The Tekken series has always been a strange one for me. While the first 3 games were being praised on the PSone, they paled in comparison to SEGA's Virtua Fighter 2 personally. The Tekken series has always felt slow, robotic and rather clumsy when compared to the smooth control and movement that the Virtua Fighter, and later theSoul Calibur games, offered. With Tekken 4, Namco tried to address some of the series' earlier criticisms by offering more 3D movement and interactive environments, but even the most hardened fans couldn’t help feel disappointed with the messy outcome and this left the series lagging further and further behind the ever improvingVirtua Fighter games. Tekken 5 however, aims to go back to its more successful roots. Empty promises or is Tekken finally on par with SEGA's finest? 
Well, in a word, yes. While it still feels a lot like Tekken in the way it plays, it's no longer that slow, laboured fighting game I once knew. This is mainly down to the general increase in speed the game has been given, which above all other things, makes the game a great deal more fun than before. In a game that is all about taking the advantage of mistakes, keeping your momentum and overwhelming your opponent rather than the cerebral battles of Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution, the speed increase benefits Tekken immensely giving matches a much more frantic, and enjoyable feel than ever before.
Gone are the tight, claustrophobic enclosures of the previous game too and are instead replaced with far more open environments helping turn battles into something more skilled than a button mashing contest. Control remains as familiar as ever before, with each face button controlling the fighter's individual limbs and are, overall, more responsive than in previous games with all the usual kinds of throws and attacks available using the customary direction and button combinations you’d expect as well as the odd new ability such as the low parry move – a godsend in dealing with the amount of low sweeps the series is famous for.
Asuka Kazama, one of 3 new fighters.
Along with the usual cast of regulars, Tekken 5 offers three new characters to get grips with. There's a ninja called Raven who bears more than a slight resemblance to Wesley Snipes from the Blade films, a Chinese kenpo master Feng Wei and Asuka, a fearless Japanese schoolgirl who never backs down from a fight. Of the three, Raven is the easiest for the novice player to get to grips with and feels a little like a mix of Hayabusa and Hayate from the Dead or Alive games. Feng is very much the character for the master as he’s all about sharp, decisive blows rather than mindless flurries of attacks. Lastly, there's Asuka who’s rather reminiscent of Jun from Tekken 2 and for me, is the best addition to the roster. All of the returning characters remain largely untouched give or take the odd extra throw of combo, while the likes of Christie and Bryan, have been thankfully tweaked and are less cheesy as a result.
Tekken 5 also features some tweaks in the game modes too. While Story, Time Attack, Vs and Team Battle are all pretty much the same as before, Arcade now works with a Virtua Fighter 4 ranking system. It also gives you a choice of who you fight next (each of varying skill and rank) which is nice as you can avoid fighting who you want and offers far more longevity as a result, especially as you know earn money as you play. Again, much like SEGA's game, money can be spent to customize your character with added costumes, colours and various zany and outrageous accessories. Although you can't alter your character to quite the same degree as you can in Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution, there's enough silly sunglasses and wacky haircuts in there to entertain most people.
Hey, isn't that........Wesley Snipes?!
While Tekken 5 is full of improvements, there's still some noteworthy flaws that hold it back from true greatness. The first problem I have is with the final boss in the Story mode, Jinpachi Mishima who has to be the cheapest boss outside of an SNK fighter. It wouldn't be a problem if you could just avoid Story mode, but you need to finish it to unlock characters so to see everything this game has to offers you’re going to have to beat him multiple times. Just make sure you’ve got a nearby cushion or family member to punch, because you're going to need it with the amount of frustration he brings. Imbalance issues are still a problem too, despite the tweaks made fromTekken 4. Heihachi is overpowered, which is not surprising given he's been a boss character in the past and Steve Fox, amongst others, veer on the edge of cheapness. Overpowered characters aren't the real problem though, it's the fact there's too many weak ones. Anna for example is still useless, while the likes of bears and kangaroos should have been dumped out of this game long ago, as should the customary scrolling brawler mode. In 'Devil Within' you control Jin though dull and repetitive grey corridors as you beat up endless look-alike robot Jacks. If you're lucky you might get a crate to push or a switch to press, but otherwise the only challenge you face is trying to control the appalling camera. Thankfully, the thing that is unlocked for beating this mode can be gained by playing 200fights anyway so you never even have to touch this and I strongly advise for the sake of your health that you don't.
Graphically, Tekken 5 is easily one of the best looking games on the PS2, if not the best. The character models are well rendered, superbly animated and move much more realistically than the Tekken games ever have. Textures are sharp and fairly detailed, especially on clothing. Even more impressive are the environments than you fight in. The moonlit fields, the gushing waterfalls, the underground treasure caves, it all looks stunning. In classic Namco style, Tekken 5 opens with a typically stunning CG intro and then with equally impressive cutscenes throughout Story mode. There's also some beautifully drawn stills mixed in there too. Admittedly, Tekken 5 seems to be a little cobbled together at times with its choice of environments, always settling for variety over continuity – as to why 2 people would be fighting amongst penguins in Antarctica or battling beside a hotel poolside I don’t know but at least what there is looks good, even if it doesn't make sense. The game does support 16:9 mode, but it's not really a true widescreen picture, rather a 4:3 made to look by cutting a bit from the top and the bottom, so you won't be able to see the fighters feet at times as a result.
Christie's spinneroonie is so good it even Booker T would be impressed.
Tekken 5's music is more diverse and less repetitive than any of its predecessors, is of a constant high quality throughout and makes for a wholly memorable soundtrack as a result. Commendably, the voice acting is solid this time around too with the characters all speaking their proper language without ridiculous accents (with subtitles in the case of the Chinese, Japanese, etc)
While the CPU's AI is solid, like all fighting games, Versus play is where this game comes alive and is source for much of the games longevity. With an abundance of characters on offer, there’s plenty here to keep you and a friend(s) busy for months. That's not to say you shouldn't buy it solely for the single player, quite the opposite in fact. With plenty of characters, modes, movie endings, difficulty settings and a worthwhile arcade challenge, Tekken 5 gives you plenty for your money. But if that wasn’t enough, it also features a look at the history of the series, as the first threeTekken games are included on the same disc. Admitted, Tekken 1 looks and plays rather hideously by today's standards, but Tekken 3 stands the test of time somewhat though I think Tekken 2 looks the best for some reason. The emulation is impressive with all three games being based on their arcade versions (but including PSone additions)
So finally, a Tekken I can enjoy. The injection of pace is really what the series has been crying out for, and with Tekken 5 it has it. Be it for the casual player, or the dedicated master, Tekken 5 plays more smoothly and more naturally and is a far better game for it. Sure, Tekken 5 does not bring anything new to the Fighting Game genre, but that doesn't in any way stop it being great fighting game. Like SEGA did with Virtua Fighter 4 after Virtua Fighter 3, Namco took a step back in some areas and got rid of questionable features found in Tekken 4 such as fighting at different ground height and the push ability, but they improved the core gameplay in many other areas. In that respect, Tekken 5 is actually more like Tekken 3 than it doesTekken 4, something I feel most fans will welcome. Sure, there are still a few balance problems and the final boss' cheapness should be a criminal offence, but the game plays superbly and should be on any fighting game fan's shopping list. If Namco show the same degree of improvement with its next game, SEGA will have their work cut out in trying to top it.
System Requirements:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, Athlon x2 minimum
Memory: 2 GB
Video: GeForce 8 Series graphics card, Radeon 4670 1GB
Sound: sound card compatible with DirectX 9
Trailer
Note: This is torrent file so you must install Bit Torrent first....
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