Tekken Tag Tournament Review

For PlayStation 2

By Contributing Writer Jimmy Payne

Rating: Average
   Haven't I played this game before?  Despite what Namco might have you 
believe, the answer is yes.  Namco has apparently chosen to model itself 
after Capcom by shamelessly and repeatedly re-hashing Tekken.  The Tekken 
name once stood for excitement and innovation, but it now represents a 
series that has been creatively neutered in favor of shiny graphics.
   You might be thinking to yourself, "What needed to be changed?  It's 
perfect the way it is!"  If everyone thought like that, we would still be 
playing NES games.  No matter how perfect you think Tekken's gameplay is, 
there are always changes that could add to the game and make it even better.
Thanks to Namco's decision to concentrate on graphics, Tekken Tag Tournament
is just a re-hash of Tekken 3, which was a re-hash of Tekken 2 itself.
   Namco has actually made the game worse in some ways.  I have always 
thought that the biggest motivation to beat the game with every character 
in a Tekken game was to unlock the impressive CG endings.  These have been 
replaced by ten-second-long "movies" that run in real-time and have about as
much meaning as an Old Navy commercial.
   Most of the voice-overs and sound effects are just as horrible as ever, 
and some of them (like Nina's cry of defeat) are just plain ridiculous.  
Thankfully, the sad state of the music in Tekken 3 has been rectified in 
Tekken Tag Tournament with new music tracks that serve their purpose of 
getting your blood pumping.  All of the tracks do a nice job of fitting in 
with the various arenas, and there are also some dramatic effects such as 
being really soft for five seconds and then becoming very loud all of a 
sudden.
   Despite all of its flaws, this game makes for a great rental just for the
sake of admiring the amazing graphics.  In addition to showing off swaying 
hair, moving eyes and mouths, and other neat effects, the graphics are also
notable for what they don't feature: Jagged edges.  The PS2's much-
publicized anti-aliasing flaw doesn't really pose a problem in the US 
version of this game.  
   Just as impressive as the characters themselves are the backgrounds, 
which feature actual weather elements such as blowing leaves and snow.  
It's also incredible to see fully-polygonal people walking around in the 
backgrounds to go along with helicopters taking off and fire coming out of 
the walls in some levels.
   As impressive as the graphics are, they're still just graphics.  Some 
people say, "The fact that the graphics are improved makes the game as a 
whole more fun."  That statement is true, but only to a certain extent.  
You will eventually get over the "wow factor" of the graphics just like you 
did with the PlayStation, N64, and Dreamcast, and the gameplay is all that's
left when you reach that point.  When the tired gameplay is all that's left
for Tekken Tag Tournament to stand on, it falls flat on its face.

Send your thoughts on this review to jimmy@mastergamer.com

    
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