Tekken is Back, Kinda

Tekken_6_CoverFor almost 15 years, Namco Bandai’s “Tekken” series has been at the forefront of the 3D fighting genre, providing everything from extra gameplay modes to a plethora of fighters in a quest to quench your ultimate gaming desires. While its newest entry, “Tekken 6” is a feast for the eyes and possesses many of the qualities that made the older games in the series so enjoyable, it fails to separate itself from those very titles, making it somewhat derivative in spite of an alluring romp overall.

Hardcore fans of the series will eat this one up, but will feel like there’s too much in terms of customization and not enough in changes via gameplay. While there is absolutely nothing from the Tekken’s gameplay engine, and the new cast of characters add even more depth and intrigue to a roster jammed packed with it, the game plays almost exactly to “Tekken Dark Resurrection” and “Tekken 5.” Sure, the graphics are better, but it feels more like a supped-up version of the best games in the series rather than something that can stand-alone.

Creating a character and taking it through the ranks is fun and interesting and opens up the wealth of customization options available, but in the end, it’s not enough to make you feel like you’re playing a brand new game in the series.

Instead, it feels like an afternoon with an old friend from college that’s grown up a little bit more.

By itself, the scenario campaign mode is a boring, busted and broken mess of an additional gameplay mode, trying its hardest to emulate the beat-em-up games of the ’80s. If you’re not playing the single-player mode or online, you’d have little reason to play it. Because of that, all the added bells and whistles don’t change anything and don’t take way from the fact that it’s a solid game.

Aside from the impressive roster, graphics and bevy of additional features, the control isn’t as sharp on the 360 as you’d expect. At times, it’s hard to pull off the combos you’d like with the analog stick. At the same time, the D-pad isn’t the most convenient option either. As a result, it takes more time to get used to the control scheme than with any of the other games in the series. The fact that the combos have been stretched out further in this game as well make it even more difficult to pull off moves, creating a situation that takes much more time and effort to get used to than it should.

In the end, with a hearty list of new characters and features, “Tekken 6” is a solid addition to the series that new fans will eat up. Older fans, however, will be left wanting even more and won’t be able to escape the feeling that they aren’t playing anything entirely new. It’s a no-win situation for Namco Bandai, but that’s what happens when you’re talking about one of the most important fighting games in video game history.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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