The undisputed King of the Iron Fist returns with its first entry for the current console generation giving us a chance to beat each other bloody with all the lovely visuals that modern gaming has at its disposal. The real question is can this revamp the series that has slowly been getting more and more stagnant over the years?
The short answer is no…The long answer will be revealed in the bulk of this review!
Let’s start with story. Since its inception Tekken has had one of the most engrossing storylines following mainly on the Mishima clan and those around them, but also on all the different fighters who enter the Iron Fist Tournament. Over the years characters story arcs have become longer and more detailed and getting into the back story is something I’ve always enjoyed in the series, mostly when it’s to do with secondary characters instead of the Mishimas’.
Unfortunately for me the main bulk of the story focuses on the Mishima family, with very brief nods to certain other characters who may relate to the ongoing power struggle between Heihachi, Kazuya and Jin. Even more unfortunate is that the story contained in the story mode is one of the most dull I’ve ever had to play through and actually raises more questions than it addresses, it also doesn’t help that you play as only a few characters in single battle matches whilst all the time the computer pushes you to use the cheat mode where a simple button push will do one of your harder to do moves.
On top of this is the normal arcade ladder mode where you fight through a series of enemies only to come against the big ugly, beat him, claim your prize and get to watch a sweet video based on your characters exploits. In its place is a frankly abysmal one match story where the ending and characters motivation make no sense and are actually insulting if you happen to like certain players. I mean why is Bryan fighting Bob instead of continuing his rivalry with Yoshimitsu? And don’t get me started on King just turning up because his mates are in hospital and he has to pay a bill, then when you finish the story there isn’t even a video showing anything after the literal end of the fight!
Of course being so touchy about story elements is pretty much moot when you’re talking about a fighting game where everything is based on how the game performs. Tekken 7 performs like Tekken albeit now there’s an un-emphasis on side stepping making it feel more like a combo heavy 2-D fighter. New to the series are the rage art and rage drive moves which allow you to perform super moves when your health gets into the lowest quarter of the bar, it’s a nice addition but honestly it doesn’t really fit turning the final part of practically any fight into a defensive showdown where you wait for someone to mistime their Rage art.
The fighting is the same as it’s always been apart from that so get ready to get destroyed if you don’t know the ins and outs of every character and every move…which you won’t… because there’s no mode where you can learn anything apart from how to do the basic moves of each character against a dummy. Tekken is such a combo centric game it would have been nice for them to include some sort of trials mode where your tasked with learning juggles and how to avoid low attacks so that when you do wait 10 minutes to get online you won’t be demolished as soon as the time starts.
And wait you shall because Tekken 7, as of right now, has an absolutely terrible matchmaking ability meaning to even get a game you have to go into a lobby and just wait for someone to hopefully challenge you. Other than that you go into tournaments but they’re a lot more locked in and if you just want a fast game then having to wait till the final if you lose isn’t much fun.
Graphics wise it looks okay but nothing to write home about. I imagine this is to do with all the customisation options so they don’t make the base characters look amazing as they know people will be changing their appearances as soon as they get a chance. Backgrounds are okay but forgettable and look decidedly low res when parts of them come apart. One plus side though is the ability to use any music from Tekkens’ history to play in the menus and fights going all the way back to the original, and you can even watch all the old videos form games once you’ve purchased them with fight money.
All in all Tekken 7 is decidedly an arcade game that when put on a console and sold for £45 feels a bit lacklustre. Having said that if you want a solid fighting game and don’t mind learning the ropes by watching YouTube videos or you’re a pro who already knows how to punish someone with high risk combos then this could be the game for you. For me however I can’t help feel like I’ve been burnt as I endlessly wait for online matchups only to get beaten by people who know things the game doesn’t like to share.
Author: Hal, Plymouth Store
