''TNA Wrestling'' is a 2008 video game for
Verizon Wireless
Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the divi ...
devices by Canadian developer
Longtail Studios
Ubisoft is a French video game publisher headquartered in Montreuil, founded in March 1986 by the Guillemot brothers. Since its establishment, Ubisoft has become one of the largest video game publishers, and it has the largest in-house developme ...
.
It is based on the
professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
(TNA). Unlike most other professional wrestling games, the gameplay in ''TNA Wrestling'' is based on
turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy (TBS) game is a Strategy video game, strategy game (usually some type of wargaming, wargame, especially a wargaming#Unit or map scale, strategic-level wargame) where players take Time-keeping systems in games, turns when pla ...
with
role-playing
Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...
elements. The game garnered largely positive reviews and was re-released in early 2009 for
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
. It is no longer available for download on the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
and has been superseded by an unrelated game released by
Namco Bandai
is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...
called ''
TNA Wrestling Impact!
''TNA Wrestling Impact!'' (styled ''TNA Wrestling iMPACT!'') is a mobile professional wrestling video game released by Namco Networks in 2011. It is based on the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Unlike '' ...
''.
Gameplay
The core of the game is its story mode, which allows players to create their own wrestler and take him through his professional wrestling career. Players start out
backyard wrestling
Backyard wrestling (BYW), also referred to as yarding or backyarding, is an underground hobby and sport involving untrained practices of professional-style wrestling, typically in a low-budget environment, such as a backyard. Although not legit ...
and work their way through the ranks of TNA, fighting and interacting with other wrestlers and crafting either a
heroic Heroic may mean:
*characteristic of a hero
*typical of heroic poetry or of heroic verse
*belonging to the Greek Heroic Age
*Heroic (esports), a Danish esports organization
*Heroic (horse)
Heroic (1921–1939) was an Australian Thoroughbred ra ...
or
villainous personality. The player character is gradually leveled up to gain
experience point
An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experi ...
s, which can be used to acquire new moves. In addition to the story mode, a quick match option is available offering several different
match types and the ability to play as actual members of the TNA roster.
During matches, wrestlers take turns attacking. Moves are selected via a menu and can be used in
combos
Combos, officially called Combos Stuffed Snacks, are cylindrical tubes of cracker, pretzel, or tortilla, available with various fillings.
History
Combos Snacks, created in the early 1980s, are a snack food distributed by Mars, Incorporated, and ...
. Powerful special moves are also available and can be executed through
quick time event
In video games, a quick time event (QTE) is a method of context-sensitive gameplay in which the player performs actions on the control device shortly after the appearance of an on-screen instruction/prompt. It allows for limited control of the ...
s.
Reception
The game received favorable reviews according to the
review aggregation
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
GameRankings
GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
.
Chris Plante of ''
UGO Networks
UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States.
History
The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...
'' gave it an A−, lauding the turn-based gameplay as a good fit for mobile devices and praising the game's story mode and customization features.
Levi Buchanan of ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' was not as positive, saying that the match gameplay was not fun and that the game is "A better RPG than a wrestling game." However, he did praise the game's story mode as "very well-written."
Brad Nicholson of ''
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
' ...
'' gave a favorable review of the game. While citing the match gameplay as a weak point of the title, he also praised the game's story mode.
See also
*
List of licensed wrestling video games
The following is a list of wrestling video games based on professional wrestling, licensed by promotions such as WWF/WWE, WCW, ECW, NJPW, TNA, and AAA.
Promotion–based games All Elite Wrestling
Video games by professional wrestling promotio ...
References
External links
*{{official website, http://www.longtailstudios.com/en/games/TNA-EN
2008 video games
Impact Wrestling video games
IOS games
IOS-only games
Video games developed in Canada