finalark
SNORLAX
Link to original post: [drupal=2078]Review: Tekken 5[/drupal]
I was never really into Tekken (I'm more a Soul Calibur kind of guy), my only experiences prior to playing Tekken 5 were a few rounds I went in an arcade, and my friend's brother owned Tekken 3 so I played that a few times. But (as I said in a recent blog), I was in the mood for a fighter. I was in Game Stop roughly a week ago, and saw Tekken 5 on the self. I eagerly purchased it, went home, played the hell out it, grabbed a friend, played it with him, and I'm now ready to give you my review.
The story is, just like every other fighting game, a completely confusing jumbled mass of loose ends and unresolved plot points. It all revolves around this tournament called "The King of Iron Fist." Once news goes up that this tournament is being held, everyone suddenly decides that this is the tournament to enter. And everyone has their reasons to enter, ranging from making sense (like how Martial Law enters so he can use to prize money to pay for his son's medical bills) to being completely random (like how Julia enters so she can... retrieve... lost computer data?). In Story Mode, the main single player mode, you choose a character and play through his or her story. When it starts, you'll get a little slide show of art and a voice over explaining your charter's motivation for entering the tournament. From there it's pretty much exactly the same as Arcade mode, until the last battle where you fight the big bad of the game, Jinpatchi, who I swear is the cheapest boss ever to be put into a fighting game. But if you can beat him, you'll get a nice cinematic that serves as the character's ending. And these cinematics can be anything from funny (Asuka's ending) to awesome (Hwoarang's ending) to just plain weird (once again, Julia). This game's story mode kind of makes me think of how Soul Calibur IV's should have been, a fully fleshed out mode rather than just a few fights and scrolling text that you can get through in a lunch break.
The game also comes with your typical fighting games modes, Arcade, Time Attack, Survival, VS. Mode, and also Team Battle, where you and your friend pick a few characters to play as, whenever one character is defeated, you instantly switch to your next one. It's a fun little mode that they shouldn't have taken out in Soul Calibur III onward. And if you get bored of the fighting game action, there's a side game called "The Devil Within" which is about Jin learning about his past... or something like that. Anyway, it's a platformer/beat-'em-up hybrid that's surprisingly good for a little side distraction in a fighting game. Although I will admit that the bad guys feel a bit over powered, dealing more damage each blow than they should. And most of the bosses feel kind of cheep, and the lack of save points in a level can be pretty frustrating if you just want to save and take a break. This lack of save points really isn't helped by the boring, repetitive levels but hey, it's still fun to play and works as a valid little side game.
Another neat feature they put into this one are the arcade versions of Tekken, Tekken 2, and Tekken 3. And while the first two Tekkens are just kind of... "lol," Tekken 3 is still just as fun now as it was then. Oh yes, and another thing I'd like to mention is the roster. The roster is huge, diverse, and fun. They have everything in there from your typical old Chinese guy to a freaking bear. Seriously, a bear, and there's also a kangaroo. And one thing I like is that it's pretty well balanced for having such a large roster. Although there are a few things which feel kind of cheap, like how Steve can side step much faster (and easier) than everyone else, and for how easy it is to string together combos with her, Nina feels like she deals a bit too much damage. It's also worth pointing out that the game is a bit too button-masher friendly, in most fighting games it's hard for a button masher to defeat someone who knows what they're doing, but here... button mashing works a bit too well. You can also customize the characters by buying little hats and things like that in an item shop, but most of these really don't look very good or just don't feel like they're worth buying.
After it's all over and done, Tekken 5 is a great game that can be enjoyed by both Tekken fans and fighting game enthusiasts. If you can find this one, pick it up, it's worth it.
8: Great
Although I have one question for Yoshimitsu: Why so serious?
I was never really into Tekken (I'm more a Soul Calibur kind of guy), my only experiences prior to playing Tekken 5 were a few rounds I went in an arcade, and my friend's brother owned Tekken 3 so I played that a few times. But (as I said in a recent blog), I was in the mood for a fighter. I was in Game Stop roughly a week ago, and saw Tekken 5 on the self. I eagerly purchased it, went home, played the hell out it, grabbed a friend, played it with him, and I'm now ready to give you my review.
The story is, just like every other fighting game, a completely confusing jumbled mass of loose ends and unresolved plot points. It all revolves around this tournament called "The King of Iron Fist." Once news goes up that this tournament is being held, everyone suddenly decides that this is the tournament to enter. And everyone has their reasons to enter, ranging from making sense (like how Martial Law enters so he can use to prize money to pay for his son's medical bills) to being completely random (like how Julia enters so she can... retrieve... lost computer data?). In Story Mode, the main single player mode, you choose a character and play through his or her story. When it starts, you'll get a little slide show of art and a voice over explaining your charter's motivation for entering the tournament. From there it's pretty much exactly the same as Arcade mode, until the last battle where you fight the big bad of the game, Jinpatchi, who I swear is the cheapest boss ever to be put into a fighting game. But if you can beat him, you'll get a nice cinematic that serves as the character's ending. And these cinematics can be anything from funny (Asuka's ending) to awesome (Hwoarang's ending) to just plain weird (once again, Julia). This game's story mode kind of makes me think of how Soul Calibur IV's should have been, a fully fleshed out mode rather than just a few fights and scrolling text that you can get through in a lunch break.
The game also comes with your typical fighting games modes, Arcade, Time Attack, Survival, VS. Mode, and also Team Battle, where you and your friend pick a few characters to play as, whenever one character is defeated, you instantly switch to your next one. It's a fun little mode that they shouldn't have taken out in Soul Calibur III onward. And if you get bored of the fighting game action, there's a side game called "The Devil Within" which is about Jin learning about his past... or something like that. Anyway, it's a platformer/beat-'em-up hybrid that's surprisingly good for a little side distraction in a fighting game. Although I will admit that the bad guys feel a bit over powered, dealing more damage each blow than they should. And most of the bosses feel kind of cheep, and the lack of save points in a level can be pretty frustrating if you just want to save and take a break. This lack of save points really isn't helped by the boring, repetitive levels but hey, it's still fun to play and works as a valid little side game.
Another neat feature they put into this one are the arcade versions of Tekken, Tekken 2, and Tekken 3. And while the first two Tekkens are just kind of... "lol," Tekken 3 is still just as fun now as it was then. Oh yes, and another thing I'd like to mention is the roster. The roster is huge, diverse, and fun. They have everything in there from your typical old Chinese guy to a freaking bear. Seriously, a bear, and there's also a kangaroo. And one thing I like is that it's pretty well balanced for having such a large roster. Although there are a few things which feel kind of cheap, like how Steve can side step much faster (and easier) than everyone else, and for how easy it is to string together combos with her, Nina feels like she deals a bit too much damage. It's also worth pointing out that the game is a bit too button-masher friendly, in most fighting games it's hard for a button masher to defeat someone who knows what they're doing, but here... button mashing works a bit too well. You can also customize the characters by buying little hats and things like that in an item shop, but most of these really don't look very good or just don't feel like they're worth buying.
After it's all over and done, Tekken 5 is a great game that can be enjoyed by both Tekken fans and fighting game enthusiasts. If you can find this one, pick it up, it's worth it.
8: Great
Although I have one question for Yoshimitsu: Why so serious?