Genre: Fighting
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Namco Bandai
Release Date: February 2007
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Tekken has long been the PlayStation's flagship fighting series pretty much since the beginning. The upstart series blended the realistic 3D fighting of Virtua Fighter with the flavor and speed of Street Fighter and hit the streets like an atom bomb. It quickly became a fan favorite, spawning two sequels on the PSOne, three on the PS2, and one on the PSP.
The PSP has been Sony's little machine that could for a while now. It's proven to be fertile ground for a number of ports from the PS2, not the least of which is Tekken: Dark Resurrection, a port of the PS2 classic Tekken 5. It was generally considered to be one of the best fighting games out on any system, but not being able to play it on a big screen was more than a little frustrating. Now, the PSP port of a PS2 game is making its way to the PS3 via the PlayStation Store.
Confused yet? Don't be. Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection is an enhanced and revamped port of the PSP title, which includes all of the gameplay upgrades and a few new features. First and foremost among them is the ability to play the game in full high-definition, a first for the Tekken series. Tekken 5 supported 480p, but that was it. You'll be able to play Tekken on your big screen in glorious 1080p if you so choose, bringing a new graphical clarity and sharpness to the game. There are also a couple of new characters, Lili and Sergei Dragunov. Armor King is another addition, and he has a new move list backing him up. Be on the lookout for a certain playable end-boss, as well.
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T5:DR is short on story. In fact, there really isn't one to speak of. Perhaps in an effort to keep the file size down on this downloadable title, Namco has excised the story elements from the game, most notably the CG movies. However, you can download epilogues for Lili, Sergei, and Armor King from inside the game for 50,000 points.
You gain points by fighting in either Arcade Battle or Ghost Battle. Arcade Battle is the run-of-the-mill battle mode that you've seen in every other Tekken title. You go through nine fights to complete the game, and win a certain amount of points after each fight. Ghost Battle lets you fight specially programmed artificial intelligences and attempt to rise through the ranks of fighters. The more you fight, the more points you earn. The points can be spent on special downloadable images, videos, or costume accessories for your fighter.
T5:DR is pretty big on customization. You can rename a fighter, or more than one, and then set about customizing his or her costume as you see fit. It gives a real personal touch to the proceedings, and sometimes a comedic one as well. It's a little fearsome to see a Rambo-style Bryan Fury coming at you, and more than a little funny to see Roger Jr., decked out in scuba gear and flippers.
The stages have also been redesigned for the new port. The stages have had their times of day switched, and sometimes even the backgrounds. The sunny stage with the penguins, for example, is now a late dusk. The burning temple is now extinguished, and the poolside party has started to wind down.
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection drops on the PlayStation Network soon, and is sure to be a hit. Players who missed out on Tekken when it first arrived on the PSP should be sure to grab this one. It's a worthy sequel.
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