Published by – Namco Bandai
Developed by – Namco Bandai
Platform – PS3, Xbox 360, PSP
Age Rating – +16
Official Site – tekken.namco.com
Score: 8/10
The latest edition to the long standing Tekken fighting series for the PS3 , PSP and 360 provides the largest character roster yet and the most options yet. With numerous recognisable fighters and six new playable faces it stands as the biggest Tekken launch to date. Possible minor character spoilers ahead.
Firstly a bit about these new contestants:
Alisa Bosconovich: The robotic daughter of Dr Bosconovich created for a specific purpose that you discover more about in scenario campaign. She is a lot more powerful than she appears and having chain saws coming from her arms is just the beginning.
Lars Alexandersson: From Sweden he’s a high ranking officer of the Tekken force who often fought on the front lines. He is the leader of a small rebel force and has renowned physical and mental ability. He is one of Heihachi’s sons however only he is aware that he is part of the Mishima bloodline as well.
Zafina: Part of an ancient clan, she begins to receive premonitions of two evils coming together and joining with the evil her clan defends protecting within an ancient temple and causing the end of the world. She is the only assassin within her tribe and her goal is to stop the cataclysmic events taking place.
Leo: After living a average peaceful life and wanting to follow in his fathers footsteps and be a spelunker, Leo’s mother who was a G Corp executive was killed by an unknown assailant. Driven by grief Leo vowed to uncover the truth after the police canceled their investigation with no explanation. During his investigation Kazuya Mishima appeared as a person of interest however it was hard for Leo to get close to him. Soon after he learned that the Mishima Zaibatsu-sponsored The King of Iron Fist Tournament and Kazuya would be taking part. Seeing it as his only change to gain revenge Leo entered the tournament.
Miguel Cabllero Rojo: Classed as a black sheep within his family due to his wild nature. His relationship with his parents caused him to run away from home at the age of 15 and live with an acquaintance at their bar. Keeping in touch with his sister who he trusted and treasured but was highly over protective. When he heard she was to be married he wanted to kill her boyfriend. On the wedding day he was unable to stand with his parents in the church so watched from outside. Suddenly planes flew over and flames filled the area knocking Miguel back. Although in pain severe Miguel rushed into the church to find his sister. When he found her it was already to late and his screams echoed through the ruins. Upon finding out the air strike was carried out by the Mishima Zaibatsu Miguel sought revenge upon Jin Kazama.
Bob: A master of martial arts he quickly gained fans with his chiseled physique and good looks. However he was unsatisfied as he couldn’t defeat opponents larger than him. Dissapearing from the martial arts scene he went through a traning programme to increase power and weight while keeping his agility. When he reappeared he was a changed man, his handsome looks were no more and he gained a disproportionate amount of weight. Ignoring his critics he decided it was time to test his skills again so he entered the The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6.
The games main new modes are Scenario campaign and online play. Scenario campaign begins with a history lesson of what has taken place throughout the other Tekken games. After a few cut scenes you get a tutorial then after many more cut scenes then Lars and Alisa have to escape. You play the central Tekken 6 story line that revolves around Lars. After the tutorial you can change him to the character of your choice and it doesn’t effect the story. The game sadly has a large amount of focus on the scenario campaign. However it has grown on me since I got the game because of playing it so much as it’s the main offline mode. To play other characters stories you have to play through scenario campaign to unlock them and play them in the scenario campaign arena. While playing through scenario campaign you unlock items for the character you have selected an Alisa as well as gold to buy more items. The majority of the trophies\achievements are gained through scenario campaign.
In online play mode you fight against others over the PSN or XBL. You can choose from different fight options such as normal or ranked so you can play the one you’re most comfortable with. The quality of the online play on the PSN at times can be sluggish and your only hope is to keep entering combos and hope you hit.
There is a new rage meter that activates when a players health reaches below 5% and it increases attack power. It can sometimes help to spin round the result of a fight in the last moments of battle but by then it’s normally to late anyway.
In offline mode you choose from ghost battles similar to the mode on Dark Resurrection you can gain character ranks and fight gold. There is team battle where you select a team of a number of characters and play against a team of CPU controlled opponents. Then there is time attack where you have to clear a number of stages as quickly as possible. Like other games there are the arcade, survival and practice modes. Similar to some of the other Tekken games there is the gallery option which allows you to watch game cut scenes\videos that have been unlocked and view saved replays from online ranked matches.
The games graphics certainly don’t disappoint. It provides smooth 3D fighting animation and stunning fighting stages. The attention to details that have been used in costumes and environments makes the game more immersive. Alternate costumes for some of the characters have been designed by well known manga/animé artists. For example Lars’ third player costume was designed by Masashi Kishimoto known best for his work on the manga Naruto series.
Unlike other Tekken games the environments are more interactive. There are now areas that can be smashed through such as walls/floors to widen the fighting stage or knock your opponent out of the ring, giving the game a more dynamic feel. As with other Tekken games the sound track for the game goes along perfectly with each individual stage. From the beautiful electric water fountain to the temple grounds stage. Its musical up-beat rhythms or airy tunes help to build the atmosphere of the game.
Like with Tekken 5 and Dark Resurrection there is the option to customise characters. However there are many many more options available to make a character truly stand out which is useful when playing online. You can completely change the look of each character to make them look unique.
Overall I give the game 8 out of 10 and I feel the game has quite a good replayability factor mainly because of the amount of choices in customisation that require gold from fights and of course the trophies.
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