Tekken 2

"The Second Tekken. Better than the first? Not really."

-Visuals 8/10-

Tekken 2 visuals follow suit on the first Tekken game, in which the goal was to throw the player into the mix of a full fledged battle with 3 dimensional graphics. Well designed characters meet your eyes, each with a set of moves that use an exceptional amount of detail and speed, coupled with a very fast frame rate. One of the major downfalls here, is what most games of this time had with texture problems, mainly concerning the limbs and how well they were shaped.

Regardless of that, you’re looking a visually sound game. Character backgrounds, and lighting effects also come through with a bang, with some of the stages making you stop and scan. Top this all off with some cool CGI frames from the intro and the endings, and you’ve got a great combination.

New character animations and moves, along with brand new stages make it all worth while to watch. Super combination moves and amazing looking throws and holds round out with some impressive style. Unfortunately, it doesn't really make much of a leap from the first Tekken, in which the characters are still look slightly blocky, like lego characters. This can be overlooked.

-Audio 8/10-

Crisp and clear with each stage and character pretty much having a unique sound to them. With every stage, you’ll find that there is a type of mood effect that matches the battleground, and with some, you may find yourself drawn into the fight. All of the music is done in a techno/dance beat to keep the pace moving. Sound effects include your standard fare of punches and kicks, coupled with some battle yells and the announcer calling out the winners name. Outside of that, most of the sound effects are strictly background noise.

New music tracks will keep you moving, and again, as with the first, you're left with a feeling of getting into the actual fighting feel of the game. A couple of stages will possibly have you almost bouncing along with the music. Not too bad when you boil it all down, even though with some of the stages, you may find that the music is annoying.

-Control 8/10-

True to the arcade, you have a standard four button set-up with a left/right punch and a left/right kick. Playing Tekken 2 with an arcade stick is probably the best way to go, in which you can set your four buttons up, and then use the extra four buttons to set button combinations for throws or counter moves. All in all, this is a great port over of the original arcade set-up. Character movements and combinations are relatively easy to perform, so there isn’t a need to over-exert yourself in learning the control.

Brand new moves and combinations mean that there will be more moves to learn, and more reason to memorize the control lay-out. What you can do is set the control to your specifications in terms of making the shoulder buttons your throwing buttons, or, in the case of some of the characters, your counter button. This opens up a whole new section of how to control your character when your set-up is made this way.

-Game Play 8/10-

Offering a ton of modes to choose from, Tekken 2 provides any gamer with solid game play and re-playability. Either with friends, or alone, you have your choice of the survival option, which is a one on one fight to the finish in which you only have one life bar that gains a little energy with each passing round. One player mode pits you against the computer, through several different stages against increasing difficult opponents. The true gem of Tekken would have to be the practice mode, in which you can learn one particular character, their moves, combinations and just how they react in battle.

Two player mode is the one on one battle to the finish, which can be set for two matches, or up to five for a long battle. The combination system is relatively easy to master through the practice modes, so there won’t be too much in the way of getting through the controls. Everything is basically laid out for you through the pause menu, although some of the more interesting moves can only be done through trial and error. Tack that onto several characters that you can unlock, along with some pretty cool ending sequences, you’ll have several weeks of playing time before you put this game on the shelf.

Other various options that might come about, is with the survival mode. You can throw a ranking that is in the triple digits in your friends face if you really think about it, and without much of a thought, you can make your own in-house tournament. Following on that, just the amount of new characters that are thrown into Tekken 2 will keep you rivited for weeks in trying to figure out just how many moves you can pull off and remember.

-Overall 8/10-

Tekken 2 is the second installment in a series of fighting games that truly revolutionized the fighting game genre. While playing, you may find that the game is a little too slow for your tastes, and may look towards the sequels of this game for a more visually satisfying time. Tekken 2 does come up in line from the first generation fighting games on the PSX, so there isn’t a reason why {unless you hate fighting games} you shouldn’t pick this one up for 20 bucks.

All of this aside, you'll see that Tekken 2 tries hard in the improvement department with more characters and cooler looking moves, but doesn't offer much else in terms of gameplay from the original Tekken. Tekken players everywhere won't have a problem with Tekken 2, but will probably move onto the 3rd and final installment of Tekken on the PSX. Either way, as was the first Tekken, Tekken 2 is a solid sequel that offers you some fresh new faces, even though it doesn't do much else in the game play department.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/04/01, Updated 01/04/01