Despite my penchant for sweaty muscle men rolling around on the floor grappling each other, I've never really liked wrestling games. They are a little too slow for me and I much prefer the fast pace of a Soul Calibur over the lumbering likes of WWF. That said, what I saw of Midway's TNA Impact left me walking away a fan and quite impressed.

The thing that sets TNA Impact apart from other wrestling games is its pace. While not quite the frantic pace of a fighting game, it finds a nice middle ground that makes it comfortable to control. The other thing that really made the game spectacular was the graphics. Truly some of the best I have seen in a game like this. The backgrounds were fully 3D rendered, great dynamic lighting and character models so detailed that at times they seemed almost photographic.

As to the game itself, it contains over ten different modes including Full Metal Mayhem, Tag Team and the infamous Ultimate X which has players trying to grab a big red X that is chained over the ring by large cords. This mode was particularly fun because it gets the wrestlers off the floor and hanging off the giant cords above. While grappling the cords, the wrestlers can still kick each other off or if one is on the ground, he can reach up and pull his opponent down. Pulling off any wrestlers special moves will give you style points that can then be used later to unlock all sorts of goodies from clothing to special move sets.

Of all the things I saw from Midway, TNA Impact was overall the most impressive and you can expect to see it available for your PS3, PS2, Wii and Xbox 360 this summer. You guys can have your Lara Croft and Kasumi, just give me the beefcake.