Tekken 6 (PS3) Review

Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 01.17.2010

There can be only 1 . . . or 6. The sixth installment of the Tekken video game franchise is here and Cung Le is nowhere in sight!



Title: Tekken 6
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Namco Bandai
Genre: Fighting/Beat 'Em UP
Players: Singleplayer/Multiplayer
Rated: T For Teen

Jin Kazama has taken control of the Mishima Zaibatsu Company and is trying to take over the world. Jin's daddy, Kazuma Mishima, is the head of the G Corporation and is trying to do the same thing. Uh-oh. In a collision course of violence, a group of rebels are trying to put a stop to both evil conglomerates in the latest installment of one of the most popular fighting game series ever. This is Tekken 6.

The game starts with a long black and white manga/graphic novel style intro that recounts all the events of Tekken 1-5 and what led up to the events of the latest game. The game then gets into the main story mode as part of the Tekken Campaign Mode.



Graphics

The PS3 version has very smooth, sharp, graphics. The colors are bright and dynamic. The characters move very fluidly. All or most of the cut scenes of the game and main story mode appear to be in FMV.



Gameplay

One of the main additions to the console mode is of course The Campaign Mode which is a single player story mode. Campaign Mode is essentially a 3rd person style action/adventure beat 'em up mode. The story focuses on new characters for Tekken, Lars Alexandersson and the cyborg, Alisa Bosconovitch. Lars is a leader of rebel soldiers of the G-Corporation trying to dismantle it from within to put a stop to the Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corporation. Early in the Campaign Mode, Lars frees the Cyborg, Alisa who is your second player at the star The Campaign Mode. I love Beat 'Em Up games, and I loved Tekken Force, so getting this mode was a huge plus. The story and characters was great, and I loved the simple, classic style of this game mode. Mastering the grappling attacks helps, and you also get to use a grappling gun and shoot those annoying ass kangaroos.

The Campaign Mode is about 40 levels and I never wanted to stop playing it. The levels are pretty straight forward and easy to get into once you get started. It's a good way to acclimate yourself to gameplay if you are new to Tekken. At first I thought you were unable to grapple in Campaign Mode then I was able to pull one off, so it takes a while to get the hang of it if you don't want to be a button masher. My only caveats with Campaign Mode are that the play can be a little frustratingly repetitive sometimes and some of the Boss Battles are this way as well. Overall, it’s a totally fun experience getting a mode like this again for the Tekken series.

Two new features have been added to the fighting in the game. The "Rage" System and the "Bound" System. The Rage System gives you a boost and increases the damage of your attacks once your vitality decreases and starts to get low. The Bound System lets you unleash more crushing and damaging combos against your enemies.

Gameplay is divided into Offline and Online modes both which have multiple modes of play in addition to the Campaign Mode. Arcade mode is the straight up arcade fighting game mode of the game. You get to pick from 40 characters available and start brawling and busting on your enemies. Versus mode lets you play against a friend. Ghost Battle is a mode letting you play continuously against ghost versions of other characters. Ghost Battle also ranks your character and lets you build a Win/Loss record that’s updated into the game. Team Battle lets you have like single elimination fight rounds with your group against an opposing group which you can preset. Time Attack lets you battle through timed stages where you have to win and test your skills using a few strong powered attacks.

Controls are smooth and easy to use if you have to go with the standard PS3 controller rather than arcade style joystick. Grappling moves are sick to do and a lot of fun once you get the hang of them. Some of the female characters are stronger and harder to beat. Christie Monteiro is just . . . dang. Level and stage design for the fighting levels are very nicely designed and animated with plenty of room to play around. There’s a little more interactivity with the environments than previous game. You can also smash your opponents into the ground quite literally. The rage system definitely makes things more interesting during the fights.

Sound

Solid sound FX and BGM. The voice acting is incredibly strong as well. I heart Mary-Elizabeth McGlynn, the voice acting Goddess, as Nina Williams which is perfect casting. I'm somewhat weirded out though that Namco Bandai couldn't hire more English VA's. It's odd that most of the voice cast for the game is kept in Japanese and speaking in subtitles. English speaking characters speak English and can apparently understand people who speak Japanese, but still respond in English. Japanese speaking characters like Jin can understand English but only respond in Japanese. It's quite awkward at times. What's wrong with an English version and a Japanese version? Guess the economy's hitting the game industry as well.



Lasting Appeal

Besides Campaign Mode, you can have hours more fun with the Versus mode. Hey this is a fighting game. You can also get on the leader boards with the online modes and also the online multiplayer modes. You can also customize your characters and even your character meters further in the game. I have not noticed anything added yet in the way of downloadable content for the Playstation Network but hopefully that will change soon. C’mon Namco Bandai, give us a Gon playable DLC feature!



Fun Factor

Campaign Mode rocks the camel's ass. You get a lot of different characters to choose from, but where the hell is Gon?! It's Tekken and hard to screw up. Versus mode is still a lot of fun, and there's good online and multiplayer modes as well further ways to customize and refine your character.

The 411

If you love fighting and classic arcade style beat 'em up action games, Tekken 6 very well might be the game for you. The style and bells and whistles have not changed greatly from the past games, but the addition of a 3D story/adventure mode is great. Plus the element of the Bound and Rage systems to the fighting itself is super wiggity whack. Boosh.

Graphics	9.0	Great, smooth, colorful and smooth graphics for the PS3.
Gameplay	8.5	Campaign mode rocks, plus there are some fun new additions to the classic Tekken fighting engine.
Sound	8.0	Good BGM, sound Good FX, music, and voice acting. Though having most of the characters subtitled in Japanese while others spoke in English was weird.
Lasting Appeal	9.0	There are multiple strong modes of play for the console edition.
Fun Factor	9.0	You get a classic arcade beat 'em and a classic arcade fighter all in one game.
Overall	8.7   [ Very Good ]