A few weeks ago I attended a Namco event in San Francisco that was a lot of fun, due in large part to the surprise unveiling of Tekken 5 for the PS2. The sequel to the long-running series, Tekken 5 features new characters and gorgeous graphics that will set it apart from its predecessors, but how does it play? I came, I saw, I got my @$$ handed to me, and for the most part, had a good time.

The preview build was very unstable (it crashed several times), and only allowed for Vs matches, so I couldn't take a peek at any of the game's additional modes. There were 20 fighters to select from, and many were familiar faces, including Law, King, and Yoshimitsu (I love to see how Namco evolves that character with each installment). However, there are some new faces including the deadly Asuka (she feels somewhat like Jun Kazama) Chinese Kenpo master Feng Wei, and the Dennis Rodman-looking character Raven (who I found to be rather stiff and difficult to use). Not looking to rock the boat, I chose to play as Christie during most of my time with the game, as she's a great (though cheap) character for me to regain my skills with.

Putting the game through its paces, I probably played well over 10 matches, and never did I question what game I was playing. Tekken 5, despite its new characters and environments (more on that in a bit), plays for the most part like Tekken always has (at least since Tekken 2). It's still a solid 3D fighter that features punches, kicks, grabs, and insane combos, and the control scheme feels exactly the same as in previous versions. Also, it's still a pain side-stepping attacks, though Namco may tweak that before the game releases this February. It's not that it's impossible, but it's nowhere near as fluid as it is in games like Tecmo's DOA Ultimate and Namco's other flagship fighting series, Soul Calibur.

Despite the Namco rep's insistence that PS2 Tekken 5's graphics are identical to the game's arcade counterpart, that's just not the case, though I'm not saying that the game looks bad. The build suffers from those lovely PS2 jaggies we've all become accustomed to, but it's gorgeous and very detailed. The fighters look fantastic, but it's the levels that truly shine. I battled opponents all over the Earth, knocking heads on the ice (with penguins wobbling and sliding about), in the Midwest, set in front of a giant glowing moon, and my personal favorite; in front of a burning Japanese village that features a marvelous shimmer effect.

Taking a page from Sega's book with Virtua Fighter 4, you can interact with the ground. In some levels, you can damage the floor, so fallen bodies crumble stone, send shards of ice flying about, coins shooting off into different directions, and flower petals fluttering through the air. It is by no means a groundbreaking effect, but it's certainly a nice touch and should provide you with more ammo for trash talking.

Tekken 5 for the PS2 looks solid but it needs a lot more time to cook, and there are numerous questions I have regarding its modes, secret characters (if there will be any), and assorted options and what not. However, what I can say is thus far (based on the build that I played), the game looks and feels like Tekken, so if you're a fan of the series this sequel will be a dream come true. Set to release in the first quarter of 2005 and possibly as early as February, the King of the Iron Fist returns to your living room!