PixlBit

As I've made clear in the past, I am by no means the world's biggest Tekken fan. Tekken 6 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 was a solid entry that fans of the series no doubt enjoyed. Thankfully for those same fans, Namco has created a portable version of the fighter in order to play and practice on-the-go.

While I'm not really a fan of the gameplay or the series, I can honestly say that Tekken 6 on the PSP is truly a feat. The game takes the core parts of Tekken 6, excising the less-than-stellar story mode, and makes it completely and perfectly portable. The game features no noticeable slow down, still stunning graphics and a working control scheme that mirrors the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 original. Furthermore, the terrible loading issues found in the home console version have been completely fixed here.

Though many fighting games over the years have made a portable debut, none have ever managed to port the experience so faithfully to the handheld market. Given the stellar graphics and complex gameplay, this conversion is extremely impressive.

In terms of gameplay, Tekken 6 is very much like the rest of the series. The core mechanics are mostly the same, with only a few tweaks to the engine found in 5. The roster has been increased by six characters, four that came in the original Arcade version, with the extra two appearing in the Arcade update, Bloodline Rebellion - the version this game is based on. The first arcade version of Tekken 6 added the characters Bob, Leo, Miguel, and Zafina. Bloodline Rebellion added Lars Alexandersson and Alisa Bosconovitch, a robot chick with chainsaw arms. The roster is quite large, the largest ever in a Tekken game in fact, featuring 42 characters with almost all notable characters in the series making an appearance.

Being a fighting game, the most important aspect of the game is the ability to fight against friends as well as the computer for practice in between bouts. Unfortunately, Tekken 6 PSP only offers ad-hoc multiplayer, which is great if a friend owns a copy of the game. All others will be restricted to playing matches versus the computer. This takes away from some of the heart and soul of the game.

Thankfully, the excellent ghost abilities have been maintained in this portable version allowing players to play computer ghost versions of their friends after trading. These ghosts mimic a player's style making the match much more realistic and human-like. This function will allow players to develop new techniques in order to defeat their friends during a future rematch.

Tekken 6 for the PSP is an impressive title to say the least. While the actual fighting is not particularly my cup of tea, fans of the series will undoubtedly love this rendition of the title. Those looking for a solid portable fighter that have no averse feelings towards the Tekken series will enjoy this well-made game.