Tekken 5 (PS2)

Tekken is back and is this time its by far the biggest and possibly the best of all the titles in the series. There are 32 main characters available more than any other tekken, all the classics are here along with some newbies. The environment has again evolved and the level of detail makes it head and shoulders above any other the previous Tekken environments. For the first time ever there is a customization mode, where you can add accessories and costumes. These range from something enhancing to a character (Jet packs?) to some bizarre items like clown masks.

No doubt one of the best new additions to Tekken 5 is the devil within mode, there is a greater focus on developing the background story of all the characters in this game and in 'Devil Within' does that with a great insight to Jin character. There are four levels each with increasing complexity and length, at times the latter stages can become quite tiresome and frustrating as their are very few save points through the levels.

Often a criticism of any generation of games, is that older version of the game are better. Namco has attempted to address this by including the arcade versions of Tekken 1, 2, and 3 into Tekken 5. This brings a much more 'classical theme' to the game and also shows the generational development, thus in comparison the graphics for Tekken 5 are quite remarkable.

The Tekken 5 story mode is similar to previous versions of the game with each character having their own personal reason for entering the tournament and also have their own unique ending. The addition of story battles within some rounds also helps build a greater understanding of each character.

The Tekken 5 arcade mode is another thumbs up, this time round there is a ranking system, with each character starting at a beginning level attempting to fight their way up to 'tekken lord' although this is much easier said than done.

Criticisms? There are some, I personally found the money earning system a bit poor, the idea itself is quiet good but the amount you receive for each fight is very low in comparison to the price of the items in customization mode. The lack of online play will again disappoint others, although I feel the level of difficulty available should be enough to test most to their limits.

One infuriating aspects of the game is the character Jinpachi. He is the final character in story mode to defeat and it is very difficult in the beginning to accomplish this even on easy level. Why? Because of his few but very powerful moves some of which are unblockable you could be defeated in a matter of seconds. Eventually you will be able to beat him, but by then you realise he is not available to choose as a character, I can't really understand why, are Namco saving him for Tekken 6?

The bad points are just really a few technical issues and pale into insignificance when compared to the good points. This is a must for all Tekken fans and for those who haven't played any previous versions this would be a brilliant one to start with. This game is easy to learn and button bashing fans will enjoy some success to an extent. But for purists the good news is the that to truly master the game you need deadly accuracy, timing and patience. Simply put if you are looking for a fighting game for your PS2, then look no further.