The King of Iron Fist Tournament returns in \Tekken 5,"" the newest installment in Namco's flagship fighting series. The Tekken series has been near the top of the fighting genre for 10 years now, but many gamers were disappointed with the slower pace,""Tekken 4"" brought to the series. ""Tekken 5"" returns the series to its original breakneck pace where fights are often decided by only four or five moves.
Heihachi Mishima, the most powerful gangster/businessman/martial artist in Japan, has been killed. To find a new owner, Heihachi's company, the mysterious Mishima Zaibatsu, decides to revive the greatest fighting tournament on the planet-The King of Iron Fist Tournament. The winner will walk away with control of one of the most powerful corporation/crime organizations on the planet.
Nearly every previous ""Tekken"" fighter returns for ""Tekken 5."" Raven, Feng and Asula join Kazuya, Jin, Paul, Nina and the rest of the veteran characters. Raven, a Blade look-alike, practices the art of ninjitsu, while Feng masters the murderous art of Chinese Kenpo. Asuka, Jin's cousin, replaces Jun as Tekken's master of the juggle-heavy Kazama style martial arts.
Namco really outdid itself with ""Tekken 5's"" visuals. They are unparalled on the PlayStation 2. The character models are beautifully detailed and gorgeously animated. Each motion is remarkably fluid, and the impacts look downright painful.
Beyond the characters, each stage looks amazing. Namco pushes the PS2 father than it has ever been before. All the backdrops are animated, and react dynamically as each fight rages across them. Walls and floors crumble and crack as fighters are slammed into them. If you thought the PS2 was a graphical slouch compared to its competition, ""Tekken 5"" will make you reconsider.
The newest Tekken is no slouch in the audio department either. Hard rock and industrial techno pound through each fight, and classical piano pieces add effect to the cinema sequences. Each fighter introduces themselves at the beginning of each fight, and gloats at the end if they win, all in their own native language. Punches, kicks, falls, slams-and the guttural grunts and moans that follow them-all sound clear and brutal.
""Tekken 5"" is an icon of replay value. Aside from building an addictive and deep fighting engine that takes an average gamer weeks to master, Namco was sweet enough to include the arcade versions of the first three ""Tekkens"" as well as the classic shooter ""Star Blade"" on the disc.
In addition to the standard modes, Namco included a mini-game called ""Devil Within"" that takes Jin, the series protagonist, through many origin-revealing brawls. It is obvious from the cookie-cutter backgrounds and repetitive combat that ""Devil Within"" is meant to be no more than a distraction from the main game, but it's great for what it is. For those who like to customize, every character in the game is visually customizable using the money earned by playing through the game's many modes.
The only low point in ""Tekken 5"" comes from the difficulty. It is not uncommon to face several computer opponents in a row who seem completely oblivious to the fight, only to be blindsided by a surprisingly difficult bout. And not only does the difficulty vary unpredictably, the story mode's end boss is far and away the most frustratingly cheap in recent memory. If intent on finishing the story mode, prepare to face him-and get destroyed-many, many times.
""Tekken 5"" returns the series to top form. Refreshed graphics, razor-sharp controls and unprecedented replayability in a fighting game place ""Tekken 5"" at the top of the heap for PS2 fighting games and the fighting genre at large.
