I HATE wrestling games. I know this isn’t the best way to start a review for TNA Impact, but I thought I’d be honest. The Smackdown games in the past have just left me a little bit bored, which is why I usually shy away from them in the hope that like a bad smell they’ll just go away and crawl quietly under the sofa and die until the need to breed and multiply the following year and hence the whole routine begins again.

What I put it down to, in some way anyhow, is the lack of competition the franchise has had for so many years, the last to my mind being Acclaim’s Legends of Wrestling series. Over time the THQ series has gotten a little complacent and fallen into a sort of EA Sports category of only updating rosters and a few other minuscule items just to keep the real fans wanting more. Now we have a challenger from Midway wanting a shot at the title. Let’s see how it fares.

First signs are categorically standard. The intro with a collage of wrestlers (well, I say wrestlers; maybe entertainers in more lycra than the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated would be better) and how they’re on a quest to be the best in the world.. etc, etc. Thankfully one button press gets rid of that.