The Tekken series of fighting games from Bandai Namco is one of the strongest titles in the classification of 3D fighting games since its success on the first PlayStation device and the great popularity it enjoyed for many years. After a break of seven years since the release of the seventh part of the series, the series returns to us again with the release of the eighth part to continue. The story of the eternal struggle between members of the Mashima family for control, proof of power, and revenge. Heihachi Mashima’s novel has ended and the time has come for the struggle between son and grandson. Today we present to you a review of the game and learn about all the new elements it offers.
Let us first talk about the most important change that occurred in the series, which is the use of the new Unreal Engine 5 development engine. This option leads to a big leap in the game’s graphics in terms of showing the smallest details, such as the prominent veins on the muscles, drops of sweat, as well as the texture of the cloth material, and effects during combat, such as light, electricity, and even game performance. It was excellent, without any moments of slowdown during gameplay. Perhaps the most prominent feature of Unreal Engine 5 is the rapid movement between cinematic scenes and in-game scenes, and the gameplay scenes seemed much better than cinematic scenes in terms of quality and details, so that we could live a reality that we had dreamed of seeing years ago.
The audio in the game will make you feel that you are in the battle, immersing you in the sound of strong and light blows to the point that while you receive or hit the opponent with a very strong blow, you will feel its power. Also, the music in it introduced new tracks that I liked, especially those in the story mode. The game Tekken 8 is impressive on the technical level in all aspects. .
The story mode returns again, but this time it focuses on the story of the conflict between Jin Kazama and his father, Kazuya Mishima. Players can finish the story mode here in about an hour of play, which is less than the seventh part, which required me two hours to finish the story, but it offers the same thing that the seventh part did in terms of The quality of the story, but this time they relied more on cinematic scenes to narrate all the events, unlike the previous part, which sometimes used still images to narrate the events in the story. Like the previous part, the gameplay and cinematic scenes were combined with a beautiful and smooth transition between them, better than the seventh part, thanks to the power of the Unreal engine. Engine 5.
The game offers 32 characters, including those returning, such as Jin and Kazuya, and some of them returned after a 15-year break, such as Raven. Perhaps the most surprising character return was the character of Jin’s mother, Jun. Her last official appearance was 25 years ago in the game Tekken 2. The game introduces 3 completely new characters, including the fighter. Peruvian Azucena, and also a mysterious and unknown character called Reina, and all we know is that she practices martial arts for the Mishima family, and last but not least is the character Victor, who is the founder of Un’s independent forcess.
Now let’s talk about the game system. Well, in the game Tekken 8, a new game system was introduced called the Heat System, which is about activating a supernatural ability that enhances the power of the blows so that they cause damage even if the opponent blocks them. Also, if he presses the heat button again, he will perform a combo or strikes. Short successive sequences cause great damage to the opponent and differ from one character to another. Also, while activating the Heat system, the combo line will change and also introduce some new movements for the characters. The control facilitation system returns again in this part, but it has been improved so that this time it is more like action combat games and you can switch. Between the type of control with the push of a button, I tried both types and enjoyed them so much that I used the easy type to make quick combos, and the normal type I used to make more strategies in combat.
The game offers other modes, such as the Character Episodes phase, the idea of which is that you play with a character of your choice for five rounds, and there is a cinematic scene before the first round and a scene after completing the rounds with the character, like the idea of the original Tekken games, but the stories in it are superficial and do not add depth to the characters, so they are usually comical, and if they are part of the story The original is very short and does not give enough information.
It also offers a completely new mode called Arcade Quest, which is a single-player mode without the need to connect to the network. Its idea is that you play with a character that you design yourself and venture into moving between the existing arcade halls so that you fight other unreal players and rise through the ranks. In fact, the mode is an educational phase for new players, so you can learn. All the rules of play and the basic story in this phase were boring and the dialogues were trite. Perhaps this is the basic idea, but it was annoying to me. As for the mode itself, it is fun, especially when you rise in the ranks and duel strong players, but the main purpose is to collect pieces of accessories and clothing for the players and also unlock the Super Ghost mode. battles, which makes you play with a character that learns from playing against you and develops itself through artificial intelligence. You can also download characters that you learned from other players. Perhaps the most surprising mode was the Tekken Ball mode, and the reason is that it was introduced in the game Tekken 3, and here it is returning again after a long break. ! You can play against the computer or a player on or off the network, and the idea is that you must hit the other player with the ball to achieve damage to him unless he loses, and last but not least is the network mode, which is a mode that makes you enter a large hall in which there are many activities and play against other players and online and the possibility of choosing between three Netcode. In order to get the best possible experience.
Tekken 8 offers distinctive content for a fighting game in many game modes. The combat system has also been developed in a very enjoyable way, and let us not forget the interesting story events and the eternal struggle of this family, with beautiful graphics and wonderful sounds. There is no doubt that Tekken 8 is a strong start to the releases of this series. The year is a unique experience for fans of fighting games in general and fans of the series in particular.
Tekken 8 was reviewed with a copy provided by the game publisher on the PS5 before its release in the market.
