A velociraptor with boxing gloves, a giant robot, the son of a Bruce Lee lookalike, and a dude in full on disco gear. Huh?
Meet Alex, P. Jack, Forest Law, and Tiger Jackson – all will be returning for Tekken Tag Tournament 2, the next entry in the fighting franchise. Previously just palette-swaps of Roger, Jack, Marshall Law, and Eddie Gordo, respectively, the quartet are now full-fledged characters in their own right.
Is this real life?
But wait, aren’t there already, like, a million brawlers in the Tekken universe? What are we going to do with four more? How will we ever be able to learn to actually play any of them?
Well, that’s what the all-new Fight Lab is for. Instead of throwing players into the deep end of the fighting world like so many other training modes in the genre tend to do, Fight Lab is designed to help folks learn the game from the ground up. Starting with the basics of Tekken systems – like sidestepping and counter-throws – it will take you step by step through everything you want to know.
<Street Fighter voice> DINO...UPPERCUT!
As great as Fight Lab is for new players, it doesn’t really shine until you graduate into learning some of the more advanced techniques and combos. Tekken combos are largely about timing, so if you want to learn everything that Tiger Jackson can do, you’re going to have to get down with that disco rhythm. Fortunately, Fight Lab features much more than a list of button presses. Select a combo to learn, and it’ll show you exactly when to hit each punch, kick, and throw, right down to the millisecond.
Fight Lab also helps with chaining these combos together. Using a simple series of color-coordinated symbols, players will be able to see which combos can bind enemies to the floor or be tagged in and out of, for example. So if you’d like to know the right moment to pause P.Jack’s robo-combo and bring in Forest Law for some kung fu ass-kicking, you’ll know just by taking a peek at the command lists.
Each guy is too cool to make the first move.
Tekken, at its core, is really all about flexibility and style. There’s no dial-a-combo here, it’s all about finding your own personal style and working to make it viable competitively. Even if you’re playing as, say, a raptor wearing nothing but boxing gloves, the game’s fighting engine is flexible enough to allow for just about anything players want to do.
And with the tag team style of Tag Tournament 2, that flexibility is taken even further. Expect new combos to be constantly discovered, the superiority of teams of characters to be argued about at great length, and the field of viable strategies to be constantly shifting. With 50+ fighters to be featured in the game, there’s an absolutely absurd amount of stuff to tool around with.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about the release of a deep and complex fighter like Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is watching the experts dig deep into it and break down the game. Even if you’ll never play at a competitive level, take a second to appreciate those that do. The fighting game world is a fascinating place, and it’s about to get bigger.
Taylor Cocke is a Bay Area-based freelance games writer who talks way too much about music, coffee, and Kids in the Hall. Follow him on Twitter.
Source : ign[dot]com
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