#BASICS OF TEKKEN 7 SERIES#
It’s daft fun and ties up many of the loose ends of this silly story, but purely from the point of view of play, this is just a series of cut-scenes and some scraps with either generic enemies or characters from the series (and an absolutely brutal final boss, which all fighting games should have!). It’s told from the perspective of a journalist called – and this isn’t a joke – Oscar Wilde, who is looking into their family history. The marquee mode is the cinematic story – The Mishima Saga – that continues the tale of terrible parenting decisions made by Heihachi and Kazuya Mishima. Tekken 7, although definitely a more ‘complete’ package out of the box, isn’t really packing that much more. It’s excellent to see some bread-and-butter Street Fighter combos working, even in the 3D space.Ĭapcom’s Street Fighter 5 received plenty of criticism for its launch content with a year’s worth of patches it still remains short in some areas. However, he’s fun to play and is a good fit. He initially feels strange within the rules of Tekken, with fireballs that can be sidestepped and bit more in the way of aerial attacks.
Of course, there’s Akuma – Street Fighter’s grumpy villain, who appears in Tekken 7 likely due to that surely-now-cancelled Tekken x Street Fighter deal. Alongside other newcomers Shaheen, Gigas, Claudio, Josie and Master Raven, even the hardcore Tekken fan will have fun experimenting with their styles. Katarina fights in the savate style, while Lucky Chloe – the anime-inspired cosplayer – uses dance and acrobatics. There are a few new characters making their debut in Tekken 7, all bringing a new fighting style to the table. Related: Marvel vs Capcom Infinite preview
Like Street Fighter 4’s ‘Focus Attack’ (with Akuma literally having one, taken straight from that game!), used strategically they’ll catch a button-happy opponent. Power Crushers allow you to absorb high and mid-attacks, blasting through them to deliver a strike of your own.
Activated in a similar way, it retains the properties of the Rage Art, but allows you to perform follow-up strikes should you use them in the correct manner – which varies across the roster of characters.Īfter a few hours of play, it was clear that although the Rage Arts are the more spectacular move, the Rage Drives tend to be more practical and far more difficult for your opponent to block. However, they’re easy to do and look good, so casual players will enjoy blasting their friends with them.Ī Rage Drive is a little different. They’re quite easily dealt with after you’ve seen them a few times, and provided you’re not just hammering buttons wildly, they’re easy to block, so you really have to catch an opponent sleeping for them to be effective. Should the over-the-top first hit land, your character will perform a highly damaging and cinematic attack that gains more power the lower your health bar is. A Rage Art is the new comeback mechanic – when you’re at 25% or lower health – and you can perform a Rage Art by inputting a simple two-button command (with most characters). The two new additions to the core combat are the Rage Arts/Drives and Power Crushers. It still satisfies, since there’s plenty to learn about every character to truly master them.ĭifferent stances and positions unlock numerous moves, and understanding what is possible in any given scenario is a big part of the game, mixing up high, mid and low attacks to unlock your opponent’s guard and start a damaging combo. As a result, Bandai Namco has spent this time adding content that aims to provide a fulfilling experience, with some mixed results.Īt its heart is Tekken’s classic fighting system, with each limb mapped to a face button and, for the most part, special moves performed with directional inputs alongside a button. Tekken 7 has been playable in arcades, in tournaments and at trade shows since its release in Japan and South Korea in 2015, and anyone on the competitive scene already knows that it’s a grand fighting game. It’s been a good five years since the last Tekken game, and even longer if you’re counting only the numbered entries. It’s a tough balancing act, ensuring that the game is technical enough to allow for dedicated players to express themselves through the game’s systems, but also allow for instantaneous single-player fun. For everything you need to include to ensure the hardcore remain entertained through the game’s lifespan, others simply want to hit buttons, see flashy images and be amused with only single-player content.
#BASICS OF TEKKEN 7 PS4#
Available June 2 on PS4 (version tested), Xbox One and PCįighting games will always struggle to please their audience.