Amazon.com: Tekken 5: Playstation 2: Video Games

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57 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic game with potential for months, March 18, 2005

By	Lisa Shea "LisaShea.com" - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars

Tekken 5 is the latest in the Tekken fighting game series. The graphics, gameplay and customizable outfits make it a game well worth buying!

We really enjoy fighting games and have played most that have been released. It can be easy to start comparing them to each other and to look for the best of all possible worlds in each game. Tekken 5 really does a great job compared to most of what is on the market today!

First, of course, the fighting. There are 20 characters to start with - plus a number of unlockable. The game does a GREAT job of offering you male and female, young and old, a variety of races. And unlike some other modern games, the females are actually clothed and earn your respect. You fully get the sense that each character has a background, a style, an attitude.

Every character has his or her own moves and combinations. You can master one character, and move on to learning the next character's talents. The more you learn about each character's style, the better you get in any of the combat situations. There are plenty of moves to keep you entertained for weeks, and each executes flawlessly on the screen.

Which brings us to the graphics. I really have to say that this is one of the best looking games I have seen on the PS2. Normally I give the XBox the edge on graphic quality - but there are some arenas that are just stunning. The dark chapel with orange stained glass stands out in my mind. Yes, the backgrounds are in action, the clouds move, birds fly by. You find that in just about any game in modern times. But the quality of the scenes are sometimes just amazing. Sure, there are some arenas that are a bit boring and look repetitive - there's one with dirt, dirt piles and dirt tornados which isn't graet. In general, though, someone spent a lot of time on the worlds you play in.

The graphics for the characters is also quite well done. The braids move with your action, the scraves blow, the attack moves are smooth and flowing. When you slam into the ground or a wall, it creates impacts. Sure, being a PS2, there are some limits. The ground-pieces that fly up are sometimes rather jagged looking. Still, it's about as good as I've seen.

The game has a wide range of difficulty settings, and you can choose characters that are easier or more difficult for you to play with. There's a challenge even in the easiest modes though - don't expect to button-mash your way to victory. It really pays to spend a fair amount of time in training mode, to learn the specific talents of each character.

I do have to say that when you are fighting a tough boss, it gets REALLY annoying to have the boss laugh at you - to have to sit through 5 long seconds of a replay of your failure - to then see and hear "YOU LOSE!" and then another few seconds of start-up before you try again. It's fine the first time or two, but there should be a way to skip it after that. We know we lost, already. There isn't a need for the game to grind your face in the dust for 15 seconds.

That being said, even the main boss is beatable once you learn the counter-moves to his attacks. It's a matter of study, and learning your character's unique talents. There is definitely a way to win with every character. Again, button mashing won't do the trick. It takes strategy.

Also, even though you have a 'circular world' to fight in where you can side-step left or right, it's a very close quarters game. You can't back up to set up a strategy, you can only mince a step or two back. There aren't other levels to jump down to or take advantage of. It's sort of like a sumo match, with a narrow circle to mince around in.

The sound is fast-paced fighting music. There are different styles, to go with the different arenas, but all of it is generic and repetitive. I really like some of the other games that have "real" Chinese and Japanese music, say, for temple battles. But I realize of course that some people ignore the music completely, so it all depends on what interests you. I happen to appreciate having a great music track with my game.

There are a nice variety of game options to keep you playing for months. There are of course the story modes where each character goes through stages and meets their friends and foes. There are one and two player random matches. There are all sorts of unlockables, customizations, and even a bunch of mini-games.

Highly recommended in general!

Rating: 4.5/5

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24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Includes Tekken, Tekken 2, and Tekken 3, whats not to like??, March 21, 2005

By	John M Spangler (Bryan, OH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars

I have to be honest, my PS2 has been drawing dust. Sure I have an XBOX too, but with the exception of Gran Turismo, I really wasn't playing anything for the PS2, until now!

At first glance, I never really though the PS2 could fork out a game like this. Tekken 5 is not a sequel to Tekken 4, it's a whole new game and has enough to keep you busy for some time. 30+ classic fighters from the Tekken series including three new ones, Raven, Feng, and Asuka. The game includes a massive amount of game modes, story, Arcade, time trial, practice, and even a new platform game called "Devil Inside" which is a simplistic punch kick brawling fest, but still fun to boot, more on that later. Amazingly, this one disc also includes an arcade museum mode that includes fully playable games of Tekken, Tekken 2 and Tekken 3 taken directly from the arcade! That's right, FOUR Tekken games in one, actually 5 when you include "Devil Inside", an amazing package well worth your hard earned dough.

But Tekken 5 is why we're buying this game, and I have to say this is the most in depth fighter I personally have ever played. I was a Soul Calibur junkie for years, but times change and I'm ready for something new and fresh, and Namco does it again. The game still feels very realistic like past versions and definitely for hardcore gamers who love fighting games, but still also has that arcade feel to keep the casual gamers interested too. With only 4 buttons controlling the action, the game is easy to catch on but difficult to master. It's has a steeper learning curb that's for sure, button mashers will not be able to get far by just pressing random buttons as you really need to learn some moves with your gamepad too, as the game has an extremely high difficulty level even on normal. I found something odd. The "analog stick" is not supported. I find this to be dumbfounding as I really think the control stick is better for fighting rather than the old school game pads. Why oh why no options in the control screen to activate "Analog" Because there isn't any!! Ouch. Weirdly enough though, when you play the "devil inside" mode the analog kicks in. Why not in the main game itself? Doesn't make any sense!!

Anyhoo. When I first popped in the game and played "arcade" mode I was getting beat left and right, and I'm definitely not used to using the normal game pad. The opponents are relentless too. But with practice, you'll learn the way of the force to continue on as did I. The game rewards you with new costumes, new stages and even and a few secrets, but I won't give that away. With the 30+ fighers and differnet moves to learn for each, you have extensive replay value and this one will keep you busy forever.

The gameplay takes a bite off of Tecmo's DOA series with the interaction with the environments. You can be thrown into walls, kicked off platforms, and smashed against pillars and gobs of obstacles. Copying aside, I had more fun pounding people agasint a wall then I had with DOA, the gameplay just feel better and this game hits 10 times harder than DOA ever has.

I personally wish there was a little more blood-letting, (How about some fat lips, black eyes, or some cuts and bruises, that would have been sweet for added realism, but I suppose the pain inflicted on your opponents (and you) go through is worth the price of admission. It's sometimes not right to see a beautiful woman in a 2-piece skimpy outfit being smashed with her head to ground, certainly not a good way to get a date with someone in real life, but I guess that's why this is a video game. Over time you'll learn the word "no mercy" in fighting and won't care what you do to them. Heck, pick up a buddy, and you'll have the best two player fighter since the classic Street Fighter days.

Hard hitting gamplay aside, you really won't find a sweeter looking PlayStation 2 game than Tekken 5. Tekken 5 pushes the system to the max, and even support progressive scan and wide screen mode for HD owners, this is what I'm talking about. I always thought Soul Calibur was the juciest fighter to look at, but the character models in Tekken 5 actually look better, especially when there are nearly 30+ fighters, an astounding feat. The women seem to be a little more revealing this time around, although the game still has the tame "Teen" rating, so not too much skin I suppose. I can't believe how some of the bodacious babes and other fighters look though. Are those real?

The environments are amazing too, but the problem is that you won't be appreicate it too much with the exhilerating fighting enginge that will distract you from the graphics. So far I at least notice 20+ stages and I expect to earn some more in story and arcade mode.

The fighters ine the game are as follows: Yoshimitsu, King, and Nina, Kazuya, Paul, Law, Bryan, Lei, Hwoarang, Bruce, Baek, Anna, Xiaoyu, Steve, Marduk, Christie,Raven,Asuka, Lee and Kazama and 10 unlockables from the past series too! Wow!

The Devil Inside mode is just the icing on the cake. Simplistic kck and punch platform game with even some jumping and climbing aspects. Basically it's kill the robots, find the boss, then go to the next stage. It's not Streets of Rage,but it's fun enough for anyone to have fun with it, I liked it.

If you want the best fighter around, Tekken 5 is it and with the bonuses of having Tekken, Tekken 2 and Tekken 3, this one is basically a no-brainer to own. Nothing else comes close. You'll love it. Namco does it again! Another must have for the PS2.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Number 5 happens to be my favorite number., August 2, 2005

By	ngblade017 - See all my reviews

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars

Despite offering a variety of new gameplay features, Tekken 4 was a bit of a letdown for a lot of Tekken fans. At a time when Virtua Fighter 4 was all the rage and Soul Calibur II was gaining a lot of deserved attention, Tekken seemed to have slipped out of the limelight and fallen behind. As a long time Tekken fan I thought this was a shame, as I really did enjoy Tekken 4 and felt it was a great game overall. After revolutionising arcades outside of Japan with a card-based ranking system in 2004, Tekken 5 has now hit the PlayStation 2 in an attempt to bring the series back to its well-deserved former glory.

There are no extra elements thrown into the battles this time; no breakable walls, no cliffs to fall from and the position switch from Tekken 4 is gone as well. What Tekken 5 does offer, however, is some of the finest martial arts action you can find anywhere. Each character has been revamped with plenty of new moves and animations, and like Tekken 4 there are very few "clone" characters that simply have the similar or exact moves as another character. Jin Kazama again uses a traditional Karate move set instead of the Mishima style used by Kazuya and Heihachi, while the three new characters offer not only great new styles but excellent personalities as well. Raven, a mysterious special agent apparently involved in the 'death' of Heihachi, uses an absolutely fantastic Ninjitsu style that has easily made him one of my favourite Tekken fighters ever. Feng Wei, a new Chinese warrior chasing down scrolls stolen by the Michima Zaibatsu, uses a great Chinese Kenpo technique. Finally, Asuka Kazama uses her own Kazama style based on traditional martial arts taught to her by her father.

Aside from the expected Tekken warriors such as Paul Phoenix, Yoshimitsu, Kazuya Michima, Jin Kazama, Hwoarang, Nina and Anna Williams, King, Lei Wulong, a new Jack-5 model, Martial Law (Forest must still be running around causing trouble outside of the tournaments), Julia Chang, Kuma and Panda, there are some surprise returns from characters who haven't been around as of late, some of which featured in Tekken 2 but were dropped when the game made a 19 year leap to Tekken 3. Ganryu brings his expected Sumo style back to Tekken, Bruce Irvine gives Bryan Fury a run for his money by adding another kickboxing style to the fray, even Hwoarang's mentor Baek Doo San is back, as well as Wang Jinrei and Lee Chaolan (as himself, not Violet).

Tekken 4's debut characters also return with their great styles from before, each with updated move sets. Eddy Gordo fans still need to get their fix from Christy Monteiro's lighting quick Capoeira style again, as Namco made a respectable move and left him out of the tournament once again (his storyline just didn't make sense to include him again) and British boxer extraordinaire Steve Fox brings a refreshing and unique style to Tekken 5. Finally, the murderer of Armour King and the original King from Tekken 1 and 2 returns as well; of course I'm referring to the Vale Tudo warrior Craig Marduk. Each and every character brings something unique to the game and there truly is something for every player. All the great styles make for some absolutely fantastic bouts with great motion captures for every strike; the slow motion replay at the end of each match making it that much better.

It's true that this game lacks some of the almost standard features found in games like Mortal Kombat: Deception and Dead Or Alive, like interactive arenas or online play, but the sheer fun of the battles almost makes up for it. From throws to a freeform combo system, powerful slow strikes and amazing juggle combos, Tekken 5 is what martial arts action should be all about. When a game lacks online play and flashy arena destruction, it needs to have a great fighting engine to counteract these omissions and Tekken 5 certainly does.

One thing it has over a lot of the competition is a great storyline and fantastic characters. The mysterious devil gene within Jin and Kazuya is always intriguing and makes for some epic battles and attacks, and the grandfather-father-son relationship between them and Heihechi is very cool. Almost every other character is memorable in their own way too, some due to the amount of time they've had with the series (Paul for example) and some due to fantastic character designs and personalities (Raven fits this one well.) Yoshimitsu and King are both mysterious classics in their own rights, while Bryan Fury is such an absolute badass that you can't help but like him. The Tekken cast are all much more memorable than the cast of similar titles like Virtua Fighter and Dead Or Alive for example and in my opinion they rival even the great cast of Mortal Kombat: Deception.

Though the boss in Tekken 5 almost feels like a deus ex machina that Namco pulled out to simply have a final powerful boss, he actually does have some relevance to the story. Some players will undoubtedly be turned away by the style of boss this is; instead of being a great fighter who has mastered the arts, he simply has a small variety of very powerful attacks that he repeats multiple times, one of which takes nearly all of your life and can only be strafed around (which is hard to do quickly) and he'll usually repeat the attack instantly after you dodge it, thus hitting you anyway. Though challenging for a while, once you get the hang of his attacks you should easily be able to come up with a way around him; it might just take quite a few rounds for each character.

Tekken 5 features an enhanced difficulty level, referred to as Ultra Hard that is sure to give some players a headache. The AI randomises their attacks, so it can be difficult to tell what is coming; however, Tekken vets who have been playing and mastering the game for years (or just die-hard fans of fighting games) will probably be able to overcome even the ultra hard difficulty quickly.

Of course, with every fighting game there is something equally as important as the fighters and that is where the warriors are fighting! Though Tekken 5 lacks dynamic environments that change areas as the battle progresses, it features some very clever and fantastic looking stages. For instance, the Dragon's Nest sits high atop a mountain area and displays a giant dragon in the background that falls apart when players are thrown against it. The Cathedral is an epic looking arena that features some amazing lighting and sees battles with Jin's amazing devil form. Speaking of lighting, Moonlit Wilderness has to be one of the most impressive fighting grounds I have ever seen in a game, taking place in a field full of tall grass under a bright moonlit night, near to some ancient statues, with each character emitting a beautiful glow. Stages like the Waterfall are full of puddles of water that react as characters walk over them or land in them, while Pirate's Cove has mounds of gold coins that scatter throughout the arena as the battles take place. Empty swimming pools, a penguin-infested Polar Paradise, a dojo in the process of burning down and an underground illegal fighting arena are also included, with plenty of others too.

Tekken 5's arenas are not without their share of interaction; there are plenty of objects that are destroyed when a player slams into them and almost every time a fighter lands on the ground, various cracks are made as pieces of concrete come apart. My only disappointment with the arenas is the final boss battle, which feels primitive in both design and graphics. It is also unfortunate that King's sky-tower arena has been dropped, as it could have looked truly spectacular!

In the arcades, Tekken 5 had a nifty feature that was only previously available in Japan, where the players had cards that kept their nicknames, records and customised characters on it. Hell, players could even bring their PS2 controller and plug it into the arcade! You could say the game was an arcade revolution and some of these features have been brought over to the PS2. Like Virtua Fighter 4, the arcade mode pits you against "ghosts" of real players, who play like the actual players do. You'll see their nickname displayed below their health bar, as well as their rank (ranging from beginner, 9th Kyu, up to 1st and beyond) The difficulty is determined by the challenger's rank and each ghost profile has customised characters, so they all look different from each other, even when two profiles use the same fighter. As you beat challengers you gain points that eventually allow you to level up to a higher rank. The system is a great one and adds a lot of replay to what could have been a dreadfully stale arcade mode.

I'm having difficulty sitting at the keyboard to write this, because at the moment I'm having an absolute blast ranking up my custom King so I can earn money to put towards new purchases for other characters. Tekken 5 features a great section that allows you to purchase numerous visual enhancements to any character in the game, for both of their outfits. Accessories vary for each character and range from the wacky to plain awesome. For instance, one character can be equipped to have a giant fish on their back, or maybe simply a backpack. A couple of fighters can have holstered guns or sawed off shotguns, or maybe just a wallet chain or handcuffs. One of the best things however are the hair styles and masks. King can be equipped with around four different masks, one being Armour Kings and another actually revealing part of his face. Devil Jin can have long hair that covers almost his entire face and goes down below his chest making him look truly evil. Another great customisation, and probably the best, is the ability to change the colour of almost every part of any outfit, giving each character your own unique feel. Though a lot of the characters in the game look spectacular (I can't stress it enough, Namco has outdone themselves when it comes to character designs here), if you dislike one it is easy to change their outfit around until you like it.

Though the menus don't look at all as I expected and much of them seem to have a lot of empty space, the presentation of Tekken 5 otherwise is phenomenal. From the moment you boot up the game and play a short shooting game during the loading screen, to the absolutely AMAZING introduction sequence (perhaps one of the greatest opening scenes ever created with fantastic music to boot), your senses are in for a real treat with this title. The ending cinema sequences are usually incredibly good, some enormously funny (Asuka Kazama, Paul Phoenix, Lee Chaolan), some full of incredibly well directed action (Bryan Fury, Yoshimitsu, Hwoarang) and some just plain cool (Jin). The introductions take a nice twist as well, featuring superb artwork with a good narration overlap that does a great job introducing the character and why they're in the tournament.

The graphics in Tekken 5 are ace all around and very smooth on top of that. Featuring some of the best lighting effects I've seen in a fighting game, the detail on the characters' muscles, clothes and hair is simply phenomenal and every single frame of animation is an absolute joy to watch. Moves flow together well even if they aren't a proper combo and you'll be surprised how great an exchange of moves between competitors ends up looking, especially during the replays; there's even some incredibly cool throw counters hidden away as well. The signature energy blasts that debuted in the original Tekken are still here and light up the characters in a really fantastic way. Concrete cracks, glass shatters, water splashes, wood breaks; Tekken 5 excels in almost every way when it comes to graphics and the sound is not short of spectacular either.

Every sound effect for every punch, kick, throw and swipe is satisfying and the sound of a character's body smashing against a brick wall is perfect. Unlike KOF: Maximum Impact, the voices in this game are spot on and fit each character well. It is rare that characters end up sounding how you thought they would when you first saw them, yet most of these seem to do just that, which is good since you'll hear them talking quite a bit in story mode both in and out of fights. Worth noting is that each character speaks their native tongue as well, so you won't find Kazuya speaking perfect English here. The music is superb, in the cinematics, menus and the battles themselves with each stage getting its own background music. All of these can be listened to via the theatre mode, which is where you can re-watch any characters prologue and epilogue as well.

Unfortunately Tekken 5 is not online, which I almost considered marking it down for, but the game is so outstanding in every other aspect that it would pain me not to give it the praise it deserves after the amount of work Namco has obviously put into this title. There are no flashy sections in matches where the characters move from area to area; just pure, perfect martial arts action. Every character has a deep system of moves and combos; you'll probably continue discovering new abilities weeks after you started. Wrestling fans will be amazed at the amount of work put into King's move set that really makes him feel like an actual wrestler and not a big fighter in wrestling gear.

Even without online play, there is plenty of replay value hidden away, with a full ending for each character, dozens of fighters to unlock, hundreds of accessories to buy with money you must earn and a variety of modes expected from a fighting game. The arcade mode really packs in a lot of replay value with the great ranking system, as well. Finally there is a new third person action mode, similar to Tekken Force, called Devil Within, staring Jin. Though it is fun playing through once, it is nothing worth writing home about but offers some good, classic beat 'em up action and delves deeper into the history of Jin. If this wasn't enough, Tekken 5 even comes with arcade perfect ports of Tekken, Tekken 2, and Tekken 3. I don't even have to tell you why this is a good thing... Anybody who enjoys a trip of nostalgia will love it.

Tekken 5 may lack online play, but trust me when I say that is all it lacks. It is an amazing fighting game, sure to please fans of the series and the fighting genre, bringing the franchise back to its roots and offering outstanding martial arts action. My only real complaint is that more new characters would have been appreciated, although the amount of fighters returning from Tekken 2 almost makes up for it. If you're looking for a superb fighting game for the PS2 with awesome characters, arenas, a good story and outstanding, addictive gameplay then look no further, as Namco have outdone themselves here; welcome the King of Iron Fist Tournament back to glory!