Are you Tekken to me? (Tekken 3 (PS))

Member Name: tom1clare

Product:	Tekken 3 (PS)
Date:	26/10/03 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gorgeous visuals, Gameplay tuned to perfection, Great longevity

Disadvantages: Too similar to Tekken 2, Not many new ideas

Tekken 3 would be the final PSOne instalment for the legendary beat 'em up series, despite prolonged but unfounded rumours of Tekken Tag Tornament making it's way to the little grey wonderbox. By the time the third Tekken was released in Autumn in 1998, it had become the most highly-anticipated fighting game ever made.

People were expecting the best beat 'em up ever created, chiefly due to it's magnificent predecessor rewriting the fighting rulebook. Did Tekken 3 deliver? Just about.

So what we have here is a one-on-one battler whereby to win an individual fight, you must knock out your opponent, whilst trying to avoid taking a battering yourself. Fights take place in 3D environments, but as always, the action is played in two dimensions.

As is customary in Tekken, only the thinest of plotlines is required as an excuse for another Iron Fist Tornament (which takes place in the guise of an Arcade Mode). Character motivations range from the usual revenge, glory and justice, to wanting a theme park built in the event of victory. Well it is Japanese after all!

First impressions? Mixed. Everything seems slightly over-familiar; the title screen and game mode list both closely mimic those seen in Tekken 2, and even the majority of the playable characters are the same.

Delve into the action though and, pleasingly, it is noticably smoother than before. Combinations and throws can be pulled off with astonishing fluidity and with not a hint of slow-down in the gameplay. The developers, Namco, have never been known for their great PAL (UK/Europe) conversions of PlayStation games, but to be fair, it isn't much slower than the US version - little noticable difference.

Most of the modes initially available are the same as in Tekken 2 - Arcade is the place to go if you wish to unlock extra fighters and full-motion video endings, whereby winning ten fights will gain you great rewards. Team Battle allows you to
fight as a group, with teams as large as 8 members strong, whilst Time Attack is similar to Arcade except it records how fast you win your ten fights in. Finally, there is good old Survival - it speaks for itself really; see how many fights you can endure on a limited lifeforce gauge.

So, it starts with a foundation of decent, tried-and-tested modes rather than a great showing of originality - it leaves that to it's two new modes, which are sadly a case of style over substance. Tekken Force harks back to the olden days of scrolling beat 'em ups (anyone who has played a Streets of Rage or Double Dragon will know the score), whereby you must lead one character through a hord of enemies until you come to an end of level boss and so on. It's an odd mode, and not all that succesful at what it attempts - it seems to want to allow the feel of normal Tekken but in three dimensions, resulting in a wooden feeling, strange effort. The other new mode is the utterly bizarre Tekken Ball, where (would you believe) fighters take it in turns to smack a beach ball at each other as viciously as possible...The one plus point being the cool beach background you get to admire!

But what is it like to play I hear you ask? Well, beat 'em up veterans will be right at home here as the general feel of the game is unchanged - just a bit quicker and smoother really, but the real beauty of Tekken 3 is how easily even complete beginners can get into the game and find themselves instantly hooked. The punch/kick moves are an absolute doddle to pull off - just a couple of button taps and you can expect to witness some truly outrageous martial arts manoeuvre. It proves just as rewarding in the long-term though, as tougher moves and records are there to be mastered and beaten. The huge selection of 34 fighters and the great diversity of moves and styles on offer means there is a character to suit everyone.

Visually, it's an absolute treat. In-game, it boas
ts some amazing character animations (you feel like your blows really connect) and stunning background locations, made all the more impressive by the relentless speed that everything takes place at. There is never a hint of a flaw at any point during the game, no matter how heated encounters get. Namco weren't content to settle with in-game graphical excellence either - they have really stretched the PlayStation's power to the limit with the superb cinematic endings, of which there are more than thiry to discover.

The sound does it's job well. Understandably, it wasn't going to be all that great (it never is in beat 'em up games), as the music is meant simply to accompany the action rather than build an atmosphere around it. The sound effects are decent though; the predictable grunts and squeals of the fighters are all that could be expected in this department.

With all the established modes and huge selection of characters and bonuses to offer, Tekken 3 will have no problem engaging the player for decent lengths of time should they get into it - the two-player mode is especially endearing (although it can get very competitive at times!). It is an extremely common game and so you can probably pick it up for peanuts these days, and yes, it is suitable for kids as there is nothing overtly graphic or obscene in here!

Ultimately, it manages to surpass Tekken 2 thanks to it's near-perfect, tweaked gameplay. There is no doubt Tekken 3 could have been better - a little more innovation wouldn't have gone amiss, the new modes were rather underwhelming, and you get the impression the developers rather played the project safe; not daring to change anything significantly presentation or gameplay-wise, although they do say if it ain't broke don't fix it... As an overall game though, it packs a real punch (sorry) and remains the daddy of the 3D beat 'em up genre on the PlayStation.

Summary: