Nearly ten years ago, I was at college studying Business Somethingoranother. With the local town just around the corner, a pub close by and a general lack of care in my world, I found it hard to study. Then Namco did a dirty on me and made things worse – they released Tekken on PlayStation. I’d find it hard to pull myself away from the screen so I could get ready and go to college, but my friends just made the situation worse. They would phone me up, and after trying (and failing) to tell them to go away, we’d end up spending all day battering each other with Heihachi, Nina and the gang. So thanks Namco, I blame you for my falling grades that year! I’d hate to think how many hours I pumped into Tekken 1+2 over the years, but I know I got my money’s worth out of them, that is for certain.

Various sequels, both good and bad, have come along, and now here we are in 2005, with Tekken 5 on PlayStation2. Technically the sixth game as we had the rather average Tekken Tag Tournament, which was a launch game for PlayStation2 back in 2000. The games have gradually received more and more negative feedback over the years, with gamers saying they are just button-mashing, casual gamer fodder with no depth. Then there is the whole Tekken Vs. Virtua Fighter debate too, but more on that later.

There has always been an argument, right from the arcades, through the PlayStation and SEGA Saturn days, and it remains today on PlayStation2 between SEGA’s Virtua Fighter and Namco’s Tekken. Gamers would argue until the cows came home about how Virtua Fighter is a much deeper, complex fighter, whereas Tekken is just attack, attack and nothing more. Personally, I think they are both superb fighting games, but are very different, and take a different approach. Virtua Fighter is all about waiting for your opponent to make a mistake, and you being very defensive about your movement. Learning the combos, and getting good at it takes years (and years), and is not the most approachable game out there. If you want to get good at it, play nothing else for 12 months, then come back. Tekken on the other hand, is a much more welcoming fighter, allowing anyone to pick up a controller, select pretty much any character, and enjoy a session, achieving special attacks, throws - the lot. Tekken is much friendlier, which is very important these days. This doesn’t mean the game lacks depth, because it really doesn’t – it’s just easier to get into than Virtua Fighter.

The game, as you’d expect, runs at sixty frames per second, and the PAL version includes a 60Hz option, which is good to see. Unfortunately, Namco took the progressive scan 480p option out though for some reason, which is a shame. Hopefully one day we will get the same version of games as Japan and USA.

Remember back on Ridge Racer on PlayStation, where you got to play a level of Galaga as the game loaded up? Well Namco have done it again here, but now you get to play the first section of Starblade Alpha! This is 3D game, released years ago in the arcade. I was a huge fan of this, so it’s brilliant to play it again. The full game is unlockable within Tekken 5 too. This is one of the best set of extras I have seen in a game in years, and really adds to the package.

There are various game modes, the main one being Story Mode. Here you select a character, and play through the game against nine opponents. You get a short story intro for each character, another one at the half way point, then a CG cut scene once you have beaten the final boss character. You unlock new characters in the game this way, and each character has a different story and cut scene. The mode is great, and you get some really decent AI battles out of the computer. However, the end boss is a very frustrating fight, as he has some extremely devistating moves which either stun your character for longer than is comfortable, or he unleashes his unblockable fire attack which takes about two thirds of your energy off! He uses that move a lot, and it really gets annoying after a while. Then he laughs at you... The feeling when you beat the bastard is fantastic though, and you’ll forget all about it until the next time you see him (which will be quite a often as you want to see all the endings and unlock everyone, right?).

There is the 2-player mode of course, and the now-standard Team Battle, Practice Mode, and Theatre where you can view movies of characters you have completed Story Mode with. Namco haven’t added online play to the game, and I can’t say I blame them. Fighting games rarely work online, so wait for the next generation of machines and broadband speeds before adding it in. Seems sensible to me.

There is also a new scrolling adventure in Tekken 5 called Devil Within. You play as Jin, walking along in a 3D world, fighting off guards (based on Jack), finding door locks, and fighting a boss at the end of each level. It plays well enough, but the camera is awful, which usually points you in the wrong direction so you can’t see what’s actually going on. It’s also rather boring and bland. The controls are different from the main mode too, and you only have a select few moves. It’s best forgotten about, unless you really want to unlock specific things.