The game's controls, though seeming confusing at the outset, turn out to be pretty solid. There are submission moves in the games, which are held or broken by pressing a series of buttons, but there are no rope breaks, which is a bit of a let down. The grapple and power move system is pretty well implemented in Impact!, making it easy to learn and use. Most of the difficulty will come not from the controls, but from the unfamiliarity of a control set-up not seen in any game before it. It's a little imperfect, as reversals don't always seem to work right, but it's one of the things that TNA Impact! does well and that doesn't need much polishing in future TNA games. That is, except for the pin breaking system, which forces you to waggle the analog stick back and forth. It doesn't work like it should always, which can be frustrating.
Midway has done an excellent job replicating the likenesses of the TNA roster. The wrestler's animations are fluid, without snags or major clipping issues, something that is pretty welcome when I'm used to wrestling games having these kind of issues. Cut scenes are also well put-together. However, everything isn't as great in other areas. There are some issues when it comes to textures, especially on created wrestlers. Several times, in cut scenes, the textures on my wrestler were more blurred than they really should have been. The ring entrances are a bit too short for my tastes, lasting between 5 and 10 seconds, but for what little we see, they look great. Hopefully, the next TNA game will feature longer entrances, more akin to the SmackDown! series.
The game's sound isn't anything too spectacular. The soundtrack itself features authentic TNA themes, but the announce team of Mike Tenay and Don West repeat their lines of dialogue far too often. In fact, it's sometimes better to play the game muted because the lines quickly become annoying.
Most of the game's achievements and unlockables are picked up through story mode. Online play is pretty standard fare for Xbox Live-capable games. There is a problem that allows people to quit on you before they are pinned for a three-count, costing you a hard-earned victory and making online play not as much fun. I haven't had it happen to me yet, and hopefully, I never will, but if it's patchable, I suggest Midway get on it right away.
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