Tekken 6

Tekken 6 delivers updated graphics, a large cast of characters from the get-go, and the same tournament fighting action that’s come to be expected from one of the longest standing fighter franchises out there. There is plenty here for the hardcore Tekken fan as well as for those who have yet to experience the series.

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What’s Good

The King of Iron Fist Tournament – Fighting games have always been my “thing” when it comes to console gaming, and Tekken has always been foremost in my mind along with the Street Fighter and Versus (Marvel Vs Capcom, etc.) franchises, and I would have to say that Tekken is in the top of my favorites list.  The controls are unchanged since Tekken 3, but the fluidity of character motion and control response is the most accurate of the series.  The simple button layout is, as it has always been, conducive to learning the game while the combo and juggle system still lend themselves well to experimentation by more advanced players.

All-star cast, and then some – Tekken 6 boasts an astounding 40 characters playable outright, more than any other Tekken release to date.  Each character plays solidly as their own entity and some of the similarities between returning characters have been dissolved to present a more unique experience in using previously similar or “mirrored” characters.  While some of them quickly become fan favorites, as in all fighting games, some of the characters only unleash their full potential in the hands of a seasoned Tekken player.

Fighting(game) poetry in motion – As with any fighting game, the more flashier and more extreme the characters’ movements or special abilities appear, and still be relatively easy to pull off, is a staple of the genre. The smoothness of the controls in Tekken 6, frame rates and graphics provide a fluid synergy  rivaled, debatably, only by Tekken 5.  With the console versions, you are allowed the option to disable motion blurs, but why would you?  This game is, for lack of a better word, aesthetically amazing as far as the Tekken series is concerned.  Character movements are seamless and fluid, a far cry from the jerkiness and movement clipping from the first three installments of the series.  Side-stepping, countering, and other defensive or evasive maneuvers have a far better response time that serves to better increase their utility in tight situations and can be performed with ease even by the most novice of players.

To learn to fight, first you must crawl – Remember in the old days before a fighting game was released to console, you had to spend countless hard-earned dollars from mowing lawns and doing dishes just to lose to the guy that’s always at the arcade, and then maybe hopefully learn how to play in the process?  Well, beginners fret not:  Tekken 6 provides an in-depth practice mode and complete character command lists for all 40 characters as well as detailed analysis of clean hits, stuns, combo counter and High-Mid-Low striking, and even record and replay your actions.  The Tekken 6 practice mode is truly the expert’s build-a-combo playground as well as the beginner’s safe haven from competitive tournament players.  The aforementioned command lists for all characters also include the option to “Press Play” in order to view an AI-controlled version of your character performing the move in order to see what it looks like when correctly performed, to include all of the chain-throws performed by various characters.

All right, let’s fight – Tekken 6 presents several different flavors of single-player content like Time Trials, Survival, as well as the typical Tournament play.  All are fairly straightforward and need no real in-depth explanation.  I will say, however, that the AI in Tekken 6 is amazingly realistic compared to its predecessors.  Increase the difficulty and the AI will adjust, to varying degrees depending on how insane you are, to your tactics and will force you into a more diverse playstyle, which you should learn to do anyway if you plan on going to any sponsored tournaments.  The AI I’ve experienced in the game on hardest difficulty is very heavy on punishing any movements you make that have long recovery times or any movements that leave you wide-open and is an excellent tool for learning how to get into another human player’s defenses.  High Scores from all modes of play are also available to be shared with your console’s online network component to compare with other players as well.  But the true spirit of Tekken is playing other people, and that is where this installment truly shines.  Whether playing Tekken 6 against online opponents or within reach of a real-life backhand, this game is sure to bring out every fighting fan’s competitive spirit.

All by myself – I did not include this in the previous topic because I feel it warrants a section in this review all its own.  I’m talking about Scenario Mode, where the plot of Tekken 6 actually unfolds instead of in, typically in most fighting games, the tournament mode.  The plot is revealed in stages of play through in-game cutscenes.  This Scenario Mode allows you to unlock characters to be played within it by beating them in a brawler-style environment while still maintaining the control scheme and playstyle from the one-on-one fighting game mode.  As you play through, you unlock special items for specific characters, new stages that in turn allow access to more characters to defeat and utilize in this mode.  As with all other modes of play, going through Scenario also allows for the accumulation of money for use in customizing your character’s appearance as well as items that imbue your actions with special properties for use exclusively in Scenario mode to increase your damage or decrease the damage you take.  For the most part, an excellent intermission from competitive play.

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What’s Bad

All by myself… again – The previously mentioned Scenario Mode was initially, according to Namco, supposed to support multiplayer online co-op.  Although it is not currently supported in-game, Namco has stated that this will be patched in the near future, in December tentatively.  In the meantime, however, the lack of a feature promised from the start and serving as a major selling point can really put a smudge on expectations.  On the bright side, Scenario Mode is really more of a bonus than anything else, but the action can tend to get repetitive and tiring rather quickly and is best played in small doses.  As a single-player standalone component, it can be rather tedious keeping your AI controlled partner in check and can sometimes get you killed if you can’t manage your own target in addition to trying to take out the enemies ganging up on, purposely it seems, your AI controlled and surprisingly inept partner.  This mode will certainly be better once online co-op is incorporated.

The lag! Oh, the lag! – The most glaring fault in Tekken 6 is certainly not in the game itself.  It is the severe lag experienced in online play.  While I’ve heard that PS3 owners are also experiencing the same problems on the Playstation’s network, I’ve only experienced the Xbox 360’s  MASSIVE LAG ISSUES.  I’m not sure what factors dictate the latency of the network relative to your opponent, but some matches can go deceptively smooth while the next opponent seems to have server-rape lag in their arsenal as you become handicapped by chopped framerates, movements that seem to take seconds longer to perform than in offline play and then watch yourself be beaten mercilessly.  But again, to be an optimist, this is at least something that can be smoothed out and is not a glaring fault of the gameplay itself, although it does sully the experience in what could be the best 3-D fighter yet released.  Fix this fast, please.

Where are we, again? – Did I mention that the character models and movements in Tekken 6 are amazing?  Well, it seems that the backgrounds didn’t get the same love as the characters did.  While this doesn’t really hamper the fighting experience, it gets to be troublesome in arenas that apparently have no boundary until you catch yourself against the invisible wall and receive a wall-stun.  This isn’t the case with all arenas, but only a handful are truly pleasing and lend that beauty to the epic battle taking place within, while most others are simply uninspiring.  In more of the less glamorous arenas, the amazingly crafted character models seem severely out of place.

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Worth Remembering:

While Tekken 6 is a sequel continuing the exploits of the Mishima sponsored fighting tournament, that’s not really why we play it.  The controls are solid, there is a character for all playstyles and the combo system is the most fine-tuned it has ever been.

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Worth Forgetting:

The online play and lack of co-op in Scenario Mode are certainly not aspiring contenders for “Things that are awesome about Tekken 6.”  If you’re not a fan of fighting games or haven’t experienced Tekken then the initially large character roster may be a bit daunting but can be overcome.  While the beginner can still have fun playing, Tekken 6 blatantly favors the returning veterans.  Just make sure you invite your friends over to play, because the lag in online play is far too much for even the most patient gamer to overcome.

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There is nothing about the game that the Tekken die-hard will not enjoy, and nothing that the beginner can’t learn to enjoy.  Tekken 6 is a true tournament player’s fighting game.

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