From it's roots in the arcades, Namcos fighting opus Tekken has grown to be recognized as one of the greatest game series of all time. The original Tekken, released in 1995, was a bit of a innovation, as not only was it the fastest running and best looking fighter at the time (better than Segas Virtua Fighter), it's the only fighting game (to my recollection), to this day, that allows you to change your camera angle mid fight. Since then, the series has gone from strength to strength, including new characters and gameplay innovations. In fact, part of the success of Sonys Playstation can be contributed to the release of Tekken. Now, 10 years from the release of the original Tekken, Namco releases the 5th game in the series. And this game shows that Namco have taken all their experience from past Tekkens to make one hell of a great game... To begin with, the amount of selectable characters is very impressive. The game features 33 selectable characters, most of which are returning characters from Tekkens 2 and 3. The game introduces 3 new characters. Raven (a Blade-ish character, who uses proper Ninjitsu), Feng Wei (who uses Chinese Kenpo) and Asuka (who uses a style to that of Jun from Tekken 2, meaning that fans can jump right in). With these new styles, players already have a bevy of styles to choose from, like Jeet Kune Do, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Boxing, Wrestling and many more. So if you're a huge Bruce Lee fan, select the character Law, and you can use the moves that made Lee famous (no nun-chaku in the game though). An addition exclusive to the arcade machine (the PS2 port has a similar feature) is the ability to customise the look of your characters. By purchasing a Tekken 5 Data Card, you can win money that can be used to buy items for a character. It's possible to take the card to any arcade with a Tekken 5 machine, so you can always have the character you spent ages on with you at all times. Sadly, if you have lots of favourite characters, and you want to customise each of them, you'll need to buy additional cards, but with each card costing $4-5 and allowing 500 fights before having to purchase a new one, it's a good deal, especially if you want to play the game frequently. With these new additions, does the gameplay still play the same? The answer is yes. Unlike Dead or Alive or Virtua Fighter, Tekken is easy to pick up, easy to learn and easy enough for you to beat the sh*t out of opponents. Tekken is one of the few games that you can pick up, and although there are lots of moves for each character, there are some you'll already learn. The additions made in Tekken 4 have been improved in Tekken 5. Firstly, there are no more uneven surfaces in arenas. Secondly, the walled in arenas have been improved, as now, opponents can suffer a few hits before slumping quickly to the ground, unlike in T4 where you could corner your opponent and not let up. Finally, all characters have been rebalanced, and characters are only as good as the person using them. Namco have completely redone the graphical engine for Tekken 5. The result? Beautiful. The arenas in particular look stunning, and will have you blown away with the quality of them. The character models also look stunning, and are animiated very well. The sound has also recieved an improvement. There are now character voices, and there shouldn't be any complaints about bad voice-acting, because each character speaks their native tongue. Play as a Japanese character, they will speak Japanese, English character? English voice. The music has also been redone, and some of the tunes in this game are some of the best in the entire series (but don't match my fave, the final boss tune from Tekken 2). So in the 4 years between Tekkens 4 and 5, have Namco made a lot of good improvements? The answer is a most definite yes. Firstly is the addition of a lot of fan favourite characters, meaning that old-school Tekken players can get back in the game. The customizations are good, but they can be a little limiting. But the best thing is that the game is the same, and Tekken is lucky to have such an engine which is easy to play. Graphics and Sound have been redone, and are some of the best seen in a fighting game. If you see a T5 machine, play it! It's worth your money and your time...
Hey every one. I am going to tell all of you how great is this game. That game is just amzing. Specially the gaphic. It looks so real. When it come out for PS2. Iam getting it. You all Ps2 owners gotta get this game caus... Read Full Review
Tekken 5 delivers jaw dropping graphics and incredible gameplay. The story continues where Tekken 4 left of. And the news that Heihachi Mishima is dead. There are 3 new fighters who have entered the new "King Of Iron Fis... Read Full Review
