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PS3 | Fighting | Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection

Boxart for Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection 20 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.00
  • SOUND: 3.25
  • CONTROL: 5.00
  • FUN FACTOR 4.25
  • AVG USER SCORE 3.4
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.0

Review: Tekken 5: Dark Resurection

Review by Sid Shuman | 03/02/2007 | 11:16:35 AM PST

Fight fans have a long wait ahead of them before Tekken 6 lands on the PlayStation 3, but to keep the loyalists satisfied, Namco Bandai has thoughtfully offered up Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection as a high-tech tide-me-over.

The good news is that what was meant as a stopgap actually ends up being the biggest, best Tekken yet.

Borrowing From Peter to Pay Paul Phoenix

There aren't any surprises with Tekken 5: DR, as it plays just as precisely as its PS2 siblings. In fact, it might play a mite better thanks to the Sixaxis's comfier directional pad. Tekken's trademark staccato play style is loved by some, and maligned by the rest, and this game won't do anything to change those opinions. The good is that it's a pixel-perfect port of the arcade game.

There's no sense in mincing words: Tekken 5 doesn't come close to capturing the full graphical potential of the PlayStation 3. In fact, as far as next-gen brawlers go, it's a bit on the homely side. Fighters are dressed in low-to-medium resolution textures and suffer from the occasional chunky polygon. The fighting areas look sharp but sport flat environmental lighting effects, giving the overall impact of a PS2 game on steroids rather than a truly new-gen flagship fighter.

Viva Nina

Ah, but 1080p support throws in a seductive wrinkle. Tekken 5: DR's graphics technology may not be on the cutting edge, but its display resolution definitely is. If you're one of those lucky bastards who got an HDMI-equipped 1080p TV set for Christmas, you're in for a treat in the form of a dazzlingly vivid, crystal-clear image. The 720p and 480p modes also sparkle with clarity. We did spot a moment or two of slowdown on the 1080p setting when playing on one of the busier backdrops, but it's nothing to get worked up about.

As a full-priced retail PS3 game, we'd be hugely underwhelmed by Tekken 5: DRit just doesn't add enough outside an enormous character roster and HD graphics. But for a downloadable game at a low price point, this one's pretty much a no-brainer. Download it!


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