TNA IMPACT 2: A Deeper Look In 2008, TNA released its first and only AAA video game through Midway titled TNA IMPACT! for all the major consoles. Since that point, the company has seen video games released on handheld and mobile devices. When released, Midway was praised for the games graphics and smooth gameplay. The action was fast and the graphics were excellent. On the other hand, the game felt like a demo as the rosters moves all felt the same. It felt like an incomplete package. Many video gamers felt that if Midway had another shot at it, they could really knock it out of the park. The original plan saw Midway releasing a sequel to the game. In interviews, wrestlers claimed that both Six Sides of Steel and the Knockouts Division would be new features of the game. There was a bit of excitement around it. Unfortunately, Midway was experiencing financial hardships and went into bankruptcy. Many of their assets were eventually purchased by THQ (who went into bankruptcy itself). A big portion of the Midway team joined THQ in THQ San Diego. They would release WWE All Stars a few years later. That game had many similarities to TNA IMPACT before it. It was smooth. It was fast-paced. The entrances were short and many of the animations were shared. A number of TNA Wrestlers moves also popped up in WWE All Stars. Basically, it was the spiritual successor to TNA IMPACT. WWE All Stars was a very good game (one of my favorites). After its release, many TNA fans questioned what would have become of TNA IMPACT 2 had it been released. After doing a bit of digging, I found some information about early plans of TNA IMPACT 2. I have no doubts that this undiscovered media will soon pop up on other sites despite being lost for the past few years. One benefit of not running TNAsylum like I used to is the time for other things, such as this. Enter, Ben Mazza. The name may be unfamiliar to you but he was the Designer for the User Interface for TNA IMPACT and later WWE All Stars. He was working on TNA IMPACT 2 when Midway went down. He has released screens, information and a video on his website. TNA IMPACT 2 was tentatively titled TNA IMPACT: Cross the Line. The name was later used for a DS port of the original game. The logo can be seen at the top of this column. The story mode was said to be even more over-the-top than the original. In the original, LAX attacked Suicide making him forget his identity. They threw his body down in Mexico. During the story mode, you make your way back into the United States, regain your memory and exact your revenge. Little is known about TNA IMPACT: Cross the Lines story mode except that it focused around your escape from a demented asylum. Knowing the over-the-top nature of the original, this makes sense. The menu graphics matched the themes. This was definitely an interesting approach to the game even though I question how this would tie into wrestling. I am sure it would have been criticized. The other information was gathered from observations. In one of the screens, Bound For Glory is shown indicating that was what the main menu would have been called. Maybe your wrestler is thrown in an asylum due to mental issues and escapes to exact his revenge. I would even gather to think that it may have been another Midway original (like Suicide) that you would have played as. The other observations I had was that there would have been belt matches for TNA championships. Sting and Joe are prominently shown in the menus which mean they would have been a big focus of the gameplay. The menus and graphics looked sleek. Nobody is more disappointed than the designers that this game was never released. We are still waiting for the next AAA TNA video game. While the mobile department has been pretty good, console gamers are still left out in the cold. youtube/watch?v=ZNlicbkBtvo [TNAsylum/borman]
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 07:45:20 +0000
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