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Tekken 6 Preview
Written by Robert Workman on Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Namco Bandai's fighting series returns to PSP, this time with more characters and in your face combat.
Nothing can stop the Tekken franchise. After a triple threat of Tekken 5 releases a couple of years back (Tekken 5 on the PS2 and the sub-sequel Dark Resurrection on the PlayStation Network and PSP), Namco will strike back later this year with Tekken 6 for a number of platforms. Among them is the PSP, and if Dark Resurrection was any indication, we're in for another fun round of portable fighting mayhem.
Tekken 6 features a variety of characters, each skilled in a specific art of combat. For example, Bob is a big dude who specializes in old-fashioned martial arts. The muscular Craig Marduk, on the other hand uses the kickboxing style of Vale Tudo. Series veteran King finds inspiration in Japanese wrestling techniques, including body throws and a spinning piledriver. In addition, the game has a few obscure characters, including the sexy assassin Anna, the wood-bodied Mokujin and the boxing Tyrannosaurus Rex, Alex.
They all come together for the Iron Fist tournament, a fighting event where competitors battle to see who will emerge as King (or Queen). Personal tensions are already boiling, particularly between the members of the Mishima clan, including Heihachi, his son Kazuya, his grandson Jin and his father Jinpachi. The story continues in Tekken 6, with all four men involved in the future of Mishimi Zaibatsu, the family business.
Like previous games in the series, Tekken 6 is all about intense hand-to-hand combat. You won't find cheesy fireballs or projectile moves, outside of some cheap attacks used by the game's final boss. (Devil Kazuya's laser is a real energy killer.) The controls should once again be easy to use on the PSP, with the face buttons for fist and leg attacks and the d-pad for movement.
Although the visuals for the PSP version of Tekken 6 look inferior to the other versions, Namco Bandai plans to make it run just as smoothly as Dark Resurrection. If early screenshots are any indication, it should still be a great-looking game. Expect the same style of Tekken soundtrack as well, with techno inspired fighting tunes and battle anthems galore.
New modes will also be available, although Namco Bandai hasn't revealed them all. Personally, we'd like to see another Final Fight-like combat game, like the ones included in Tekken 4 and Tekken 5. Classic Tekken games wouldn't hurt either, particularly Tekken or Tekken 2 from the PSOne era. At the very least, you can expect training, survival and versus modes, including the option to challenge others through AdHoc play. After all, it wouldn't be an Iron Fist Tournament if you didn't have the option to challenge others.
Be sure to check back for more Tekken 6 coverage, and get those thumbs prepped for a beat down. We have a feeling it'll be the PSP's best fighting game.
