Namco has turned a new leaf with Tekken 4. It has alot of potential, even if it isn't as good as previous Tekken games.
Let us get things straight though. No matter what change Namco made following Tekken Tag Tournament, the next Tekken game would never be able to live up to the expectations and reception it received from its predecessor. Yes, this also has been said about the previous Tekken games, but the series really did feel complete after Tekken Tag Tournament in 2000 for Playstation 2.
A lot of characters were going to be missing in the game's next appearance, the fighting engine had become dated as well as exploitable and extra content such as Tekken Bowl and Tekken Volleyball had gradually made gamers demand more from the series.
Unsurprisingly, like many gamers making the big jump to next level, Tekken 4 has shed to its bare bones, rediscovering the roots of its series. As a result, we have a far more complete fighting engine to play around with in the series latest incarnation.
Much to the relief of fighting fans who previously lacked faith in the game, Tekken 4 is completely 3D, with interactive backgrounds and destructible objects. This also means the characters control and movement have been altered to suit the advanced visuals the PS2 is capable of, something Tekken 4 should hang it's head high in the sky for.
Not only have Namco paid a decent amount of attention to the characters looks and inspired costume design but they've gone a step further by making the clothes react to the environments the fighters will be beating each other in. Hair sways and swishes marvellously, pain and damage looks believable enough and the combat is very swift, speedy, yet still has undeniably smooth animation
If that wasn't enough for the typical graphics lover, Namco have went past the expectations in this area by breathing life into the backgrounds themselves, so now the backgrounds feature a whole host of effects and diversions that will catch the player's eye even during the mist of a fight. So clearly, it is impressive stuff. Even the presentation has had a graphical revamp.
Perhaps the only big disappoint for the whole eye candy effect we're given in Tekken 4 is the low/differing quality between full motion video sequences in the game. Now for any average Tekken out there, the endings are considered one of the biggest things that separate the Tekken games from anything else on Playstation.
Yet Namco have inexplicably put little effort as far as looks are concerned on the CGI sequences of the game. This is a real burn, which could've been concentrated on a little more.
The real change in Tekken 4, as briefly described at the beginning of this review, however is best shown in the actual gameplay and content Tekken 4 has to offer. To suit with the new 3D environments, moves have been simplified as well as added to help make combat easier to get used to in Tekken 4. For the most part, the game is relatively easy for Tekken veterans to pick up and play.
The movement is still responsive, such techniques such as juggling have been made far more difficult/easier to perform in certain areas which can be looked at in both positive and negative views depending on what type of player you are in Tekken.
The new moves themselves are a welcome addition and make a nice touch to the already present set of moves. Perhaps some of the new moves are a little too easy to perform for the amount of damage they make, but this is just personal opinion more than anything else.
The levels themselves, they really do vary. Most stages in Tekken 4 are about mid size, what you kind of expect from a fighting game. However the annoyance is that they actually do vary, with the much smaller stages possibly being the most detested out of the bunch available. Why this is so is because you'll win out of luck more than anything else in these types of stages.
As for the larger stages, traps are far more difficult to find in these types of levels. Namco have took the time to realise this by adding a stage point select, normally being out of A, B or C but it is hard to memorise where each of these alphabetical points will place you.
As far as navigating throughout the stages themselves are, the game still plays like a 2D fighter with making the player having to push a little harder to make diagonal movements, the way it should be as far as this reviewer is concerned.
Tekken 4 also marks the return of a new and enhanced version of the Tekken Force mode. This mode is also fully 3D however due to that reason has a good few problems that makes it an unlikeable feature in the new game.
Tekken Force features a lock-on mode, which sadly should've been left out of the game during it's development cycle. It makes the player vulnerable and sadly makes the mode much harder to play as a result. Even worse, it is a necessity to play to unlock one of the stages of the game, a sad reward for the amount of effort required in the mode itself.
Music in Tekken 4 is a little disappointing primarily due to that it a lot more generic and uninspired unlike the previous games in the series. Unusually one of the stages plays music from older Tekken games, although personally this should've been for all stages considering the lack of emotion the new Tekken songs have.
Annoyingly, you can still listen to these tracks in the music player featured as one of the extras in Tekken 4, yet this player lacks any of the songs from the previous Tekken games.
On the other hand however, Tekken 4 has good voice acting, a normally unnecessary feature for a fighting game used fantastically in the cinematic scenes. It is also the first time we've heard the Tekken characters really say some dialogue. The new voice cast is fine overall, even if they sound nothing like what we've gotten used to in the older Tekken games.
Despite all of the issues already mentioned so far, Tekken 4 falls flat on its back because of content. Tekken 4 lacks any new modes or big enhancements. Time Attack, Team Battle, Survival and Theatre modes all make a comeback, as well as an enhanced Training mode and Tekken Force mode yet nothing we haven't seen before has made an appearance in Tekken 4 which takes a toll on the life span of the game itself.
Considering the possibilities of Tekken 4's new graphical engine and the Playstation 2's high storage DVDs, a lot more could have been accomplished in terms of content in Tekken 4. OK so we have a lovely looking new game, literally built from the ground up; spawning a new fan base for the game entirely.
Yet the majority of Tekken fans will find it hard not to be disappointed in some way that mini-games like Tekken Bowling, wire-frame mode and the list of characters themselves are missing from this latest Tekken game.
But the game is still pretty good, even if it has a few problems more than then typical Tekken sequel. Namco has turned a new leaf with Tekken 4. While the die-hard Tekken fans will jump to this game and discover more than a few disappointments with it, presuming it is "just another sequel".
The not so average gamer will like that they're seeing a totally different game in Tekken 4, one game that has a lot of potential to be one of the best games on Playstation 2 given a little bit more on the formula.