Tekken: Dark Resurrection Import Hands-On

Tekken: Dark Resurrection is Namco's upcoming PSP conversion of the latest entry in its venerable fighting series. The title marks a handheld first for the series, as there's never been a proper conversion of any entry in the venerable 3D fighting series for a portable system outside of one decent attempt three years ago on the Game Boy Advance. We've been keeping an eye on this promising game over the past few months as it's taken shape on the PSP. Though the game isn't due in the US for a couple of weeks, it's already hit Japan, so of course we picked up some copies to see how it's finally turned out.

To get it out of the way: This definitely plays just like the Tekken you know and love. This is a portable reproduction of the arcade expansion of the original Tekken 5, so you can expect all of the whopping amounts of content--characters, backgrounds, and unlockables--that were found in the arcade edition, as well as the exact same core fighting action. Considering the PSP's pad and control layout are basically identical to those of the PS2's dual shock, you won't really need any adjustment time to pick up the rhythm of playing Dark Resurrection on the small screen. If you've got any experience playing the Tekken series on the PlayStation and PS2, you'll feel right at home immediately.

When you first fire up the game you'll find a slew of modes to try out: quick battle, story battle, arcade battle, network, Tekken Dojo, attack, and practice. The quick battle naturally lets you play pickup matches against the computer, while the story mode lets you play through a plot-driven sequence of matches with a unique tale for each character. Additionally, as you play through the story mode you'll come to unlock more options and game modes. The first we opened is the theater mode, which will let you check out each character's prologue and epilogue cinematics, as well the game's intro movie. The theater will also let you have a listen to the game's soundtrack. The next is the bonus games option, which will offer several different unlockable minigames for you to try. So far we've opened up command attack, time attack, and Tekken Bowling.

The arcade battle mode is a little more interesting and unusual. It attempts to simulate the experience of playing in an arcade by pitting you against a randomized sequence of "ghosts," or virtual players, with unique names, skill levels, and playing styles. After a match concluded, we were able to pick from a list of potential challengers, each of whom had selected the character they wanted to use to play against us next. The game can even optionally track and record your own playing style, so you can eventually save it into a ghost file that will presumably emulate the way you play. You can even trade your own created ghost with a friend through a Wi-Fi data exchange mode, which will sort of let you play against each other even when you're alone.

Dark Resurrection's network mode certainly deserves some lip service thanks to its unique offerings, which include local Wi-Fi versus play and some rudimentary online options. When both players have copies of the game, you can jump right into a lag-free ad hoc versus match with all of the game's characters and backgrounds at your disposal. Loading time here wasn't any worse than it was in the single-player game, and the gameplay was just as smooth as you'd expect from the arcade or PS2 experience.

Dark Resurrection's single-disc, game-sharing versus play is perhaps even more notable because it still gives both players access to the entire, vast roster of fighters, though the downloading player won't get any music, and we only saw one background represented through several matches in this mode. Oddly, there was a little more lag during gameplay as well. At least the game caches data to your memory stick after the initial download, so load times between fights with game sharing aren't really all that bad. Overall, the game makes an impressive effort in the local wireless multiplayer category. It's a bit disappointing you can't play Dark Resurrection multiplayer online, but the game does offer a few basic Internet options. You can log on to download leaderboard information to see how you stand next to the best of the best, and a few goodies like wallpapers and new packs of ghost players will also be available periodically.

Dark Resurrection looks remarkable on the PSP, as the visuals have wound up coming extremely close to the level of quality seen on Namco's PlayStation 2 version of Tekken 5. The character models and environments nearly match the console game's crisp look, thanks to a high level of detail and overall polish. The only slight hitches we've noticed are the occasional stuttering frame rate in the intros to fights; aliasing that makes certain elements shimmer a bit; and a few unflattering textures. However, despite those rough spots, Tekken: Dark Resurrection still stands as one of the best looking PSP games we've seen. If you want to see it for yourself, don't miss our slew of new gameplay movies taken from this import version.

Based on what we've played so far, Tekken: Dark Resurrection has turned out to be an excellent fighter for the PSP in spite of a few minor quirks. The game looks great and plays just as you'd expect a Tekken to play. Better still, the meaty assortment of content to unlock will offer plenty of reason to keep coming back to the game. While we'd obviously like to have seen the game offer proper online play, ad hoc multiplayer is better than nothing. Fans of the series and PSP owners looking for a 3D fighter will want to keep an eye out when the game ships in the US later this month. Look for a full review of Tekken: Dark Resurrection soon.