Graphics

Looking back on all the Tekkens, you can really see that it’s graphics have evolved dramatically over the years. The most eye-catching thing about this latest installment is the environments that you fight in. Particle effects, lighting, shadowing, bitmapping, it’s all here. The jungle area looks damn near alive, and the fighting basement (reminiscent of Fight Club) has a crowd cheering and jeering you on all around. You can even smack one of them if they get too close to the action (a rather amusing touch, I must say). The characters look really good. Well, most of them, anyway. Fan favorite Kazuya is brought back with a great new design, and Yoshimitsu looks like bug-Skeletor. However, some returning characters (Paul’s default outfit comes to mind) just look flat out bland and non-detailed. Also, even though most of the characters look great during battle, for some reason they seem to look pretty sub-par during the intro and winning animations. Nothing big, but worth mentioning.

Sound

The music in Tekken 4 is actually pretty damn good...until you hear it over and over and over again. I really don’t consider this a big problem, however, as most of the sound effects are pretty good, and the voice acting is also above average. Yeah, not much to say in the sound category, sorry folks. Move along.

Gameplay

I’m going to cover the fighting engine right away since that’s what really matters in a fighting game above anything else. All right, let me just put this bluntly: Tekken does not move as fluidly as Virtua Fighter. Movement is somewhat clunky, and will take some getting used to. No, I’m not bashing it, however, it is rather awkward to play if you, like me, are used to different fighting games. Namco has redone the fighting engine. The same four button control scheme is present, but instead of jumping and crouching, you now move up or down. Crouches and jumps are performed by the diagonal ups and downs. This is somewhat annoying at first, although some people may disagree. It really did take me a couple tries to really get used to it, though, and wean off my Virtua Fighter playing habits. A huge difference you will notice in the game is that the levels are now fully interactive. The fighting arenas are huge, but they all have walls in them now, something the other Tekkens lacked. This brings quite a few new additions to the game. You can shove your opponent into a wall, and vice versa. Hits against a wall (obviously) do more damage, and open your opponent up for even more combos. Don’t think that if you’re against the wall that it’s over, though. You can perform a position switch move that can grab your opponent and throw them into the wall you were just stuck against. I think this is a really nice addition to the game, as it spices things up a bit. Also note that certain parts of the environment are breakable, so have fun slamming your foe into that phone booth. Different heights also play a part, but not too much. For instance, you may be up higher on a staircase then the enemy, thus giving you a height advantage. Advanced players can probably utilize this more, however, it didn’t make much difference while I was playing. I know this all sounds a bit familiar, in a weird 180 degree turn of events, the Virtua Fighter 3d gameplay has been swapped with the mostly 2d gameplay (two fighters on one axis) of Tekken. Strange world we live in.

Tekken 4 introduces two and a half new characters. Yes, I said two and a half. You see, there’s Steve Fox, a boxer who dodges instead of kicks (fun to play as, and a button-mashers dream), Craig Murdok, a Vale Tudo (think UFC) fighter, and Christine. Christine is the half. Yes, she is a new character, but she has the same exact moveset as Eddy Gordo. There’s actually no difference...well, besides that whole "gender" thing. Her storyline places her as Eddy’s student, if you’re wondering. Overall, the only new character I really thought made a great addition was Steve. Murdok is decent, but could have been done a whole lot better.

The gameplay modes consist of what you would find in any fighter nowadays: arcade, story, survival, practice, etc. There’s also the "Tekken Force" mini-game. Tekken fans will remember this from the third installation. It’s basically just a beat-em-up game, similar to Final Fight. While this is nice...that’s it. It really disappointed me that Namco didn’t add many extras like they usually do, and it seriously effects the replay value, since you can unlock everything in about three or so hours (I did). This is basically the game’s main fault. There’s not much of a single player game, and for the multiplayer, well, you either both have to be really good, or both beginners. If you start to get really good with a character, you realize the best moves pretty much take up half the life bar, and the matches just come out totally uneven. You can juggle a newbie until the cows come home.

Conclusion

While Tekken 4 does have it’s faults, it is also a great fighting game, and most likely, the best in the series as far as the fighting engine goes. Just don’t go in expecting it to blow Virtua Fighter away. I used to be a full-blown Tekken fan, so I hate to admit this but, in my opinion, Virtua Fighter is still the better overall package. If you are a fan, or are sick of Virtua Fighter, however, this is probably worth a purchase. Casual fighting game fans, however, are recommended to just rent.