Tekken 5 Set to Take Europe by Storm

This article comes from Highwaygames.com

Namco's eagerly awaited combat video sequel, Tekken 5 has been launched in Europe amidst a flurry of critical acclaim from operators, players and games writers alike. Within the the space of two weeks in the middle of October the new game was unveiled first to trade and consumer games writers at Namco's flagship Namco Station FEC in London's County Hall, then to coin-op industry professionals in Rome, Italy (Enada Show) and London, UK (Preview Exhibition). One of the most successful combat video creations in video games history with a pedigree that stretches over a decade, gameplay on Tekken 5 owes much to the original roots of Tekken and includes a number of new features, not least a card system that allows customisation of characters, whereby players can buy items and tailor their characters in alternative colour costumes.

Another innovation is Tekken 5's ghost character system, which allows the machine to save a player's fighting style on its hard drive and then use it to control CPU characters against their human opponents. Three new characters appear amongst the initial 20 available, with more scheduled for time release than ever before. A number of new combination moves, accentuated visual effects, 15 highly dramatic stages and Namco's new System 256 graphics complete the picture for Tekken's latest incarnation. "Tekken has one of the strongest followings of any video game with a substantial captive audience of players," said John McKenzie, Namco Europe sales and commercial director. "As such we've already begun promoting Tekken 5 through consumer media and are producing dedicated tournament packs designed to help attract more Tekken enthusiasts through arcade doors over the next few months." Tekken 5 is available in 50" deluxe, 33" standard and 28" upright formats. Distributed exclusively by Namco Europe, deliveries are due to commence during November.

PICTURED: Left to right with Tekken 5 are Namco Europe's John McKenzie (Sales & Commercial Director), Mike Nevin (Managing Director) and John Brennan (Product Manager).