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The "Tekken" series has always been big on its story line.
Evil father betrays evil son, evil son gets revenge on evil father, evil son has good son, good son defeats evil father and evil grandfather.
However, in the latest installment, "Tekken 6," a wrench is thrown in the works, and Jin Kazama, formerly the hero of the series, has now become the villain and starts a war to conquer Earth.
Not wanting to be outdone, Jin’s father Kazuya Mishima puts a bounty on his son’s head, leading to The King of Iron Fists Tournament 6, the setting for "Tekken 6."
The main hero is new character Lars Alexandersson, a member of the rebellion trying to stop both Jin and Kazuya, who finds out something big about himself along the way.
The gameplay isn’t too different from previous installments: Players can still use the combos to pummel opponents into defeat.
The characters new to the series don’t add a lot of depth to an already diverse cast. New characters include the already mentioned soldier, the cyborg Alisa, guardian and assassin Zafina, teenager Leo, bullfighter Miguel and overweight American Bob.
Almost every character from the last installment, "Tekken 5," returns in this game, allowing players to play as anything from a kangaroo to a one-armed ninja.
There are also two new bosses: a giant security robot, Nancy, and Azazel, a demonic jackal clad in pharaoh garb.
Azazel is especially difficult and exploits every opening players give him, so it can be really infuriating to lose again and again and again.
The story is also told differently than usual fighting games.
Instead of playing through each character’s story in arcade mode, players take on the role of Lars as he beats up everyone while looking for answers in campaign mode.
This mode is done third-person instead of the traditional one-on-one fighting the series is known for, feeling more like an old-school "beat–’em–up" type game.
While a nice addition and a great way to tell the story, it takes away from the true fighting game feel that the series usually has.
Once a character is defeated in the campaign mode, players can use them in the arena where their specific story for this installment of "Tekken" will be unlocked.
During campaign mode, players will also earn money that can be used to customize every playable character.
This allows players to put their favorite characters in whatever clothing they want and add their own personal touch.
For those who just want to fight, arcade mode is the same as usual, and it can also be done online, allowing players to wallop people across the country.
Fans of the "Tekken" series won’t be disappointed with this entry, and it is nice that the story is told to the players right away instead of having to piece it together through brief cinematics.
However, the campaign mode takes away the need for the player to enter an actual fight with a timer and rounds.
"Tekken 6" is available now for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and will be available for the Playstaion Portable Nov. 24.
Fighting game fans won’t be disappointed.
Grade: B+
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