Game Talks

Tekken has long been a Playstation franchise, but in its last iteration it crossed over to the other side (I leave the decision of whether it joined the light side or dark side to you). Although I have been a fighting game fan on the periphery most of my life, I have a friend who is the animation-frame counting, super-move juggle memorizing type of fighting game fan. I asked him to give me a quick synopsis of Tekken 6, which he did… quite some time ago. My apologies to Ben for posting this so late, but I figured late was better than never, besides late reviews is kind of our modus operandi around here. Check his review after the jump…Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion is the latest installment in the Tekken series and has been the Number 1 arcade game in Japan for a while. It was originally released in Japanese arcades in 2007 but finally it has made it way to the home consoles. My first experience with this game was in London about 6 months ago at Funland. While waiting in line
to play some Street Fighter IV, I watched the local Tekken Badass continue his 30+ win streak. Having not touched Tekken since the days when button mashing Eddy Gordo was the thing to do, I decided not to waste my Pounds on getting my ass kicked.

Fast forward to now … I am at BestBuy debating which console version to get. At first I was leaning towards the PS3, since it was built on the PS3 architecture and was initially intended as a console exclusive. But why not try to see how the first iteration of Tekken on a non Sony console worked out. Would it meet my expectation or would it fall flat.

The first thing you will notice with this game is load times. They are tolerable but it seems like you tend to be waiting quite a bit. *Note: Installing the game to the hard drive helps out tremendously.

Next are the graphics and they are awesome. Character models are top notch and move fluidly. With more than 40 characters its surprising the level of detail put into each model. The backgrounds on the other hand are either hit or miss. Some of them of them are amazing with great effects other are just mediocre. With the graphics you can play with a motion blur on or off. It is on by default, which seems to drops the resolution down a bit. With the blur off the game will run at higher Resolution but with no AA. I think it actually looks better with it off but it’s all personal preference.

The Xbox360 version runs at a higher resolution with blur off and tends look better than PS3. PS3 people seem to be pretty pissed about this.

Now on to the Controls/Mechanics, they are typical of any Tekken Game. The controls are smooth and rely heavily on precise button tapping. Coming straight from 2d Fighting, particular Street Fighter 4, I find this game to be an interesting transition. First off combos don’t seem to have crazy strict timing like SF4. You can either link a particular punch or you can’t, no need to worry about 1 frame links. On the other hand though learning your timing for air juggling and
other advance techniques is said to be just as strict. The mechanics of this game are pretty much the same as earlier iterations, the only new items are the ability to bounce enemies off the ground and a rage mode. The rage is another comeback defense for players like me. Not that it helps my situation much but it allows the player with lower
life to do more damage and possibly make a comeback. I personally think it’s a bit cheap, but really shouldn’t complain since it helps keep me in the battle most the time.

For Modes they have plenty but some to be lacking. Campaign takes its roots from a 3d olds school beat-em up game. A good comparison would be like Die Hard Arcade or 3d version of Streets of Rage. The campaign is supposedly pretty long. I have only played though about a couple hours. So far I enjoy the cut scenes and it’s a nice addition to the one on one killing. Next are the Original Arcade/Vs/Ghost modes. They are typical of most every fighter and nothing really more to say about that. Online mode is there but I personally haven’t touched it much yet. Supposedly the net code is not all that great. I have only had couple matches and both were a bit laggy. This seems to a big disappointment for most but hopefully a patch will be made to make the game run a bit better online. I’m looking to test out this feature more against Tail in Alaska. **editor’s note: Tail is a real person in Alaska, not a euphamism for everyone in AK.

Overall as a fighting game fanatic, I would have to say my initial impressions of the game are good. The game is fun, with easy entry into the series, but does provide a very deep system for those who want to explore it. I am not sure I can recommend the game unless you’re a diehard fighting game fanatic or Tekken fan, due to the glaring online lag issues. My only true complaint about the game so far is the fact that I suck beyond belief at this game. I am horrible. So if someone needs a virtual punching bag, feel free to hit me up online.