Tekken 6
- July 17, 2007 16:45 PM PST
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A brand new way to play?
Shortly after the release of Tekken 4, a good portion of the series' hardcore found themselves on one side of a divisive argument. One half of the fanbase appreciated the attempts Namco made to adjust and adapt to the changing landscape of fighting games while the other half shunned the game due to its abandonment of longstanding Tekken tradition.
The development team finds themselves in a very similar predicament this time around, and will have an interesting balancing act to maintain. Assuredly, the developers are required make enough changes to the Tekken formula to keep the game interesting to fringe gamers without upsetting some of their more conservative fans.
By far, the most obvious change revealed so far is the introduction of the "Rage System". According to preliminary reports, the Rage System is a means of balancing the game in that, after your character's life bar dips below a certain point, you will be subsequently be able to inflict more damage on your opponent. This system isn't particularly new, as Tekken Tag Tournament had a similar feature known as the "Anger System", which caused your tag partner to dish out more damage if your main character was beaten to a pulp.
Before the Rage System activates.
Damage threshold exceeded
Now, both fighters feel the "Rage".
Signature Items
The second most noticeable change is the introduction of special signature items that can be used in battle. Gamers will be able to sign online, use their Tekken currency, and, for instance, purchase a gun for Leo or a pair of high heel shoes for Anna:
Fighting in heels is hard enough, but fighting in only one?
Lastly, Tekken 6 plans to succumb to the pressure put forth by the Dead or Alive series, and will finally implement collapsible stages. Depending on whether a certain combo or technique is executed, a stage will collapse underneath both players' feet, and lead them to another section of the battlefield.
Of course, these features do not represent the end of everything that Tekken 6 will be able to offer. Once the game gets initially released in the Japanese market, Tekken fans in that region will be able to customize their characters with a myriad of items, form Tekken clans with friends, view live matches on a monitor with touch-screen functionality, and compare their statistics on international leaderboards, even against rivals sitting all the way on the other side of the globe.
The game's commercial usage of Sony's Cell Processor sometimes makes the potential for Tekken 6 seem almost limitless, but its eventual port to the PlayStation 3 is bound to feature even more. Online play, anyone? On behalf of Tekken fans the world over, we certainly hope so.
Oh no! What have you DOOOONE?!?
