Joystiq hands-on: Tekken 6 (PS3/360)
We don't know what's taken Namco so long to bring Tekken 6 home -- it was released in arcades November 2007, for crying out loud -- but we can finally say, after a not-really-all-that-unexpected announcement that the game would be appearing on Xbox 360 as well as PlayStation 3 and seeing loads of screenshots of the console version, we've finally played it. On a real, honest-to-goodness PS3. (We checked to make sure the cables weren't running to a hidden arcade cabinet.)
This was our first experience with the game, not having access to an arcade willing to shell out beaucoup bucks for a machine. But we'd played enough Tekken in the past (most recently, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection on PS3) to be able to get a feel for this new installment. So, what makes it worthy of being one more than five? find out after the break!%Gallery-51403%
As we said, the version of Tekken 6 being demo'd at Namco Bandai's "Editors Day" in San Francisco was running on PlayStation 3. Although we counted 40 unlocked characters, company reps were quick to yank the controllers away when we tried to select anyone apart from Jin, Kazuya, Bob and Zafina -- the latter two being new to the series beginning with this installment.
Bob is a big (and we mean big) bruiser reminiscent of Street Fighter IV's Rufus, only with a blatant disregard for anyone seeing his boxers. Zafina, we found, actually played a lot like Soul Calibur's Valdo, only without the bondage gear and general ick factor.
16 stages were available in this build, and the handful of fights we participated in took place on a destroyed freeway overpass, the roof of a rain-drenched skyscraper and -- our favorite -- in the middle of a village, surrounded by livestock. Does it make us bad people to admit we had fun kicking pigs 'til they went flying?
Tekken 6 hasn't really been a #1 stunner in the screenshots released thus far. In fact, we'd started to worry a bit after comparing it to the likes of Soul Calibur IV. Seems it was all for naught, as it looks absolutely jaw-dropping in motion. We immediately noticed that every character's animations have been completely re-done; the result is something that, to us, made the fights look more like they were out of a choreographed martial arts film. Other details, such as fabric textures, environment details and really nice lighting were also much more effective in action.
In terms of the fighting system itself, we weren't able to get too deep as newcomers to its nuances, but we definitely got a feel for the newly elongated life meters and the lengthier juggles that necessitated. We didn't get to knock anyone through walls or floors as seen in the trailer above, though.
The build was also bare bones in terms of any content beyond versus mode. Namco assured those in attendance that the game "will include console-specific content the team is known for." We'll hopefully get to see some of that -- not to mention play as the 36 other characters -- between now and the game's fall release. From what we played, it's clear Tekken is at the top of its game -- but are you still game to play it? Let us know in comments, and enjoy the gameplay video below!
