Tekken: Dark Resurrection PS3 Review

It was only a matter of time before Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection was going to be released on something other than a handheld. Serious fighting fans weren’t all that pleased about having the best version of Tekken 5 on the PSP. There was nothing wrong with the game; on the contrary it managed to prove that you can make a fantastic fighter for a handheld. It just however didn’t seem to be the right system for the series. Tekken has a fairly large fan base. They wanted to be capable to visit meet ups, use pads and the hardcore arcade fighting sticks all while punching the hell out of each other, sounds great fun doesn’t it? And now they finally get their wish.

Namco Bandai decided to port over the arcade version of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection to the Playstation 3, specifically the Playstation Store. This means that you won’t be getting all those nifty extras and mini games that have filled up the console version of Tekken games over the years. No bowling, no volleyball, this is a straight bare bones port of the arcade game, but don’t let that put a doubt in your mind. This is a great fighting game with 1080p glory for a stupidly cheap price. Namco has managed to somehow give you this game for a measly £6.99 (The PSP version is £29.99 R.R.P) and has really set the quality for polished products, content and prices on the downloadable games market.

So for the lovely price of £6.99 what exactly do you get? For starters you have access to all 34 characters plus one bonus playable one that hasn’t been available before. This is the boss Jinpachi Mishima, but like most bosses in the fighting genre, he’s pretty much one of them fun-to-try characters, but not many people will be using him lot. As for modes of play; the game includes the Arcade mode, Ghost mode and VS mode.

Arcade Mode is what you’d expect from the name. You go about fighting the CPU until you arrive at the boss. It’s more of a time attack than anything else. Ghost Mode on the other hand is trying to simulate the arcade experience. You will fight forever until you decide to quit/not continue, but on the way you meet all sorts of weird-named opponents. Each opponent has a customized character and rank. This shows you how good they are. After beating one you have a choice of three more that you get to select to fight next. The opponents have a lot of different approaches, trying to replicate the vast differences in how players play Tekken. If you look at it this way, it’s like the Tekken Dojo/Virtua Fighter Quest but without a fancy menu and as much detail. It does still manage to keep life in the game because of the vast amount of different people you get to fight against. This is the mode you’ll be spending the most time in; it also earns you a lot more money than playing the Arcade Mode. VS mode is your standard one-on-one. The game includes scoreboards but there’s no online here, not even the scoreboards are, but you probably already guessed that since it is an arcade port.

If you’re fairly new to the Tekken series you’re going to be a bit stuck and troubled at the start. Obviously being an Arcade port means there is no precise training mode. All you get is the command list for the moves on the pause menu. It’s going to be a annoying experience learning all the moves, but certainly worthwhile after you’ve got them out and are kicking arse and taking names.

As mentioned earlier, playing the game earns you money to spend. There is a gallery section that allows you to spend Tekken Gold to download artwork for the game’s cast of characters. The endings for the new characters are also there to purchase. Namco could easily add more videos for the other characters if they see fit, but for the mean time there are just three endings to buy. Another reason, which will be the one to sap away all your cash, is the customization of characters. Call it “Dress-Me-Up Barbie” for Tekken. You’ll find some bizarre and wonderful things to apply to your fighter. Law with a ramen hat and frying pan? The people at Namco have a unique dress sense that’s for sure.

One thing that really helps it feel just like the Arcade is how the game looks. It allows you to run up all the way to 1080p and boy it looks really sharp and clear. It also shows that the game wasn’t built from the ground up on the system as less impressive textures and some awkward character models show up in this otherwise, very nice and colourful looking game. It’s certainly one of the best downloadable games, graphically, for any console so far. Music and all those bone crunching sounds are a perfect rip from the arcade version. Loading times are also minimal thanks to the game being on the hard drive.

It’s amazing at the end of it all what you are actually getting for the price. It’s just what Sony needed on the Playstation Store to show its users that this is what we can deliver to you. Namco Bandai has packaged Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection together well and at the same time sent out a big sign to everyone else trying to put software down the digital download way. While doing this way has limited the content of the game, it doesn’t harm the experience in the game itself and for £6.99 (No fooling with working out just how many points that is here) it’s certainly hard not to recommend it to Playstation 3 owners.

Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection kicks arse and isn’t going to damage your wallet in the meantime. Splendid Fighter for a splendid price.

8.0 out of 10