

My duo of choice comprises Marshall Law, my go-to combatant, and Jun Kazama, whose 10-hit combinations I can recite from memory. I insert the disc, complete the enormous 8GB install, and head straight for Arcade mode (difficulty set to Medium by default). So, the day prior to release, my pre-order arrives. Feel free to challenge me at your peril (*winks*). Nowadays, I tend to play on Medium – and I’m ok with that, because I can more than hold my own against actual players. Nonetheless, aficionados will know that the single-player element of Tekken titles has always catered to a broad range of skill levels by providing five difficulty settings: Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard and Ultra Hard. Now before anyone reacts to this statement with the ever-mature response “you just suck”, I do acknowledge that, as I’ve grown older, my reaction times, hand-eye coordination and propensity for anticipating attacks are not what they used to be. Why? Because the game’s AI has proven to be cruel, unrelenting and cheap. The original Tekken Tag Tournament on PS2 was an excellent title, chock-full of game modes and unlockable content, and thus I was really looking forward to losing myself in its sequel, reacquainting myself with my favourite fighters and experiencing TTT2’s evolved tag mechanics.Īlas, I am sorry to say that after a few days of playing time I’ve not had as much fun as expected.

When Namco Bandai unveiled the console version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2, I was giddy with glee.

Consequently, I’ve purchased every instalment across all three PlayStation generations, become at least competent with every character, and taken part in a variety of official tournaments. From the moment I performed my first 10-hit combo at the age of ten, I was hooked. Katsuhiro Harada’s beat ‘em up is the reason I bought a Sony PlayStation instead of a Sega Saturn, the reason I took up martial arts, and the reason my teachers rarely received my homework on time. Before I begin this opinion piece, let me make one thing clear: I love Tekken.
