by Kuriakose Saju
One of my favourite fighting games from the late 90s was Tekken. Especially Tekken 3. Eddie was by far one of the coolest virtual characters as far as I was concerned. And after my new job got me a ticket to Tokyo, I’ve been reunited with my favourite 3D fighter. Of course, watching trailers for Street Fighter IV is giving me the goosebumps. But that’s beside the point.
Tekken 6 has been out for almost a year but what is coming from the stables of Namco for this successful franchise is an expansion pack for the game which goes by the name “Bloodline Rebellion.”
And lucky for you guys, Split-Screen was at the unveiling in Tokyo on September 18th. Which means here’s a hands-on preview of what to expect.
Of course, this one was an arcade update that was unveiled at the 46th Annual Amusement Show and though the makers seem keen on giving us a console version of the main title, nothing’s been officially announced just as yet. What is interesting though is the entrant of two new characters in the Tekken universe and even more accessories for the players. Tekken 6 was the first one that allowed players to equip themselves with weapons or other accessories to inflict more damage. For example, Brian Fury could use a shotgun while Marshall whips out a nunchaku. Well, with Bloodline Rebellion, Brian now can walk in with fully automatic machine gun while Lily can summon five penguins to assist her attack. Of course this might sound like an unfair advantage but when put in practical terms, you have to know exactly when to execute such moves. Because if you ain’t careful, you could be leaving yourself wide open for attacks while still executing the move.
The additional items are all frills, the main feature of this update are the new characters. First, allow me to introduce the lovely Alisa Boskovitch. That’s right. Boskovitch of Tekken 3 fame. The unlockable scientist who fights lying down. We aren’t sure of the relationship between Dr. B and Alisa but we do know she isn’t fully human. With pink hair and a pink dress to match, Alisa is an android created by Dr. B. Of course, the prof looks at her more like a daughter than a machine. The other entrant is Lars Alexanderrson with a weird hairstyle and a cape to boot. Still, like before, looks can be deceptive. Lars is more orthodox in his fighting style but has wide range and some killer combo moves. Totally psycho stuff this!
Apart from the new characters and the items, another feature on this one (and this one is just timepass… no killa moves, no smashing combos!) is customising your player’s hairstyles. In fact, although we didn’t get to try it out on the demo version at the Show, the guys behind the counter were saying that we could create our own hairdo in the full update. But, in my opinion, unless you’re the next Adam Sandleresque Zohan who’s got secret hairdressing tendencies under a Mossad agent surface, this feature is totally useless. Sure, after a point, if you get tired of how your favourite character looks, it’s fun to give him a makeover. But the feature’s over-rated. C’mon mate, it’s not about how good you look, it’s about how bad the other guy looks, right!
All in all, people, it’s a blast. But then Tekken always has been. Like I said, I’m still hoping that Namco does deliver on the console promise!!!
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