As mentioned before, the Bowling option does not appear immediately but must be unlocked by completing specific tasks. Once unlocked, players can enter, selecting from all available characters, as a teamed pair. One- and two-player options allow head-to-head play. Each character has a unique playing style, with the males typically stronger, and thus bowling faster. Although the controls are simple enough to fathom, finding a combination of character and playing style that works for you will take time. This mode may not cater for everyone, but for those that like to relax after a bash-fest, Tekken Bowling can be surprisingly effective. Day two onwards found Tekken being played in all modes, equally enjoyable. During this time it became easier to concentrate on the graphic quality of the title. For the first couple of days, focus on the actual gameplay was paramount. Playing on a high resolution computer monitor (twice the resolution of most TV’s) the graphic quality of the game was easy to analyze. Character animation was smooth, but not markedly so over it’s ancestor Tekken 3. The edges of the characters lacked the hardware smoothing of rival title Soul Calibur (Dreamcast), and did cause some annoyance. The backgrounds however, when closely scrutinized reveal a wealth of eye candy and thoughtful touches.
A small note about the backgrounds – they have always (ever since Tekken 1) been ‘detached’ from the actual fighting arena. Fighters may move towards one side as much as the like, but will never reach the edge. Why Namco has chosen this is unclear, although it does allow fighters basically unlimited area to fight. A good example of one of the stages is the Shaolin stage. A Shaolin temple, with a group of students within it’s stony confines shouting as they punch, and kick -- practicing their martial arts. Meanwhile bystanders lounge close by, cheering their support, goading on fighters with hands waving encouragement. Ancient ships lounge lazily in the harbour, the wind nudging quietly at the sails, the sun peeking out from the horizon. All rendered in real time like the actual fighters, all on just one stage. Shadows faithfully follow the depressions with uneven ground, grass bends under the weight of fallen warriors, bodies falling to the ground hurl leaves into the air, water cascades in beautiful finery, huge detailed helicopters saunter into the air, and then return -- the list goes on. It’s easy to appreciate the effort that has gone into the backgrounds when someone else is playing the game. It allows you to narrow your attention to what is happening behind the fight. The more you look, the more you find. In this aspect, TTT is unrivaled.
Music is typically Namco and comprises up-tempo, beat worthy mixes at home in most night clubs and raves. A good set of speakers will justify the over-use of high volume settings as it is easy to enjoy the noise just in itself. The sound effects have not changed much, but then again, a punch sounds like a punch, and a fighter can only groan so many ways. Audio wise TTT is as competent as they come, with no regrets. Tekken fans will instantly adhere to TTT, but may find the gameplay overly familiar. The team tag addition adds much to spice up the game with Arcade gamers finding an accurate conversion within the PS2. The graphical niggles that many seem eager to point out are indeed present, but during gameplay are hard to notice (depending on the quality of the TV used). There are rumours that recent programming advances have Namco revamping TTT, and Ridge Racer 5 so that they too will include smoothing effects before being launched here, and overseas. While many may argue that Dead or Alive is a superior fighter (due for release at a later date), its only superiority is that of graphics, and its partially interactive arena (players can be thrown from one arena into another). In terms of gameplay, TTT has far more moves, scope of freedom to create unique combinations, number of fighters, number of game modes, longevity and ease of play. The main regret I found in TTT was the lack of rendered the finishing movies that were so welcome, and well done in previous Tekken games. In their place are short in-game ending movies, that do little more than fill space on the CD. Apparently the ending movie for the last boss (named ‘Unknown’) is rendered and exceptional to see. I have yet to unlock this character, but with this review now complete, I can return to find that out...
