Introduction: Fighting games are one of the most popoular genres on consoles, and one of the most famous titles of this genre is the series of Tekken. The first Tekken appeared on the PlayStation not long after its launch, and then Tekken 2 and Tekken 3 followed it, bringing to us spectacular graphics and hundreds upon hundreds of moves, all mixed to create one of the greatest fighting games ever. After the launch of Playstation 2, Namco decided to relase another title to add to the series: this time Tekken Tag. Giving a first look at it, we immediately notice what a solid game it is: beautifully designed characters that use all the potential provided by Sony's 128bit console, and many many moves, more than in the previous chapters. As in many other games, however, this one is missing something. Something that is more important than graphics, sound and everything else. What? As always, continue reading to find out :).

Review: After the intro movie (we are beginning to get used to FMVs like these ones now...) you can't help but notice the extreme similarity between Tekken 3's main menu and this one, and this IS NOT the only similarity between the two games. After you begin the arcade mode, in fact, you will see that only the graphics have changed. The commands, the SFXs, the backgrounds, all seem like a very badly done make-up of the previous Tekken; a ridicoulous remake. Basically, the only new addition to the gameplay is the two-characters mode: everytime you play, you have to select two characters instead of one, and when you fight you can switch the first one to the second one pressing L1 or R1. For the rest, all remains equal: the button presses are the same, the speed of the game and the answer to the commands is really outstanding. Outstanding as the beautiful characters, drawn perfectly, with lots of colored textures, and wonderful light and shadow effects.

The sounds fits perfectly and the sound effects haven't changed from Tekken 3, not a bit! Surely you noticed a bit of contradiction reading this: firstly, it seems that the game is bad, then, the game description says that the game is very good. Why? Because, as I said before, the game lacks of something: originality. Software houses believe that developing a mediocre remake is enough to publish a game and sell it as an innovative title. Well, this is not true in my thinking. This is not only a defect of this game, but also of lots of other software houses and game series.

Conclusion: This game is like some kind of a well cooked food: you eat it, you feel that it's good, you like it, but it tastes too similar to other foods. Tekken Tag is surely a good game, designed by a software house expert in design of fighting games, but it surely isn't worth the buy if you own Tekken 3 already. However, lack of originality and innovation aren't enough to take it off the shelf.

Ratings: (scale of 0.0 - 5.0)