Tekken: Dark Resurrection

"As Darth Vader would say: "Impressive. Most impressive.""

Between the two big portable systems (Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS) Nintendo has continued to hold its decade and 1/2 dominance in the portable gaming industry. Not to say that the PSP didn't have a few good titles, its game lineup overall was lacking.

That is... until July 26, 2006 when Namco unleashed Tekken Dark resurrection on the world.

Tekken Dark Resurrection is the perfect example of what portable gaming should be. It totally brings out the potenial of Sony's handheld workhorse. Many would think a game as large as TDR would never be possible, but of course, leave it to Namco to defy the odds once more as they have so MANY times in the past. Yes. PSP Tekken is that damn sweet.

If you don't already know, Tekken Dark Resurrection is the upgrade to 2005's excellent Tekken 5. TDR adds more moves, stages, characters, and gameplay tweaks that make an already great game into a superb arcade-style fighter.

Now, onto the review.

Graphics:

Holy COW!! To say that Tekken Dark Resurrection just set a brand new standard in portable gaming is a SERIOUS understatement. From the opening movie to the beginning of your first battle, you'll see how well Namco compacted the graphics of its big arcade fighter into Sony's powerhouse portable. Save for the pre- and post-match animations (as well as the in-game cinemas you see during Story Mode) which run at 30fps, the main game blazes at 60fps with no noticeable slowdown. While the graphics are obviously compromised, the details in the characters as well as the backdrops is incredible. Of course, there's the obvious "jaggies" that Sony's systems have been known for, but it doesn't ever take away from the overall beauty of the game.

Sound:

Surprisingly, TDR's audio comes out nice and clean through the PSP's tiny speakers. Usually, the lack of bass the PSP has detracts from the overall experience in games (when not using headphones). But thankfully, the sound is actually about as full as the arcade machines speakers, which is a definite thumbs up.

Gameplay:

In a word... flawless. The gameplay is great in every right. Every move, combo, 10-hit link, juggle and strategy has come through effortlessly. TDR's controls are about as smooth as the PSP's buttons and d-pad allow. However, some may find pulling off a lot of moves that require diagonal movements a bit harsh. But with a little practice, it becomes second nature. On a plus note, EVERY character available from the get-go, so you can get right down to the nitty gritty since there's so much to do wit this game.

Namco really loves its fans. So what do they do? They give TDR game sharing. What's that mean? You can play VS mode via ad-hoc off of ONE GAME!! Yep. So, if you've got friends, they don't have to own TDR for you to own them =)

As with every arcade port that Namco brings home, they give the game the royal treatment. If you've played ANY of Namco's arcade-to-home ports (the Time Crisis series, the Soul Calibur series, etc.) then you already know that Namco throws in a MANY extra distractions for your pleasure.

What does that include? All staple modes from Tekken 5 have been included. Time attack, survival, team battle, arcade, story and practice mode have made it in. Namco brought in a few new modes as well. The honorable mention is Tekken Dojo, in which you go around different Dojos and move your way up the rankings.

But, one of the better extras that Namco threw in is the ghost option. This allows you to record yourself playing and save it as data to exchange with other TDR players. Also, you can merge rankings lists to create more varied rankings. The unlockables range from classic modes from past Tekken games (Tekken Bowl and Command attack) to the usual in-game movies in theater mode.

Like I said, Namco loves its fans. And they constantly do their best to keep us happy.

Overall:

It's totally safe to say that Tekken Dark Resurrection is awesome. It beats out just about every game in every department with everything it offers you. TDR will not disappoint and is a very good reason to use your PSP other than for watching videos and listening to MP3's.

Thank you Namco. You've pulled through for us yet again =)

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/27/06