Tekken 6 is an imperfect gem of a fighting game. Most fans of the series will no doubt enjoy this latest installment, but there are many small issues that crop up and make you wonder why it wasn't held back for more polishing.
There were two versions of Tekken 6 in the arcades, the original, which added Bob, Zafina, Miguel and Leo to the ever expanding cast, and Bloodline Rebellion, bringing along Lars Alexandersson and Alisa Bosconovitch along for the ride. This console version is basically the latter of the two, with a "Scenario Mode" that tries to tell the backstory of Lars and Alisa. We'll get to that later.
There are two major additions to the combat system for Tekken 6. When hit with certain moves during an air juggle, characters are slammed to the floor, unable to move for a second or two. Called the "Bound" state, this situation is great for expanding combos and getting the fight in your favor.
The second major change is the new Rage system. When someone's health is low enough, their attacks do added damage. It gives them one last chance to get back in the game, which can lead to some intense battles between evenly match players.
Aside from the combat revisions, there's a new motion blur effect that kicks in during certain animations(you can turn this off in options if you want). The effect is done well and adds a sense of realism to fighting games that I'm sure other developers will try to emulate in one form or another.
Character models are the game's highlight. All 40 characters are meticulously detailed and sport some great animations. If you don't like the default costume for your favorite character, there are a ton of options to choose from. You're bound to end up with the look you want, you'll just need the skills to back up your masterpiece. No one likes to look good on the floor in a fighting game.
To unlock those customizations you'll need plenty of Fight Money, Tekken's own personal currency. You'll earn fight money any number of different ways. Many of the fan favorite modes are back, (Survival, Arcade, Team Battle, Time Attack, Arena- a shortened story mode, and Practice to name a few) and you'll earn money from most of them. An even easier way to unlock stuff, however, is to tackle the all new Scenario Mode.
Scenario Mode has you picking stages off of a map and going through them Urban Reign-style(yeah you read that right, unfortunately). It follows the story of Lars and Alisa, but you unlock a new character for Scenario Mode each time you beat them or work with them. You'll then be able to use them in place of Lars, only the cutscenes will still show him instead of whoever you've chosen.
The story is mostly forgettable, something that's sadly becoming a standard with the Tekken games. Controls for this mode can range from manageable to downright horrid, depending on how many enemies are on screen. Alisa or another character is with you at all times. Sometimes they do what they're supposed to do, other times they'll follow you and simply stand there. If they're low on health, they won't seek it out. I've literally seen Alisa run right by Chicken instead of over it to get her health back. I've watched and laughed as she stood amongst a sea of eggs as her health hovered near Rage levels. In that case it's up to you to run close by the health your teammates needs so that they'll unintentionally heal themself. Seriously.
While this mode isn't exactly the most fun to play, you have the much appreciated bonus of unlocking items during your run. It's much cheaper(and faster) than buying each item individually, and adds a bit of fun to an otherwise disappointing mini-game as you watch the tally near the end of the level, telling you how much money you've earned and what items you've picked up.
Earlier in the year, Namco promised online play for this mode, which may have made it a slightly better experience. At launch, that was not available. We'll have to wait for a patch.
That's not the only thing that needs patching, though.
Aside from the usual offline fun, there is Tekken 6's online component . Namco touted the netcode as "improved" when asked about it earlier this year at E3, but unfortunately it doesn't seem that way.
If you played Tekken Dark Resurrection Online for the Playstation 3, you have an idea of how badly things can go with an online fighter. Unless you played against someone in your immediate area, matches ranged from decent to dismal. It's the same case here. Juggles you'd land offline with little effort need to be reworked or done with different timing. As someone who's been playing online games since Phantasy Star Online for the Sega Dreamcast, I fully understand that latency and 60 frames of data per second cannot always come together in perfect harmony. Ranked matches are paired for you(to prevent people from fighting the same victim over and over, for one thing), and Namco's netcode doesn't always make the best choices. Thankfully, you can do Player Matches, which I strongly recommend. You have the Quick Match option, which is pretty much Ranked Match without a rank, throwing you against someone who probably isn't close enough to your area for a good fight, or you can go the Custom Match route and pick from a list. Why you're not given the option to simply do a Quick Match for someone in your area is surprising to me.
In fact, that's one of many odd design choices Namco made with this game...
In your usual fighting game jargon, many things have been nerfed.
In Practice mode, there is no option to record and playback moves for your dummy. You can no longer "hold" a move from the movelist and then scroll through it with the right analog stick, something that makes learning characters much, much easier.
I've also experienced random slowdown for myself when practicing with Paul(this guy's an even bigger beast now, but that's something else entirely). It happened at least six times during the same practice run. This doesn't happen during any other mode, or at least hasn't for me so far.
Oddly enough, the "Hidden Retreat" stage is not selectable in Practice mode, either.
The "CHICKEN" soundbite is gone. Why take that out? It's been a staple since Tekken 3.
During all modes, you'll see the name of that particular mode at the bottom of the screen. There's no need for this at all, even though you barely notice it when you're fighting, which only makes it stand out more. I don't like to speculate, but I have to wonder if maybe someone forgot to remove some code during the debug process. I just can't understand how seeing "Player Match" or "Survival" benefits the player. Fight number? Yeah. Total time? Perhaps. But the name of the mode? No need for it.
The HUD after the main title screen just doesn't feel right. It doesn't look cool or feel seamless. I don't know what Namco was going for here.
The ability to rank up past 1st Dan offline has been removed. You have to rank up online, which makes no sense. Why not just give players an offline AND online rank? It worked just fine in Tekken Dark Resurrection Online, and it gives players a little more to do, a little more incentive to keep playing.
The graphics are inconsistent. As mentioned earlier the character models are impressive, but the stages themselves range from good, to underwhelming. If you look closely, you'll notice in the backgrounds of some stages that buildings or other set pieces look crude. Some stages do a great job of hiding this with fog or other weather effects. Other stages miss the boat, and spectators with a sharp eye are more likely to notice.
Speaking of weather effects, characters do not get wet or get snow on them at all, even though a couple of the stages have heavy rain and snow effects. To me, this is inexcusable in today's age, even with 40 characters. If it's raining, you can't have both characters in the middle of it without showing any effect from it. You've gone and added motion blur, so why don't we see their kicks and punches interact with the rain and snow in some way as well(making a trail in the snow is a small step)? At times it's disheartening because you can see what Namco was going for with certain stages like Lightning Storm, Tunnel Disaster and Manji Valley. You're initially taken in by them, but once you look closely and notice the little things missing, you can't ever get that first impression back.
The soundtrack for this game is hit and miss. Nearly every Tekken game has a few memorable tunes that fans seem to embrace, and while this one is no exception, it certainly has less than earlier installments. The music seems to get the job done for the most part amping you up for a good fight, but it's not something you'd rock in your car.
In spite of all the small inconsistencies, I still feel this game was worth the $60 investment. I'll be playing it for quite some time, and if the upcoming patch does what it's supposed to do, I'll probably even play Scenario Mode online with a couple of friends from time to time. I just wish Namco had made less missteps with this game. This is the wrong time of year to release an unpolished product, and they could certainly feel the heat on 11/10 when a.....little known.....title named Modern Warfare 2 just happens to hit the market.
Final Score: 3.75 out of 5
