POSTED 5/1/12


TEKKEN HYBRID

Namco Bandai/Sony
PS3

What the flippity-floppy flip?! This here Tekken Tag Tournament HD thingy plays like a flippin’ 1990s arcade game!

The reason being, of course, that it IS a flippin’ 1990s arcade game; which was re-jigged in the early 00s for the PS2. It’s this latter consolic version that’s been given a thorough pixel-polish to drag it kicking and screaming – literally - into the whatever-the-flip-we’re-calling-this-decade.
 
So, you get classic two-on-two arcade fighting action with some 35+ combatants – ranging from demonic icky things to, erm, scantily-garbed schoolgirls - going for it in various guises from arcade through to timed modes and team battles. The rather flippin’ peculiar Tekken Bowl, where you can go all The Big Lebowski with the fighting roster, is also present. Bowling aficionados say “yay!” now.

So, if it’s just some old arcade port, then why the flippin’ titular ‘Hybrid’ bizzo? Well, there’s also a teaser for the successor, to be known as... wait for it... get excited... Tekken Tag Tournament 2! A decade-and-a-bit on you’d expect it to look the flippin’ goods, and it flippin’ well does. However, there are only four fighters available here, so it can get a tad flippin’ confusing when the same characters are bouncing about vying for the ultimate KOtic smackdown.

One-and-a-bit fighting games – not too flippin’ bad, huh? Sure, there’s no online, but there’s old school local multiplayer, which is arguably more fun as you have your opponent within eyeshot. But what if there was even more?

There is! Also included is the recent animated movie Tekken: Blood Vengeance, in all its 1080p flippin’ gloriousness. There’s 2D, or even 3D if you’re teched up to the back teeth.

Hybrid’s hardly Tekken the franchise to new levels, but as a stop-gap it’s flippin’ fair for fans. Can you guess our fave move?

CLICK THIS!



CLICK THIS!