Tekken 5 for PlayStation 2

As the future of fighting games goes online (Dead or alive and mortal kombat in particular) one certain fighter manages to oppose this concept. Is this a good idea or a bad one? Well taking a look back at it all...Namco decided to bring back the good ole days of fighting. Yes for all you guys in the 80's playing the arcades, does anyone remember Street fighter II?? Yes you may be clunching your fists in rage now, why pay $50.00 dollars on something obsolete?

Well theres a reason for that. Without that formula nobody would have the gruesome Mortal kombat series or the perverted Dead or alive. Is this a rant? I will let you decide for yourself.

If anyone remember's scorpion was sub-zero, just change the color on the same character model. As Tekken has done, make multiple characters and re-use them, how "cheap" is that?

Well Namco further's that same idea by using something as fighters money which is currency exchanged after every fight to alter your characters appearance. In lamen's terms "Ohhhh wow I have a new hat!!!", other then that everything in this game is 100 percent the same as other Tekken games, or should I say "Tekken 4 with more pretty colors and shiny lights".

So just what is new with Tekken 5???

Not much.

But to better comprehend this "over the top" series, There really are only three "new" characters. Which include Raven the mysterous Wesley snipes cross over, Asuka a school girl out for revenge, and finally Feng who's out to find some sort of scroll's.

Alot of these extras use this complex system of changing between mode's which feel like a demo disk rather a full priced game. Sure you could use the arcade history, to travel back in time to Tekken 1,2, and 3, but it's not that user-friendly as one would expect.

The only pro i could think of are the amazing backgrounds and load times could be skipped in a matter of moments.

You have story mode, which has the craziest scenarios found in a fighting game, which uses the same apporach found in Tekken 3 and 4.

Then you have Arcade mode where most your fight money is earned by fighting as many Computer fighters as you can handle, earning a rank as you go along, which is never-ending assuming you dont get knocked out.

Another mode is survival which is pretty much the same as Arcade mode, except once your knocked out you cant assume another character.

Then you have Jin's role playing mode, which replaces Tekken force, it borrow's heavily from "Devil may Cry's" physic's, oddly enough called "Tekken: devil within". After playing for hours at a time, I realized the graphics were the only thing keeping this game alive. How alive you might ask? As much as I can button mash my way through 50 intense fighting bout's with all my Tekken 3 guys.

The levels are just as crazy, a space station, junk yard, a beach, a snow covered enviroment with many penguin's in the background.

The controls arent that great either, but what else is to complain about, its just using every trick in the book to make it more playable.

It's still pretty damn funny. and a enjoyable fighting game for those die hard Tekken fans, and I mean die-hard, casual gamer's would feel it's too repetitive.

Either way its a win-win situation.

Inconclusion, it's better then "Death by Degrees".