The 'Tekken' series amazed us two decades ago by offering stunning 3D graphics. On consoles, PCs and even portable consoles, we all have played this series at least once. And now, Namco Bandai has come up with another game in the series, “Tekken Revolution”. It was released for PlayStation 3 in June 2013, and is available on the PlayStation Store for free. Tekken Revolution is the first free-to-play game in the series.

Characters

Asuka Kazama, Jack-6, Kazuya Mishima, King, Lars Alexandersson, Lili Rochefort, Marshall Law and Paul Phoenix are playable from the start, while Steve Fox, Leo Kliesen, Bryan Fury and Alisa Bosconovitch can be unlocked during the game. Heihachi Mishima, Jinpachi Mishima and Ogre appear as bosses in the title, but are not playable. Namco plans to add more characters with future updates in the game.

Gameplay and Interface

The game keeps the same interface as other Tekken titles ― time is as usual visible in the upper middle with health bars on its left and right corners.

After data download and installation, the game can be played with an internet connection such that gameplay data can be sent back to Namco servers. It greets you with a menu screen ― clean and simple; from where all the game modes and settings can be accessed.

Although the gameplay is largely similar to previous games in the series, there are some minor changes. Some new features have been added, while others have been removed.

Tekken Revolution offers new special effects for some moves such that they can be instantly recognized as the most effective move of a certain character. There are two types; “Special Arts” and “Critical Arts”. Special Arts gives gamers invincibility at the start of the attack, but leaves you vulnerable if it is blocked. Critical Arts allows players to deal more damage if they manage to land a critical hit. Each character has four Critical Arts and one Special Arts effects.

The new “Character Enhancement System” is an RPG-like feature that lets you take experience points to be earned from matches, and apply them on three skill option: Power, Endurance and Vigor. Power determines how strong your character is, Endurance adds points to the health bar, and Vigor increases your chances of a critical hit when using Super or Critical Arts. Players must choose which areas they want to upgrade; either they can use all of their experience points on a single option or make their player an all-round character. Combo-oriented players perform better, while spending their points on Power; whereas the defensive players can use them on Endurance. This adds a whole new level of strategy and depth into the game. This gameplay element impacts the play style of other players as well.

One of the biggest changes is, the “Bound” system introduced in Tekken 6 has been removed. Though this may not affect all players, those who have adapted to it may face some difficulty. Even with the system gone, there are still some ways that can put the opponents into the Bound state, leaving them vulnerable.

There are three modes to be played: Arcade, Ranked Matches and Player Matches. Arcade mode is quite easy, and the difficulty mode cannot be changed. This is a good chance for novice players, and the ones who’re new to the series to start and learn quickly. This mode has eight stages to play. Winning or losing a fight gives you gold, experience to use the Character Enhancement System and Gift Points that can be used to unlock new characters. Player and Ranked Matches are online modes which allow you to compete with other players. The lag is very little in these modes, making way for a great experience. A Practice Mode is also planned to be added later on, with no story mode in this game.

The controls are responsive and features like sidestepping are more effective than in other games. Tekken Revolution is undoubtedly smooth, produced with the same engine as was Tekken Tag Tournament 2. The game gives an equal experience to both the players who purchase items within the game and those who do not.

Graphics and Presentation

The graphics are pretty much similar to Tekken Tag Tournament 2 with some new visual effects and the characters and stages are in high detail. The graphics are clear, bright and can perfectly capture the action while playing. The movement animations are also a lot better in this new edition. Soundtracks, while not bad, are a little less catchy than the previous games in the series which were praised for their excellent music. The motion blur effects are incredible, with amazing new effects used in Critical and Special Arts . Animations are smooth and cool; Namco has done a good job in this department. Overall, the game is well polished.

Limitations

As with almost all free-to-play games, there are some limitations in this game too i.e. low amount of characters and only three modes; for instance, there are no character customization options like the ones in previous games. Moreover, an even bigger problem is the tokens required to play. Arcade Tokens are required to play Arcade mode, while Battle Tokens needed to play Player and Ranked Matches. An Arcade Token is given to you every hour and a Battle Token is regenerated every 30 minutes. Players can hold a maximum of 2 Arcade Tokens along with 5 Battle Tokens. Premium Tickets are earned by accomplishing achievements, and can be used to play all game modes. Premium Coins act similar to Premium Tickets, but instead of being earned through tasks, they can be bought via the PlayStation Store. This may seem annoying at first, but you’ll surely get used to it soon.

Conclusion

With it’s amazing graphics and excellent gameplay all for free, even the limitations do not matter. The game’s online mode is replayable and immersive. When I first heard of a free-to-play Tekken game, I was worried that it may not provide the full Tekken experience or might offer an unfair advantage to those who bought in-game items, but this was certainly not the case. After playing the Tekken Revolution, I found how good the game actually was. This is a great game for beginners who want to try out, before they get full titles such as Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Tekken 6. However, if it just had a bit more characters and game modes, it would have been out of this world. Let's see what more Namco can bring to us with future updates, promising new characters. Overall, the game adds some new features to the already amazing series and delivers the same fighting gameplay as the original. It has one of the best free-to-play models in the industry. The game gets a 7/10 from my side, and is really fun to play. I would recommend downloading this game, without giving a second thought! If you have anything to say about the game; feel free to share with us in the comments section below.

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