Akihabara, Tokyo, September 2008 - The rain pours on a humid September night. The umbrellas litter the bright night time streets. There's only one refuge - the arcade. The array of quirky sounds and J-pop bounce of the walls. Cigarette smoke lingers in the air. My thumbs are itching, it's time for a game. Suddenly a crowd catches my eye, drawing me in closer to see what's on show.
The Japanese man draws on his cigarette and then places his hands on the controls. The cigarette hangs from his mouth as he prepares for battle. He looks up at me in surprise - a stranger in a foreign land. "Want to play?" he asks with squinting eyes. I'll be no match for him, he lives at these controls. Maybe he senses my fear like a ninja senses danger. Perhaps he is using this chance to humiliate the foreigner in his domain. "Sure" I respond, and the fight begins - Tekken 6.
Needless to say I lost. Over a year has passed since this incident, Tekken 6 is now set for a worldwide release on the home consoles. Two years after the initial release into Japanese Arcades. The console release is based upon the 2008 expansion Bloodline Rebellion, rather than the original arcade instalment.
Since Tekken first emerged in the arcades in 1994 (Playstation in '95), there's no denying the game has created a huge following around the world, due to it's unique array of characters and intuitive style. Tekken 6 promises to expand on the formula, while keeping the same traits that made the franchise popular in the first place. So, what's new?
Firstly, Tekken is no longer a Sony exclusive. Many of the hardcore may match Tekken to Playstation like we match Halo to Microsoft, but in the ever changing market no exclusive deal is set in stone anymore. For that reason Tekken 6 will see 360 players fighting it out on the same day as Playstation 3 owners, which is good if you prefer achievements over trophies.
Apart from that, the character roster is quirkier and larger than ever, with 40 playable characters on offer in Arcade and Versus modes, plus the new Scenario Campaign. Amongst the familiar names are six new characters to put through their paces. Four of whom joined for the initial arcade game, with two more included in Bloodline Rebellion. These new additions consist of Alisa, Bob, Lars, Leo, Miguel and Zafina.