Rules with an Iron Fist- Tekken 6 Review


One of the greatest draws of the Tekken franchise has been the game’s outlandish collection of fighters. Beyond the incorporation of anthropomorphic kangaroos, pandas and even training dummies, the series has furtively integrated a growing cast of celebrity lookalikes. From Marshall Law and Lei Wulong’s overt reproduction of certain Hong Kong film actors, to the subtle imitation of Jennifer Lopez found in the Christie Monteiro character, Tekken’s star-studded roster has been consistently captivating. Recent console iterations of Tekken 6 featured an unsurpassed selection of 43 characters, catapulting the depth of the title. Amazingly, the developers at Namco managed to shoehorn a majority of the sizeable roster onto PSP systems.

It’s a significant accomplishment when a portable game approximates the core mechanics of its console brethren. Tekken 6 for the PSP is an astonishing achievement- the title is a near-facsimile of the home version, blemishes and all. While players will have to forgo the story-based Campaign Scenario, the omission is inconsequential- the mode wasn’t particularly gratifying. More important is the transition of 40 fighters onto the smaller screen, along with a few fresh methods of delivering the skirmishes.


Like Soul Caliber: Broken Destiny, Namco’s other recent proficient portable port, Tekken 6 allows players to install data onto memory sticks to minimize load times. While the feature takes up 380MB of space, savings to both time and battery life are beneficial. Also like Broken Destiny, the title features an ad-hoc multiplayer option, meaning rival combatants will have to have their own copy of the game and be in the immediate vicinity.

The title’s Arcade Mode has players tacking an ever-increasingly demanding string of challengers, culminating in two boss battles. Like its console inspiration, rounds against CPU opponents are a warm-up for a sharp difficultly spike against your final foes. Tekken 6's gameplay is decidedly juggle-heavy, meaning bosses with send players cascading from a successive string of hits. This can be frustrating as it often takes as long to vanquish the last enemy as it does to eliminate its predecessors. Fortunately, every match rewards players with a generous amount of currency that can be used to purchase and modify each characters appearance.


Ghost Mode presents an endless succession of randomly chosen adversaries, each with an amusing nickname. Once a fighter is defeated, the game allows players to pick between four new opponents with a quick press of the directional pad. Story Mode is for gamers longing for a bit of narrative; each character’s impetus and fate is illustrated, adding a bit of profundity to the proceedings.

Aesthetically, Tekken 6 is a benchmark PSP title. Each character is rendered skillfully and exquisitely animated. Even the most jaded gamer will smile as Alisa, the school-girl cyber assassin, presents her own volatile head to opponents. While the title’s framerate is consistently high, an occasional instance of slowdown can be observed, not unlike the console version. The game’s throbbing electronic soundtrack complements the pugilism well, and sounds wonderfully bassy when a set of headphones are plugged in.


Without a doubt, Tekken 6 presents some of the best fighting found on any portable system. Namco has done an amazing job in offering the same move-sets, environments and character roster of its home version. Unless you completely resent the series’ elevation of juggle-based attacks, Tekken 6 should be at the top of your PSP game shopping list.

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Posted by DesertEagle at 12/9/2009 3:00 PM
Categories: PSP,Reviews
 

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