Tekken 5 review

The Tekken franchise is one that I've followed closely since I played the first game on my recently-bought PSX (some of us oldsters still call it that) in 1996. When the first Tekken 2 demo came along we were stunned by the amazing FMV intro, the weight in the character motion and the gratuitous use of bone breaking moves. The third game brought with it even more amazing visuals and (in the import version I bought) Sony's new vibrating pad.

But the franchise was another of those that didn't make a successful leap to the next generation. Many games failed to cross the gap with any elegance. Both Wipeout and GT3 were very late and somewhat disappointing compared to earlier efforts, and this held true for Tekken. It's hard to believe that since the launch of the console five years ago, there's only been one Tekken game on the system.

Tekken the Michael

During this period I managed to lose interest in Tekken. The fourth game wasn't quite what the doctor ordered and there have been much better beat'em ups released such as Virtua Fighter 4 on PS2 and Tecmo's Dead or Alive franchise on Xbox. Good news for Tekken fans then that the fifth game in the Mishima family saga is a great return to form - a content rich beautiful game with some great gameplay dynamics.

Of course this will mean nothing to you if you prefer the sophistication and subtlety of Virtua Fighter, or the fast-paced defensive/counter action of Dead or Alive. Just as in the realm of the football game, beat'em ups tend to attract a loyal following that will only play one particular franchise at the expense of missing out on a quality game elsewhere.

Feature packed

Tekken 5 comes loaded with content; it feels like an all-new game rather than Tekken 4's collection of half-realised ideas. The centre of the game remains the iron fist tournament itself - taking place in the story mode. It's the usual collection of fights, ending with your character's demi-boss, before facing the big evil one at the end. Along the way there's the terrible voice acting and awful scripting we've come to expect from the series.

As usual this is the mode to unlock the rest of the 30 playable characters not available immediately. Many Tekken veterans like to unlock all the characters as soon as possible, setting the game on easy, round count to one, and working their way through each character. It's not as easy this time because the final character is the story mode is quite hard to beat, more down to supernatural powers rather than fighting style. This can make the game pretty frustrating with certain characters. That problem aside, the story mode offers a good amount of entertaining play.

Devil Within

Taking the story mode's narrative and running with it, is Devil Within, Tekken 5's version of a scrolling beat'em up. This 3D action/adventure starring Jin is a mildly diverting game that will probably give you a couple of hour's play. That is if you like being bored senseless. Yes, Devil Within really isn't very successful, it's the kind of dull button-bashing exercise that we were happy to pump out ten pence pieces into in the mid-eighties, but doesn't offer enough anymore.

That can't be said for the rest of the package though - as it's feature-packed entertainment all the way. From the ability to play Starblade while the game loads, to the inclusion of the arcade versions of Tekken 1, 2 and 3 - it's a gold-nugget of a disk. There are even exhaustive videos of Tokyo Game Show demos and the like. It really feels like Tekken coming of age and rounding of its history so far.

Visual delight

It's rare to get over excited about PS2 visuals these days. The console is the oldest of the three and showing its age. But that doesn't mean developers such as Namco can't wow us with some exciting graphics. On a technical level, Tekken 5 really doesn't compete with the likes of Dead or Alive: Ultimate, but that's no matter - it's still a great looking game.

The textures and character costumes are especially good, more detailed than we often expect from a PS2 game. The animation is fast and smooth, leading to some fast-paced fighting, despite the franchise never being particularly about speedy combat. Ann added dimension appears in the form of character customisation - making for even more added visual depth to the proceedings.

The areas are especially attractive. It's the subtle artistry that makes these appear to look so good - rather than any attempt to take on Tecmo at this game. Midnight wilderness is a beautifully haunting arena, with the ethereal field of flowers making for a spectacular location that's right out of movies such as House of Flying Daggers. The Secret Garden arena is equally impressive, with it's subtle use of colours lending a more serious tone to the proceedings.

Problems?

Not all the graphics are perfect though, the interface does leave a little to be desired. In 2-player mode it's very difficult to see which character you are actually selecting. Menu choices suffer a similar approach - where the Yes/No dialogue appears at the bottom of the screen in a location you may not notice.

The comic-book style of the character art doesn't quite sit well with me. It's quality work and looks good in the menus and fighter selection screens. But somehow doesn't quite fit the overall high-tech feel of the game. Unwelcome too is the Electronic Arts level of nannying on display. Now we have to click X too often when saves are being confirmed. But at least there are welcome options such as 16:9 and 60 Hz in the display section.

Final Fight

These problems are minor though compared to the wealth of gameplay that Tekken 5 offers. It's clearly the strongest the franchise has been for some time and there's plenty to do and see. While there are deeper thrills to be found within Virtua Fighter, Tekken 5offers one of the most accessible and exciting entries into the genre.

With new characters Raven (a thinly disguised Blade homage), Feng and Asuka - Tekken fans will have plenty of new moves to learn. Along with the many game modes, great graphics and strong sound effects - this is one of the finest PlayStation 2 offerings for a while.