Tekken 5

The Good
Within the Tekken community, many have been split over which was the best Tekken: 4 or Tag? The reason behind that is because of T4's attempt to try out their faux 8-way run system. The experiment came with mixed results. Some loved T4, others HATED it. (This is especially true of the Tekken veterans who grew up playing through T3 and Tag.)

The result? Tekken 5 seeks to go back to it's roots of Tekken Tag and did away with some of it's experimental mechanics. To many within the Tekken community like the Tekkenzaibatsu.com, T5, whilst it was new, was considered the best Tekken to date.

It boasts a fantastically large cast of characters, each one with an incredibly large movelist. While not as deep as say, Virtual Fighter, the fighting system is fairly deep and is able to endure very high level of play.

The character customization menu, while not as robust as Virtual Fighter Evo, is definitely a fun addition and adds to some of the personal investments into the game. Plus, some of the costumes are just awesomely designed.

The Bad
- Devil Within

I can say without any hesitation that Devil Within was an after thought of a game. Honestly, it was just so bland and boring that the only reason I'd bother playing through it was to unlock the secret items that you can use for customization. (That and the perfect arcade port of the Star Blade game)

• story

yeah, it's a fighting game, so it's not really all that important. But the initial Tekken franchise had so much promise in the story department. Now? They've completely threw it out the window and it now resembles some ape-crap insane sci-fi morph. Not exactly impressive. That and a lot of the characters are just not developed very well. In fact, I dare say most of the story, like Devil Within, was tacked on at the very end to just get right to the action.

The Bottom Line
3D fighting game that goes back to it's popular roots. If you're a Tekken fan, you'll probably like it. Play for the quick action, stay for the tournament. For the rest of you non-fighting game people, there are probably more interesting games out there for you.

The Good
I liked the ability to do combos or advanced users. The graphics in this game are awesome in comparison to other Tekken games.The destructible level's are pretty cool, but they don't actually break, they just dent. I also love the little mini game within, a 3D game where your the Tekken series main character Jin.

The Bad
If you're a button masher, you may not enjoy this game as much as others would, especially if your going against an advanced a player. There is a rather strong learning curve to this game, so if you don't have patience your not going to succeed. The difference between the female characters isn't enough in my opinion. I mean they are pretty much the same character, just different skins and styles, same basic moveset though.

The Bottom Line
Should you play this game or not? Well if you like a good fighting game with lots of opportunity or you are just a fan of Tekken games, you will love Tekken 5. I mean, good combo's lots of moves, neat characters.. Good stuff! But if you are a button masher, don't worry you can still succeed, just not as well as you would hope. If your not a fan of the Tekken games, you may not be so well adjusted to this game. Overall, I'd say an awesome game from Namco again.Hard to believe, from Pacman to Tekken 5.. I sense a bit of change there.

The Good
This game's graphics, music and controls were decent, and the game actually featured story battles, which enhanced the play experience a bit, but not by much. The gameplay is back to a one-on-one system, and the King of Iron Fist Tournament is back, but those are the game's only good attributes.

The Bad
On the other hand, but there was still no 8-way run, and it was still too short for me. This game is best left alone until it is in the bargain bin for < $20

The Bottom Line
This game is an improvement, but it still does not go down smoothly.

The Good
At the very least, I can say that Tekken 5 does contain excellent arcade reproductions of Tekken 1, 2 and 3. These emulated arcade games load much faster than their Playstation counterparts, control smoothly and are an excellent history lesson on what made Tekken the popular series that it is.

The Bad
The first thing I was horrified at with Tekken 5 was the introduction, and the "wannabe Sum 41" soundtrack. An awful, post-pop metal complete with screeching vocals assaults the ear as you attempt to watch the introduction to the latest Tekken game.

Next up, a lineup of characters that are all about as interesting as a tablecloth. Sure, the old classics are here (Jin, Law and the gang) but all of the "new" characters are mystifyingly dull, including but not limited to an Eddy Gordo rip-off whom they've tried to make look like Jennifer Lopez (which also makes me lose my lunch).

On to the gameplay, it's a shocker. Shocking in that they've changed so little from Tekken 3, and what they have changed is most definitely for the worse. The system now "allows" for characters to be backed into the edge of stages, complete with inopportune camera angle changes and attempted transparency of objects in the way of the fight. It's absolutely awful and frustrating, and adds nothing to the enjoyment of the gameplay. New moves are incredibly few and far between, as are animations.

Further, every addition to Tekken 5 is stolen directly from one of the other fighting games that Namco is clearly struggling to keep up with, or to emulate (which is sad, Tekken 3 was at the top of the heap back in the day). Once you select characters you're "treated" to poor drawings of your character and opponent, stolen straight from Mortal Kombat 3 for the Super Nintendo. You've the ability to earn arcade money with which you can purchase things like hats and sunglasses in the shop, stolen straight up from Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution. The final boss is lifted directly from Dead or Alive 2 right down to his Japanese sandals, and then Namco's added a ridiculous belly-laser-cannon attack. If you're going to steal, at least steal good things, please!

And then there's the highly touted "Devil Within" action game. This game is about as interesting and involving as Fighting Force 2. Which is to say, not very much so at all. This adventure is so repetitive and aimless, I would easily play the adventure mode of Tobal No. 1 over this waste any day. Insult to injury, it takes a long time to load up and begin.

The Bottom Line
I really can't express any more fully how disappointed I was in Tekken 5, from head to toe. I wound up trading the game back in and reclaiming my copies of Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken 3 which I'd turned in after hearing about how excellent Tekken 5 was. Maybe Namco is busy putting effort into the Soul Calibur series, maybe they just don't know where to go with Tekken anymore, I'm not sure. But one thing I'm convinced of: Tekken 5 is a long way down the ladder from Tekken 3, and that's incredibly sad.