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Genre: Fighting Developer: Namco Bandai Games Publisher: Namco Bandai Games Platforms: Arcade/Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/ Nintendo Wii U Released: September 11, 2012 Website: www.tekken.com
The Tekken series’ first foray into tag-based fighting came out at the beginning of the PlayStation 2 cycle, and marked a fun new direction for the series to go into. After almost a decade, the franchise ventures back into familiar territory with the release of Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
Boasting the entire roster of the Tekken franchise up until now, Tekken Tag 2 features a staggering number of new characters and moves to familiarise yourself with, in order to stay in the game. While fighting games have come a long way since the early days, Tekken’s traditional approach hasn’t really changed much; aside from a few bells and whistles being added.This new entry into the subseries holds the formula tightly to its chest, in addition to being the most technical fighter the series has seen yet. From the moment you pick up the controller, you’ll realise that this is a game that rewards players who dive into its intricacies and take the time to learn, execute and perfect many of its flashy moves.
Players can choose to fight solo or with a tag partner in a variety of online and offline modes and dominate the competition using Tekken’s unique tag mechanics. Like before, you can call in your partner while executing certain moves to continue the combo and eat away at the opponents’ life bar. Tagging in is essential when you’re low on health as one character knocked out earns your adversaries a victory.
What’s added is the new ability to pull off Tag Assaults and Tag Crashes – new moves that either extend combos by bringing your partner in for a hit or two, or flashily execute a tag throw that looks cool on top of dealing with damage.
The engine has been reworked to allow up to four characters to duke it out on-screen at the same time, and doesn’t buckle in the least bit. Aside from the main arcade mode, online play is highly satisfying with a robust netcode and matchmaking options available.
The new Fight Lab serves as a tutorial/mini-game of sorts with the character Combot, whom you can assign special moves and customise to a fairly large degree. Speaking of which, character customisation is through the roof with this new title, and the fight money you earn will be well-spent on items and accessories.
In summary, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is a stellar new entry into the series that brings back all the characters you have ever known from the series, and provides hours of fun gameplay with great new mechanics and plenty to learn. Whether you’re a button-smasher or a hardcore technical player, consider putting this game on your list of titles to share with friends and fellow gamers.
Ratings
Design: 8.4/10 Gameplay: 9.0/10 Presentation: 8.3/10 Overall score: 8.7/10
