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Review – PSN Game – Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online (PS3)

From the launch of the original Playstation through to this latest downloadable only title, Namco’s Tekken series has been present on every piece of Sony gaming hardware. However, while the hardware may have evolved, the series arguably has only received incremental improvements and adjustments since the leap that Tekken 2 provided over its predecessor.

In terms of just the fighting mechanics, Tekken 5: DR is the pinnacle of the Tekken IP. The finely honed fighting engine from the original Tekken 5 game, is present here, yet tightened up even more and more precisely balanced than ever before. Tekken 5 vets who plough into the title, will notice that the timings for many of their characters moves have been altered and extra moves and have been afforded to many of the fighters that are present.

Also being a conversion of the Tekken 5: DR arcade game, this home conversion brings with it not just Armor King and Eddy Gordo as separate characters but also two newcomers, Lili, a spoilt rich kid who employs a deadly variation of ballet as her fighting style, and the scarred mute Russian soldier Dragunov, who specialises in the brutal fighting style of Sambo. Thankfully, both of the characters are just as balanced as the older characters in the game and bring new styles to the table, which in a game where the styles have been very similar and predictable for the last ten years, is a good thing indeed.

Currently, for all the lucky PS3 owners out there Tekken 5: DR provides the most compelling reason yet to plonk down some cash at the Playstation Store. For just £14.99, the game is an absolute steal, with the Ghost and Ranking modes lasting a long time, especially with all the extra costumes and clothing that can be unlocked for each of the combatants. There are however a couple of problems with this downloadable title.

Firstly, there is no story mode, so wave goodbye to character prologues, epilogues and cool CG endings. Secondly, (and more crucially to the gameplay) the much touted online mode suffers from jarring lag issues that make it unresponsive at best and downright unplayable when its at its worst.

Still, it’s hard to grumble considering that £14.99 gets you all the fighters (including the extremely silly powerful end boss Jinpachi as a playable character exclusive to the PS3 version), a massively exhaustive Ghost collectable mode and of course the versus mode for endless multiplayer fun with willing friends. In addition, Tekken 5: DR for the PS3 has joined the HD era, so you crank it up to 1080p and enjoy the razor sharp visuals while you are pummelling away, even though doing so exposes the age of some of the textures, but otherwise its still a very nice game to look at.

All in all, Tekken 5: DR represents a great buy for both fans of the Tekken series and also beat-em up lovers in general. Even given the games relative aforementioned failings, the game resolutely retains the essence of Tekken, which is the great fighting mechanics and awesome versus mode. Go on, splash out while it’s still £14.99, there are many, many worse things to spend that kind of money on.

Overall Score: 8.5