Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection for the PlayStation 3 marks a few milestones for developer Namco Bandai. It represents the debut of the acclaimed fighting series on the new platform. Distributed exclusively via the online PlayStation Store, it also showcases Namco's first real embrace of digital delivery. Would-be owners merely need to hop online with their PlayStation 3, purchase the game (2000 yen in Japan, approximately $16 USD) and patiently wait as all 830 MB of its assets download. Unfortunately, that 830 MB doesn't include everything gamers have come to expect from a home version of Tekken, but Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection still provides enough to justify its price tag.

Stored entirely on the PlayStation 3's hard drive, this setup eliminates any loading times that occurred in previous home editions. Instead of momentarily dawdling at a screen filled with art as assets stream from a spinning disc, the game now loads matches imperceptibly fast, the transition between menu and gameplay nearly instantaneous. Given that past editions were also known for their speedy load times, the brief pauses found in earlier versions now feel archaic by comparison. In addition, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection outputs in high definition up to 1080p, all the while running at a solid 60 frames per second.

Compared to the regular old Tekken 5, which hit PlayStation 2 in early 2005, this Dark Resurrection revision adds new characters, moves and stages. Arcade Mode throws players through a random assortment of matches, always culminating in a showdown against the same two characters. Meanwhile, Ghost Mode lets players influence the next bout by providing a list of three opponents. The whole time, players earn gold, useful for customizing their character's appearance, while the game tracks their overall win-loss ratio and assigns a ranking based on their performance. Of course, the game also includes a two player versus mode.

Many of the maneuvers within Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection have multiple outcomes depending on the specific buttons used and the length of that button's depression. For example, tapping left on the directional pad during a certain move leaves Xiayou with her back turned, whereas holding the direction has her facing forward after its completion. This provides two wildly different sets of follow-up actions, effective gameplay based off how the various commands play into one another, not random button mashing.

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