Tekken 6: Bring it Home

Will the release of Tekken 6 reignite the “What is the greatest fighting game of all time” debate? Possibly. But we’re not going to get bogged down in such pointless meanderings here. We could waste several thousand words, a good few months and an astonishing number of cubic square metres of breath trying to argue the toss between Tekken, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Dead or Alive, Soul Calibur and the like. We could, in fact, go all the way back to 1985 and drag The Way of the Exploding Fist into the debate, but that might be taking things a little too far.

No. Despite the rich, decades-spanning history of the fighting game, only one thing really matters, and that is whether or not Tekken 6 is any flippin' good. If you're Japanese, you already know the answer, because T6 first appeared in Japanese arcades in 2007 using a PlayStation 3-based arcade board. An update, entitled Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, followed in 2008 and it is this game that the home version is based on, albeit with a shed-load of added content.

World Domination

Followers of the series will already be aware of the rather contrived meanderings of the Tekken story. We say contrived because the story here is a ludicrously complex way of simply setting the scene for a Martial Arts contest. It involves Jin Kazama's taking over of the Mishima Zaibatsu and his plans for world domination - inconvenient for his father Kazuya Mishima who harbours similar megalomaniacal desires. The old man places a bounty on Jin's head so Jin decides to – yes we got there in the end – hold The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 in order to defeat Kazuya.

If Tekken is judged on playable characters alone then it's already a winner. T6 feature more than 40 old friends including Anna Williams, Eddy Gordo, Lei Wulong, Marshall Law and the like. But we also get to welcome eight brand-new fighters, and although we don’t have space here to introduce all of them, highlights include Zafina, who boasts spider-like moves, Rojo, a Spanish matador, NANCY-MI647J, a robotic boss character and Alisa Boskonovitch, a cybernetically-enhanced combatant with jets and spinning limbs.

Weapons Included

Unlike the arcade game – which, as you'd expect, is just a versus mash-up – the home version of Tekken 6 features a Scenario mode which regular Tekken players will recognise as similar to the Tekken Force and Devil Within modes from previous games. This Scenario mode can be played co-operatively with two players and involves wandering from location to location. When enemies are encountered the view switches to normal Tekken mode and battle commences. In this mode players are also able to pick up and use a variety of weapons.

Outside of Scenario mode it's business as usual with players taking on all comers in an attempt to become King of Iron Fist. However, there are some key differences to previous chapters: combat arenas are bigger than before with more interactive elements so fighters will be able to smash through walls and floors in order to break through to new areas; there's a new rage system which causes players to fly into a rage when their energy is low, thus temporarily enhancing their power; and players are also able to bounce opponents off the ground in order to maintain and continue combos.

Finally, any players who fancy taking their violent urges to a wider audience can do so in the online Versus mode playable via PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. So, just in case you were in any doubt up to this point, Tekken 6 is the most comprehensive chapter in the series yet. And, to answer the original question, yes, it’s flippin’ good.

GAME's Verdict

• Looks amazing
• Eight new characters
• Scenario mode
• New combat features
• Online battles

• It's just fighting

Review by: Simon 'King of Woollen Fist' Kirrane
Version Tested: PS3/X360
Review Published: 28.10.09