The handling is a little clunky – as you’d expect, having imported the control setup from the Versus mode – and this doesn’t flow with the same panache as a God of War. However, the soft lock setup works well to ensure that once the fights kick-in you feel in control, and in fact have a wealth of moves and tactics a typical melee combat adventure couldn’t match.
The Scenario Mode is an alternate play mode though, so you can forgive it any shortfalls, and when playing online with a friend it’s sure to be great fun. Expect there to be great competition to collect the best weapons and items as you pound your way to next boss encounter.
Putting Scenario Mode aside, the main Tekken 6 experience is a polished affair. Coming off the back of last summer’s Soul Calibur IV, which was a little flakey in places compared to past games, Namco had to prove it’s still the best at 3D beat-‘em-ups. The controls are incredibly responsive and the old Tekken rhythm comes back in seconds; punching in the button combos releases streams of linked moves and each character has their own strengths as well as vertical and horizontal attacks to master and counter.
The new girl Alisa deserves special mention as she’s a quirky character for the Tekken roster. Her basic moves fit with punch and kick combos released as normal, but her deeper special combos turn her body into a weapon as chainsaws sprout from her arms. The reason? Sexy Alisa is a robot. Is she the cheapest character in Tekken 6? Time will tell.
Above: We're watching you, Alisa...
Of the other characters, there’s plenty of choice. Tekken 6 has the largest roster of fighters in the series history with 40 characters to pick from the moment you load the game. No unlocking - they’re all there to experiment with, including the five other new characters to the series – Bob, Lars, Zefina, Leo and Miguel. That said, there are hundreds of extra items to unlock and play with to ensure your modified character looks cool online – new clothes, accessories and even new abilities will be on offer to tinker with. This last one is interesting - one of the abilities shown recently was the option to call on a gaggle of chickens to peck at your foe as you let rip with a combo. Weird.
