Wrestling… where to start. Wrestling can pretty much be summed up as a soap opera for men. It's fake, we all know that. Not the physicality of it, the story lines. I haven't watched wrestling religiously since the days of King Kong Bundy, Andre the Giant, and Junk Yard Dog. So imagine my surprise when I picked up “TNA Wrestling” for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and actually enjoyed it.
The one thing this game does and does well is the soap opera effect. You are cast and Joe Schmo, who is a big beefy guy in a backyard wrestling league. One night his match happens to be witnessed by someone with TNA and they give him his shot at the big time. Immediately upon walking into the tryouts the drama starts, and doesn't end through the entire game. The good thing is that you can either play the Face (fan favorite) or the Heel (the villain). You are given choice after choice during these scripted situations to choose how you will react. Take the high road and be nice or, kick a man while he is down, sometimes literally. It takes the monotony out of just reading dialogue and clicking through screen after screen.
Most people however don't watch wrestling for the intimate conversations between wrestlers. Also it wouldn't be “Total Nonstop Action” with out some fights here and there. This game plays almost like a Wrestling RPG of sorts. You earn Exp through conversations, and through matches that go toward moves and upgrades. Once in the ring you play a game of “paper rock scissors” with moves to see who comes out on top. Choose one of the plenty moves you unlock and try to get your opponents life bar down. The animation for the fights is pretty fluid given the limited range of motion that the sprites have. Once you get the hang of simple dropkicks or clotheslines, you can move on to highflying moves and finally finishers. All of which can be unlocked through the natural progression through the game.
Like I said the look of the game is very smooth. Sprites show enough emotion through movements and facial expressions that you get the idea of what is going on pretty easily. You can customize your character up to a point and that adds a little to the story. The overall feel of the game is very clean looking and crisp.
The sound is a little lacking, but I guess that is understandable considering that it is being played on this sort of portable device. Most of what you hear are the clicks of you selecting what move you want to put your opponent through and the occasional cheer or jeer from the crowd during or before a match. It would have been nice to hear the thud of hits, but I guess there is only so much you can cram into an app.
As far as replay goes, this game is probably one that you could play over and over again just to get different reactions from the other wrestlers during matches and conversations. You can play the story as the hero, then go back and play as the heel and probably get a totally different feel during the game.
This game was fun, as surprised as I am to see myself type that, it was. Being able to relive the fun of the wrestling soap opera was pretty enjoyable even if it was through a video game. Did it make me want to watch the TNA events on television, not so much, but it did make me feel ever so slightly like a kid again. That's gotta count for something.