PS3 Reviews

Tekken 6 – PS3 Review

Reviewed by AceGamez on October 25, 2009

Alisa is a cyborg packing a mean pair of saw blades | read this item

Summarising the entire back story of the Tekken series is a massive task thanks to the fact that we never really know which character’s ending is considered canon. Plus, the whole ‘daddy issues’ chess game of power between the Mishima bloodline has more twists, turns and double entendres than an interview with Hideo Kojima. It is seriously convoluted and, at times, improbable. I mean how many times can geriatric megalomaniac Heihachi be thrown into a volcano or fired off a giant cliff and still return with not so much as a scratch? At least a fracture or a scraped knee would have been believable, but really? Originally a hallmark series for Sony consoles and a launch title for both PSOne and PS2, the series may have arrived late in the generation and lost its exclusivity to Xbox 360, but has this tardy re-emergence had a negative effect on the winning formula?

Well typically, a little extra development time works wonders for observing the competition, researching the wants and needs of the fan base and delivering all of these observations in a competent and well-crafted package. Tekken 6 delivers an exemplary arcade mode and painfully detailed visuals, but falls in to the trap that too many modern games seem to blindly stumble in to time and time again. The problem is that we are living in a generation that seems to demand online features, multiple modes and a gamut of customisation options. As a result, too many developers will tack on a lot of extras in the hope that the ‘less is more’ rule will kick in and that the game will be awarded a rake of top marks from critics. Granted, Namco does deserve brownie points for delivering a pretty exhaustive package, but it is a package that feels too lumbered with naff modes, questionable decisions and throwaway features to be designated as a pure Tekken experience.

For starters, almost every one of the 40+ character roster is unlocked from the moment you pop in the disc. Part of the allure of Tekken was that you were always keen to play through the story mode and unlock a new character every time you completed the game. Not only did this make the game longer, but it gave you incentive to play as every character and become accustomed to their fighting style and maybe, just maybe, you would find yourself a new favourite character in the process. Instead you are steamrollered by a tidal wave of characters from the word go and, if you are new to the series, you will probably feel a tad overwhelmed by the breadth of choice. For example, If you are a die-hard Law player and you really have no desire to play with anyone else, then chances are you won’t and you will skip straight to the versus modes.

It’s a baffling decision by Namco, but again it shows that the developer has pandered to this recently recurring notion that players don’t want to be forced to play through a game before unlocking all of the available multiplayer content. Yeah, thanks a lot Guitar Hero and Rock Band! The only alternative to the straight arcade mode is an incredibly dire story campaign that players of previous games will recognise as another sloppy re-hash of Tekken 3’s Force mode. So far, none of these side-scrolling, Streets of Rage wannabes have been any fun, verging on the realm of budget shovelware, rather than a competent and fully-fledged extension of the core game. It follows Lars, one of the leaders of Jin Kazama’s Tekken Force unit as he attempts to secure the scarily doll-like Alisa Bosconovitch from a testing lab. Oh and she’s also a robot with a detachable head and saw blades for arms.

Again, this incredibly ludicrous plot, coupled with the overall shoddiness of the game mode is proof that sometimes less is more. Had this game simply consisted of refined and painfully balanced arcade and multiplayer modes, this could have been the best entry to the series yet. Instead, Story mode gives us dodgy cameras, a barely functional lock-on mechanic and a stripped down move set complete with throw moves that only work when they feel like it. It’s certainly not a short mode, but this just highlights what a tedious slog the whole thing is. Where previous Tekken games let you play through each character’s story via arcade mode, here you must slog through this campaign and unlock each fighter before you can view their ending cinematic. It’s an odd choice to make players suffer through the slack campaign to view these scenes and while most of them are great to watch, the method is far from inspiring.

The only upside is that you will progressively unlock new customisation items throughout the campaign, ranging from simple items of clothing to special accessories that give your character stat boosts such as regenerative health and increased attack power. Perhaps the coolest feature is character-specific weapons such as a pair of assault rifles for Lars or Law’s Nunchucks . While these look impressive they remain balanced, keeping everything on a level playing field. For example, Brian Fury gets a mini-gun, which isn’t exactly fair game in what is supposed to be a hand-to-hand fighting tournament.

On the other hand, the actual core arcade mode is a fine-tuned piece of mastery. New characters are always a gamble, but here each of the six newcomers are superbly crafted, boasting unique move sets and a diverse range of fighting styles. The slinky Zafina is a strong addition for her double-jointed, almost boneless movement that smacks of Soul Calibur IV’s freakish gimp Voldo, but without the ugly. She almost mimics Lei thanks to her multiple stances and also bears elements of Xiaoyu, thanks to her low crouching stance that allows for a range of devastating follow-up attacks. Although the influences are clear, she is incredibly unpredictable and this odd movement makes her a formidable opponent.

In true Tekken fashion, the end boss Azazel is an absolute cheesemonger, battering you in seconds with a ludicrous barrage of laser blasts and literally earth-shattering magical attacks that are simply infuriating. Forget Street Fighter IV’s bald badass Seth, this demigod entity really takes the cheddar, with an unpredictable move set and AI that reacts with split second precision. At least Seth had predictable traits and once you got these ingrained in your memory, he was a piece of cake. Azazel on the other hand is a real sticking point that throws all sense of skill out the window in yet another disappointing final battle.

The insanely tough boss battle is a staple of the genre, but Tekken 6 isn’t entirely set in its ways. Instead of simply giving each of the classic characters a visual makeover, Namco has tweaked and re-balanced the move sets of all of the series mainstays to make sure every fighter exists on a level playing field. As such, you may need to spend some time with your favourite character to re-adjust to these changes, which range from subtle additions or omissions to parts of a combo chain, to the deletion or insertion of moves altogether. Another new fight mechanic is Rage, a last-minute attack boost that is granted whenever a player is dangerously close to being knocked out. This opens a last-ditch window that allows players to turn the tide of battle and in some cases this really does ramp up the tension. There is also a new Bound system that lets you smash opponents off the arena floor and launch them into the air to for juggle combo possibilities.

As the game has been in development since 2006, the visuals can show their age at points, failing to match the painstaking detail of Namco stable-mate Soul Calibur IV. But for the best part, this is as razor sharp as they come, with each character rendered in suitably chunky style and flourishes of motion blur thrown in to underline the frantic pace of every battle. The stages themselves are a treat for the eyes, throwing your fighters head to head on neon-lit rooftops that tower above a sprawling metropolis, to a sunny farm complete with animals that can be knocked about like bouncy balls. So quite far removed from the realistic settings of past Tekken games, but colourful nonetheless. Many stages are also multi-tiered with collapsible floors. If you smash your opponent off the ground enough times, the floor will give way, causing both players to fall to the next level. This looks great when it happens, but if either player happens to be sprawled out on the ground when the drop occurs they will lose a significant chunk of their health once they hit the lower floor, which can seem a tad unfair at times.

So while the offline modes are a mixed bag ranging from the mundane to the magnificent, it is the online element of Tekken 6 that stings the most. It has become vital for developers of fighting games to really nail online modes to push longevity, but some genuinely crippling lag sours the experience. Playing with people on your friends list seems to run much smoother then challenging random fighters but then again, the loading time for each match can often border on the unacceptable. The ranking system from Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection makes a welcome return, awarding you with GP points for each victory. If you lose a fight, you are given a chance to earn GP through a neat fruit machine system that softens the blow of a crippling defeat somewhat. Its functional, but is still far from the sprawling tournaments and deep levelling up systems that could have been.

It is difficult to bemoan such a generous package when it delivers so many modes, superb new characters and an intricately balanced fight mechanic. Offline multiplayer will always be a key draw for Tekken, but without a lag-free online mode to back it up, the entire experience suffers as a result. While a welcome online patch is currently in the works, it still doesn’t excuse the game shipping with such glaring issues. The meagre campaign mode is another thorn in the side of Tekken 6 and as such, the game simply fails to stack up against the slick perfection of Street Fighter IV. It will be interesting to see what patches and DLC will become available in time and whether or not they redeem the package.

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