Tekken 6 has been one of the most successful fighting games that has been released this year and after playing it, it isn't that difficult to see why. It has a very intriguing storyline that will keep you on the edge of your seats and the graphics are fantastic when compared to other fighters such as Naruto (LOLOLOL) or Street Fighter IV.

Namco has completely changed how the player fights their way through the storyline. Rather than it's previous counterparts where you play the Arcade mode to find out how each character wins the King of the Iron Fist tournament, you play through a different style of Tekken called Scenario mode. In Scenario mode, you control your fighter through waves of enemies. You have the ability to move freely and use weapons such as iron rods, chain guns and flame throwers to smash, mow down and incinerate your enemies. You also have your lovely assistant, Alisa Bosconovitch, who helps you unravel the fascinating storyline. The player also earns money and new articles of clothing which provide powerups in Scenario Mode.

Scenario mode also contains a section called "The Arena" where a player can select a fighter and play through a number of battles (including a battle against Azazel) that depends on the character, to find out their story in the short way. For example, if we were to play as Lee, we'd verse Heihachi, Kazuya, Jin and Azazel. After you complete these battles, you unlock their cinematic which is viewable in the Theatre later on.

With the removal of the story from the classic Arcade mode, Namco merged the character ranking system and Arcade mode together. This means as you battle your way through your battles, you rank up from Kyu to Tekken Master. Namco also included a bonus stage where you fight the new version of JACK, NANCY-MI647J, who will give the player a run for their money due to him being 4 times the size of the player.

We also see the return of classic modes such as Time Attack, Team Battle, VS Battle, which is the classic version of Arcade mode and of course, Survival Mode. Each of which are virtually the same as their previous version in the former games.

When it comes to the battles, the maps have stepped up a little. The introduction of destructible environments has shifted the gameplay to a different level. These can vary from crates on the floor to sheep running away to walls and floors that can reveal an extended part of that map.

On the topic of maps, there is a lack of maps that do not have walls. The maps that have walls also seem to have a very slight problem. The walls are practically next to the two fighters. This results in lots of frustrating hits being dealt out between both players however, when the player executes some tricky combos, they can break out of those excruciatingly painful moments.

When it comes to the fighters that you can control, Namco has stepped up their number of available fighters from 30 to 36. These 6 new characters have been carefully developed inregard to character design and command lists. Namco have even obtained the help of Masashi Kishimoto, the manga artist of Naruto, to design one of the character costumes.

The character command lists have also been updated with new moves being added to certain fighters as well as some demos that are available for the user in Practice mode that can show you how your character can get your enemies stuck in chains, causing extreme carnage.

Tekken 6 has a new feature when it comes to battles called Rage Mode. A player is able to enter Rage Mode when they are on the verge of being defeated. This allows the damage being dealt by the user in rage mode to be amplified significantly, often turning the tide of a battle quite easily. Although it seems like a good idea, it can be very imbalanced as the fight can be ended by the enemy within a simple button mash.

On top of the new characters, the level of customisation has been lifted. The player can change everything about the look of their character from their clothes to their hairstyle. Tekken 6 also shows the return of Aura's which were featured in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, which when equipped to the player, provides the fighter a coloured glow around their body.

Naturally with most modern fighters, we have access to an online mode. In the main Online Menu, you have the ability to view multiple leaderboards including a Ranked match leaderboard and even a Scenario Mode leaderboard. The lobbies for matches against others is great, especially for player matches however, the matchmaking system is very difficult to play due to hosting issues and the fact that most of the people playing Tekken 6 online are overseas however, when you are in an Australian game, there is minimalistic lag (unless both players have bad hosts) and it runs very smoothly.

Overall, Tekken 6 is one of the best fighters available on the market. The variety of choices that you can choose when it comes to what fighter, what costume, what maps, what mode is spectacular and although that there are inconsistencies such as Rage Mode or the online mode, Namco have created a very smooth running fighter with stunning graphics that will keep you on the edge of your seat, whether you're a button masher or a experienced brawler. If you are looking to buy a fighter anytime soon, Tekken 6 is definately the way to go.


For more information, visit http://tekken.namco.com/

please give a list of cons and pros. and a score out of ten, cbf reading

i want to get this game sometime.

I wrote 9/10 but scratched it in the final draft. If you read it, the pros and cons are in there. I may have made it a tad ambiguous though.

i would hardly call Naruto a fighter game, its more so a Platformer.
Really good review though dalla, hopefully there will be more to come !

Well done Dalla, its a good read, i should be getting it soon, mash FTW.

CG will be adding a Tekken section soon, but the ladder is already there for signups.

good read, im getting it for christmas

got it but i have a liteon so yeh its wave 4

im getting it for christmas will give u game when i get it dalla

sounds like a 2G game

Great read. Good work Dalla, was spot on.

Nice review Dalla.

If you enjoy writing reviews, you're more then welcome to join the writing staff over on my site. I need someone who's committed, and can write well, which you can

Excellent review Dalla~, i think we have a new review ;D~

i def needa get this game. lookz mean

Massive bump but honestly this game is dissapointing. The whole campaign thing is a ******* disgrace. So baddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd. The targetting is also awful and the controls are unresponsive.

Arcade is fine though, and online is fun. I would of preffered the story for each character back in arcade though.

Oh and also, ******* lol @ lars

Edited once, 5/1/10 - 4:28pm.