon realized that the easy reversals soon become a cheap advantage over actually taking the pains to learn the wrestler's actual moves. Try playing multiplayer with a human opponent to know what I'm saying.

Visually, the game is quite good. The characters match pretty accurately with their real-world counterparts, and some of the arenas are pretty unique. The clipping issue is reduced to a minimum, and I'll forgive that as well, as no one's really managed to come up with a wrestling game without clipping problems yet.

The one thing that's done well is the voice acting. Be it story mode or just wrestler smack talk, the voices do not disappoint.

Here's the thing. Instead of crawling right up WWE SVR's leg, it could have done something absolutely new like creating a more fast-paced arcade game – which incidentally also happens to be one of Midway's specialties. They could have taken all the drama that happens on the TNA show to a whole new level, along with simple, yet deep, fast-paced action. This could have given the franchise a unique identity. Instead they pitted themselves against a franchise that has had generations of experience in the field.

It's not that TNA Impact! is an absolutely horrible game. In fact, I admit it's fun in short bursts. The problem is that it offers too little, too late; especially when the competition is has taken the genre miles ahead in terms of everything. Maybe in future iterations, the Impact! franchise would end up being a lot more engaging. As of now, unless you're a die-hard TNA fan, you'd be better off getting WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2009 instead.