Bandai Namco Tekken 8: Launch Edition (PS5)

Tekken was once the pinnacle of fighting games. It was instrumental in the dominance of the original PlayStation over the other consoles.Tekken 3 is widely regarded as one of the most revolutionary fighting games, and it made use of motion capture to create realistic movement for the fighters.Tekken 5 on PS2 was the eventual sequel that reached the same height in quality. The game was so good, and so well designed, that the groundwork laid down can still be felt in the latest games. Legacy skills from this era can be applied to the current Tekken.Enter The King of Iron Fist Tournament 8.Finally, after the disappointment of 6 and 7, we have a worthy successor to the legacy and expectations of Tekken. This game was not rushed out - it was cooked gradually, and perfected, finally released 9 full years after the last game in the series.Tekken 8 looks and sounds spectacular. The music is a return to form, and the game even allows you to mix your own soundtrack from the songs in all prior games.The content is plentiful and generous. There is a cinematic story mode, a seperate Arcade Quest storyline, character episodes with unique endings for each fighter, a classic Arcade Mode, and even an old favourite that has made a return - Tekken Ball - a fun mode first seen in Tekken 3.The gameplay is simply incredible. Fast, furious, responsive. The best Tekken has played since 5.The roster is varied, and leaves other recent fighting games with a feeling of lacking by comparison. Tekken 8 has 32 unique characters, each with multiple outfits and customisation options.The online play has been a very nice surprise. Generally lag free and responsive - I've played over 60 online games at the time of writing, and only 2 have presented me with noticeable lag.To summarise:Tekken 8 looks, sounds and plays better than any other fighting game. The production values and content shame other games by comparison. There are no insidious monetization practices. The online play is extremely solid.There is even enough content to make this worthwhile even if you don't want to take it online.Don't hesitate!

This launch edition came in a cardboard sleeve along with a cool Tekken 8 steel plate, a pair of small stickers - and a code that doesn’t work. Would have preferred a steel book for my 55 quid but there you go. The initial download of 15Gb allows a minimal gameplay with 8 characters and 3 backgrounds before the extra 60Gb or so completes it (after a PS5 restart). This failed on me the first time due to a dirty disk, not the first time with a new and sealed PS5 disk – does someone at Sony have incredibly sticky hands?Anyway once you’re up and running and Kazuya is directly eyeballing you rather suspiciously this is a cut above. You have a large roster of 32 characters, new and old though no Heihachi (RIP). Some of the original characters such as Paul and Law have (appropriately) aged with this game which for an old Tekkener like me is quite re-assuring. There are some sumptuous backgrounds and many modes for you to get stuck into.The gameplay is smooth and fast and furious accompanied by the much loved rocking soundtracks. There seems to be a bit more emphasis on weapons with Nina and new Frenchman Victor packing heat and I’m not so sure how I feel about that but it’s not a gamebreaker. New features include a one-off heat move activated with R1 that you can action at any time and usually lands about 30% of the time depending on your opponent’s stance/position. Rage art (or doggie’s chance as we like to call it) has been dumbed down from a unique player button combo to a straight R2 press but there are some quite elaborate finishing animations to enjoy (and take a breather whilst they play out). As far as the action is concerned though this is peak Tekken but an evolution rather than a revolution from T7.We mostly play offline versus at family gatherings but have dipped into the story mode too which is quite impressive though less Tekken lore, more G-corp with noob Victor playing a prominent part. Tekken ball (not bowl) returns though I’m not a massive fan and there is a cutesy arcade type SIM aimed at younger Tekkeners too.I started playing Tekken 1 with my daughter and we’ve played every iteration since, our favourites being TTT1 and T5. My grandson cut his teeth on T7 and is now enjoying T8 with me too. As said, it’s a bit of a family game for us and the evolution of the Mishima story sort of mirrors this though I don’t plan on chucking the grandson off a volcano anytime soon. I can see us getting many hours of couch co-op fun out of this as we have all the others (winner stays on and has to choose a random character !) as it is top notch competitive and often humorous fighting fun.

I've always been a big fan of Tekken, have spent countless hours playing the series throughout the years and I can honestly say this game is fantastic.Story line is climactic. Quite a long career mode, which is captivating and very exciting.Visuals in this game are phenomenal. 'Heat' attacks offer a more intense battle, along with the ability to redeem and regain control with 'Rage Art' in battles.Online experience has been superb too. With so many ranks it offers very competitive play. You can easily alter settings prior to a game to ensure you're getting good internet connection quality, and you have the option to play against an opponent of different ranks.Customisation is very diverse. There's a plethora of options for each character. There's also a number of customizable slots for various customizations for a particular character.

With Tekken 8, there's a lot more to it than just how utterly amazing it looks. The gameplay feels absolutely solid, the story is vastly better than the one in Tekken 7, there are a lot more accessibility options for those that need is which is a huge plus, and the fact that Tekken 8 by far, is my new favourite in the series. I cannot wait to see how far Tekken 8 goes before the sequel is released. Bandai Namco, Harada-san, you and the team have made an absolute gem, and it's a fantastic game for what basically is, the start of 2024.

Fun fighting game with ps5 graphics enter the arena of the world if you like fighting games give it a try

Macht sehr viel Spaß.Sehr gute Fortsetzung…

Tolle Charaktere, 🔨 moves.

Ich spiel seit meiner Kindheit Tekken und ich muss sagen das neue fühlt sich einfach sehr wild und gut an.Es macht im Multiplayer mit zwei Controller Mega Spaß.Die Grafik mit den Kombos und Animation ist einfach der Hammer.Würd ich jedem empfehlen 🫶

Alles super bin sehr zufrieden

Perfekt