Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion

 

I have owned every Tekken game made, except the PSP version of Tekken 5.  It has always been my favorite fighting game series, from its core fighting engine to its zany ending movies.  In Tekken 6 everything that has made past Tekken games great is present, plus a lot more.  Are there problems?  Sure—and the network issues are particularly disappointing—but the overall package is a step above other fighters.  
     First of all, the core fighting mechanic is as solid as ever.  Tekken is easy to pick up, which makes it a joy to try new characters.  It is when I am fighting with Paul, however, that the depth of Tekken really starts to shine.  Ten hit combos are hard to pull off, but rewarding.  I remember spending hours learning each of Paul's combos and the joy of pulling them off in an arcade against an unsuspecting opponent.  I especially like the juggling because somehow it never feels cheap (except when the end boss is doing it to me).  And that really is my biggest complaint about Tekken 6, the end boss.  The guy is ridiculously cheap.  They do not even seem to try and hide it.  Really, this is a complaint that can be leveled at any fighting game, but it just feels so wrong juxtaposed with the incredibly tight balancing of the rest of the characters.  
Beyond the actual fighting there is a lot to be had in Tekken 6.  Before I got to play the game myself I heard a lot of varying opinions of the campaign mode; opinions from it is great and addicting to it is completely forgettable.  When I finally got to play it I was blown away by how much I liked it.  Sure the camera can really suck at times and it is repetitive, but there are a few things that make it a lot of fun for me.  The story is ridiculous, bordering on incomprehensible but I love it.  Before the world of Tekken had been relegated to an intro movie and ending movies.  Now, it really makes the player feel he or she is in the world of Tekken; the crazy senseless world of Tekken.  The other thing that makes the scenario mode great is the item pick up system.  There is an enormous amount of loot you can get and each has its own attribute that it adds to the character.  It is not a deep system, but adds an addictive layer to a fun mode.  The great thing about these items is that you can take them out of scenario mode, albeit without the attributes.  Dressing up your character is a lot of fun and it is a deeper customization system than I have seen in any other fighter. 
    The graphics in Tekken 6 are a mixed bag.  The character models look great during one on one fights thanks to the added detail and beautiful lighting, but in scenario mode they look very dated.  The levels are interesting but lack the beauty which levels in previous Tekken games have had.  It is definitely apparent the game is based on an arcade game two years old, but it still holds up thanks mainly to the lighting and some great motion blur.
    I am still holding out hope they put out a patch for the online portion of this game, because right now I will not even play it.  I tried one match and from what I hear I had a relatively good experience.  But it was still not worth it.  I do like that you can download ghost data, but I wish there was a way of picking what ghost you want to face off against. Instead you have to hope you run into it during the ghost mode.  But still it is a good idea.  
    Despite the basically unplayable online mode and some long load times, I have really enjoyed Tekken 6.  I am not sure it will dethrone Tekken 3 and 5 as my two personal favorites of the series, but it does add a very enjoyable mode in scenario mode and looks and plays great.