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Tekken 7 is out now and I remember when I was a kid and the Playstation came out in stores. My best friend at the time was lucky enough to have one and I was mesmerised by the graphics, especially seeing the intro FMV of Tekken 2 on the Demo 1 disc. When finally trying the game, I was impressed with the 3D visuals and gameplay. Now five games later, can I truly say the same…?
Tekken has a story mode this time around. Taking note from what Netherealm brought to the fighting franchise, there is a problem here.
Unlike the Story given in Mortal Kombat or the DC comics fighting games, Tekken has a very messy plot and lacklustre story which is based around a family feud: Father hates son and throws him off a cliff, son rises up from the cliff seeking revenge, son has a son who grows up to hate his father and so on… plus, we have Akuma in here from Street Fighter… weird.
There’s not much to say about the story mode apart from it being very sub-par and, at times, nonsensical. It can be fun if you are a fan, I’m sure, but it comes off as just silly much like their attempt at making movies.
I’m also disappointed that the Arcade Mode had no endings, just credits.
The gameplay is very much the same with the odd variant on some moves from the past, plus the addition of overpowering charged moves.
Tekken 7 is still fun to play and I always liked the series for its more ‘hand-to-hand over special moves’ approach, but the controls feel stiffer than the likes of Tekken 2 or Tekken 3 to me. I even played these inbetween to feel the difference, and I think I’d prefer to play those over the newer addition.
I must admit, when it comes to gameplay modes, I’m very underwhelmed and miss the lack of the Tekken‘s Force Mode which was introduced in Tekken 3, as I liked having a Streets Of Rage-style game to play. I would’ve liked to have seen this appear in other fighting games, even with a two-player element, much like Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks (I know I’m a minority on this but I do like this game).
Tournament Mode is back with is a welcome addition, as I remember having much fun with this feature back playing Tekken 2. This is great for having a fighting party with friends to see who is the best between you – lots of fun as I prefer playing with friends over online play.
The graphics are great, but they don’t seem to be much of an improvement over previous titles. It’s more polished, but looks very much the same. You can see more impressive visuals here and there, but they don’t look much better than Tekken 6.
I know I’ve been very negative so far, but here I can be a little more positive. Tekken has always used an eclectic bunch of tracks to match each stage, some being melodic, with others being energetic and even bringing some dubstep in for those mechanical style stages.
Tekken has always done a great job at satisfying hit sound effects. When you hit your opponent with a heavy attack you can almost feel it, and this adds to the enjoyment of gameplay.
It’s also nice to have the Jukebox Mode feature to listen to a huge library of the music of Tekken.
For the Replay factor, if you like the modes offered and the customisation mode to change your characters’ look, you may enjoy the game more than some, but for me this will be a play here and there for maybe a week, and then go back to another game I enjoy more.
Final Notes: Tekken 7 is a disappointment that feels like it has much room to improve. I have been more impressed by other fighting games lately, but this along with Street Fighter V have really left me wondering why they are feeling stale compared to their older games. I would rather play Tekken 2 or Tekken 3 over this title, personally. I don’t this it’s from nostalgia, but from what the games offer in comparison and the gameplay feeling more enjoyable to myself.
Thanks to the Youtube channels featured for the gaming footage.
Tekken 7 is out now on PS4, Xbox One and PC, and click on the packshot for the full-size version.
Important info:
- Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Developer: Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Players: single-player, multiplayer
- HDTV options: up to 1080p
- Sound: DTS 5.1
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GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT |
6 10 6 5 |
| OVERALL | 7 |
Retro game fan, comic book reader, board game lover and film fanatic. I have loved videogames since I was 5 years old after visiting my first arcade, I have grown up with gaming since having my Atari 2600 then Commodore 64. I ended up building my own career crafting pixelised characters and have had the pleasure of meeting many of my retro gaming heroes who developed some of my absolute favourite games.