Three old campaigners return to do battle once again in Tekken 5 and Namco have released artwork showing off their new (ish) look. The character art is from the forthcoming arcade version, which is out towards the end of the year in Japan. The PS2-exclusive port is scheduled for a 2005 release.
Craig Marduk is the most recent Tekken addition of the three, having first featured in Tekken 4, and his story is simply that he has the hump with King, who slapped him silly in the last Tekken tournament. Seasoned fighter Julia Chang still flies her tribal colours and enters the tourney to retrieve research data concerning a lost forest. Finally, we get to see Jack-5. Gunjack's have been present since the original Tekken and this incarnation is entered into Namco's fight club, by its creator June, simply to test its power.
Tekken has always been a stylish and polished beat-'em-up and it's going to be more of the same this time around. Also, the character stories have always been naff - yep, that hasn't changed either.
Titbits concerning the fighter roster include a return for Kuma, Bruce Irvin, Anna Williams and Eddy Gordo. Most interestingly, despite what the Tekken 5 trailer says, Heihachi is not dead. Take a to see the other fighters appearing in Tekken 5.
The best news gameplay wise, although tentative, is that it appears the tag feature returns. Now that would be nice...
Tekken 5 is scheduled to be released in the arcade's near the year's end and on PS2 in 2005
