| |
System:
Arcade
Genre:
Beat 'Em Up
Publisher:
Namco
Developer:
Namco
Players:
-
Release date/year:
2001
Other systems:
-
|
|
- Tekken 4
-
2001 Namco - Namco - Arcade
Finishing off the Tekken series, you’d have to wonder if there is anything left in the Tekken line that could be new or innovative. We’ve been through the side stepping and all of the link together throws. Characters that have drifted in and out of the series, all coming together for Tekken Tag and now this sequel in a series that is slowly becoming drawn out. With the amount of depth and skill that it takes to master a single character to use effectively, where could Tekken 4 go wrong? I’ll tell you.
-
The Game Play
Okay, with the shortened roster, you now have fewer characters than you did in Tekken Tag. You have a fair amount of returning characters such as Law, Lei and King and then you have some new characters such as Christie and Marduk. However, with the new characters, what you effectively have is copies of characters that we’ve already seen and played with in one form or another. Characters are now over-powered or under-attributed depending on whom they fight against and even the play mechanics are off in some senses.
Where you had depth before in having to learn a character, now you simply have to press them up against a wall and keep pounding on them until the power bar depletes completely. Your computer opponent has a wild way of stomping on you no matter what you do in the later stages and unless you know the old tricks of Eddie Gordo, then using Christie is an exercise in futility. If you’re catching the hint, this is not the same Tekken that most of use have played and practiced on, but more of a ghost of its former self!
The control that you find here is the same as it always as been, with most of the moves requiring a button combination in conjunction with the directional stick. Once you get into the mode of getting a few moves down, then you’re pretty much ready for battle, but don’t do this during a match, or you’ll have your ass handed to you. The move lists for all of the returning characters have pretty much remained the same with only some minor changes, but until you’ve played with the new characters a little bit, its all a mystery.
-
The Visuals
Another part of the game that has been changed in a bad way in the respect that the characters no longer look life-like but rather animated to the point of belonging in an anime video. The shading that was there before has been replaced with bright cell shading and although the backgrounds are detailed and pretty to look at, they occasionally hinder the battle. Once you look past the fact that the game looks completely different, then you’ll find that the speed of the game has been tweaked up enough with some pretty impressive visual movements by the characters as they perform.
-
The Audio
The audio here comes across as dance type music set in a fast paced fighting game. Each stage has its own personality that is set up by the stage music. While it doesn't interfere, or take away from the action, it merely accentuates the fight you're in. The sound effects range from your basic thuds and crunches to the ever popular bone snaps that sound truly sickening and add a bit of flare to fights! With that being said, most of what you hear is nothing that will detract from the game play and will actually get you more into the mood when you hear the announcer tell you to start fighting.
-
The Verdict
Tekken 4 is not the same Tekken that most of us have played and mastered. With the addition of the cheap juggling that you can do against the walls and the lack-luster move sets with the new characters, there is little here than I could personally find worthy of playing. The visuals are anime, the audio is the same dance beat it always was and the game play has been misplaced in such a way that it seems to be a waste of money to sit at the machine. If you’re into Tekken, I mean really into Tekken then stick to the older games, because this one is changed for the button-mashers everywhere and not the thinking man’s game it once was!
5/10
//KasketDarfyre
|
|
