Preliminary review Tekken 7. What has changed over seven and a half years

WHAT? A few hours with the almost final version of Tekken 7 for PlayStation 4 WHERE? Moscow, office of SoftKlab

Previous number of series Tekken I went out on consoles in 2009. Since then, the genre in the fating has seriously changed. Ed Bun and his Netherrealm Studios revived and re -invented their series Mortal Kombat (they themselves buried it themselves, but we will not about the sad), and also created another universe of the fighting wings – Injustice, in which the second part comes out in a couple of weeks. Capcom Issued Street Fighter v, And themselves Namco Bandai – Fifth Soulcalibur.

Of course, Namco Bandai did not throw a series Tekken. After 2009, they gave out a wonderful spin-off Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and even tested the Free-to-Play model in Tekken Card Tournament And Tekken Revolution. But still, it was the room part with the continuation of the main story that fans were waiting for the most.

Well, there is no time to wait long, Tekken 7 is about to appear on the shelves. We spent several hours in the game during a press session in the Moscow office of SoftKlab and hasten to share my impressions.

Plot

The first thing that met us after the launch of the game was the laconic game menu, translated into Russian, and next to it, one of the main characters of the series, Heihati Misima, looked at us. Already in the menu you can see the change of game priorities – the plot campaign "Saga about the family of Mishima" is put on first place.

The approach to submitting the plot changed dramatically. In the previous parts, we observed in the "History mode" short cats, separating one fight from another and almost unrelated plot. But in the seventh part we will find a single plot campaign lasting about ten hours. During this time, we recall all the key events of the past parts (yes, from the very first game), we will learn new details about the events of those years, as well as the continuation and, you will not believe, the end of the story of the confrontation of the Mishim clan members.

The story in the plot campaign comes on the face of two sides. We receive information about the past, from the [so far] character that we are investigating the armed conflict between Misima Dzeibatsu and “Corporation G”, which happened in the sixth part. This character acts as the main storyteller, from his words we discover the history of the Mishim family and we learn many previously unknown details.

Judging by the mood of the hero, closer to the end, we may well see him on the battlefield, where he will try to take revenge on someone from the Mishim clan for his family who died in that conflict.

Journalists were shown by the first eight chapters of the "saga about the family of Mishim". It took us about one and a half to two hours to pass them.

As for the events of the “present”, here the story is presented in a more familiar way: on behalf of the one we have to fight in a particular battle. The transitions between the “past” and “present” are made quite organically and allow you to fully enjoy the history. In addition, this helps to briefly introduce newcomers to the history of all license plates, which for a series for more than twenty years the task is non -trivial.

Here we will immediately say about localization. All texts are translated into Russian, and dialogs are equipped with Russian subtitles. The characters say not only in Japanese – everyone speaks in the language of the country where he was born. Therefore, in the eight chapters shown to us, we managed to hear English speech from Nina Williams, and Japanese from Heihati, and Italian from the new character Claudio Serafino.

Come in, do not be shy

Separately, we note the guest character. For the first time in the history of the series in Tekken, a hero from another universe appeared – Akuma, a secret boss and an additional character from several parts of Street Fighter (apparently, the partnership of Namco Bandai and Capcom continues after Street Fighter X Tekken).

Unlike the majority of the fighting stations, where the characters of other universes are “guest”, Akuma is not just an additional character, it can be chosen for a single fight or arcade regime. The creators of the game seriously redrawn the akum under her style, endowed them with facial animation and movements, worked out no worse than the main characters of the series, and introduced it into the plot for a far from a passing role.

As you could see in trailers, a few decades ago, the wife of Heihati, Kazumi Mishima, asked Akum to kill her husband and son if she could not stop their destructive enmity for the world. Why Akuma pulled for almost fifty years with the fulfillment of the promise is not very clear; Perhaps in the Tekken universe the promised half a century is waiting.

One way or another, the last of the chapters shown to us ends in the very attack of Akuma on Heihati from trailers. This is the most difficult battle for eight chapters, it will squeeze out all juices from an unprepared player even at an average level of complexity. In particular, because we play precisely for the akum, the management of which is still made alien "Street Feiter", even the ex-meter remained.

In the growth of the seventh of forty characters, for the most part of old acquaintances.

New in battles ..

Catcins before the battles may contain QTE, on which the initial conditions of the battle depend. For example, a mistake in front of one of the first fights for Heihati will make him miss a blow during the Katsen. Then you will start a fight with fewer health.

Some katsets set the conditions for a compulsory manner, without any QTE: characters almost always start the battle in the video, and all the damage is reflected at the beginning of the battle on the strips of health. Yes, and the transition from the video to the battle is almost seamless, so be prepared that you will have to beat the enemy’s attack first in the video first action.

Several innovations also appeared in the battles themselves. The characters began to communicate even during fights (at least within the framework of the plot campaign). The same duel between Heihati and Akuma contains several short variable phrases with which the characters insult each other after successfully conducted attacks. A trifle, but nice. Us. Not to the one who was offended.

New mechanics are also present – for example, the reception of Rage Art, opening when you have a little health left. The more you suffered, the more damage to the enemy will inflict (if, of course, he does not block your blow). And even when passing the story, the game is ready to provide you with little help in difficult times – in the battle when pressing L1 and any impact button, the game will fulfill the combo for you.

At the end of the press session, the journalists tossed up. Fortunately, the Tekken 7 Arena became the battlefield, and not the real world.

… and beyond

The innovations do not end there. So, the "GUSIC MARS" section appeared, where you can configure music sounding during the battle. The beauty of the section is that you are free to choose a melody from any part of Tekken, configure a random order of playback and generally adjust the music to your needs. For example, the author of these lines turned on the soundtrack from the third part and from time to time nostalgically sniffed with his nose.

Another change affected the customization of the characters. In the "local" part of the game, the item "Battle for Treasures" appeared. The more efficiently you fight, the more coins you get, and then you can buy items for customization of heroes-from suit and glasses to the type of hairstyle and some brooches. Here you can sometimes https://superb-casino.co.uk/ win some subject, instead of buying it.

But in history and battles with other players, coins are not earned. As usual, some of the items are very effective, and the part is absolutely crazy and confusing. Be prepared for the fact that online can you expect, for example, a kuma, lazy with white angelic wings.

Online, of course, has not gone anywhere. Unfortunately, there was no possibility to try it on a press session, like the VR mode, which appeared at the end of the main menu.

It doesn’t matter who you are taking place in this battle. The story of Tekken 7 will definitely not leave you indifferent.

Other screenshots from Tekken 7

Judging by the first impressions, with Tekken 7, everything is very good. At the end of the gaming session, representatives of SoftKlab organized a small tournament among journalists, and he clearly showed that the game is still perfect for entertainment in the company. How all this will work online, how the story of the Mishim clan will end, as well as the answers to other questions we will find out very soon – the game is released on June 2 on PS4, Xbox One and personal computers.