Tekken5: Dark Resurrection released for the PS3 originally as a downloadvia the Playstation Online store. It didn't feel like a 'home release'as much as the PSP version did (Tekken: Dark Resurrection) because the PS3 version lacked endings, Story Mode, Survival Mode, Team Battle,and Practice Mode. Tekken 5: DR Online remedies a few of the missing1-player modes by adding in Survival Mode, and the always appreciated PracticeMode. Unfortunately there is still no story mode or character endings; so you'll have to go back to Tekken: Dark Resurrectionfor all those goodies.

So, how isthe first official online-enabled Tekken? Well, that all depends on your connection(and whom you play against)... simply put, if you don't have access to a topnotch connection, you can pretty much forget about playingTekken Online. So for this review, feel free to insert the phrase 'whenthere is NO lag' after every positive thing I say about this game.

Tekken 5: DR Online includes all the online features you'd expect.... Onlinerankings, battle lobbies, headset support, and in-match spectating. Basically,you can either create a room (up to 8 people) or join a room, where youwait in line to play the winner. It's just like 'putting your quarter up'at an arcade machine, winner stays, loser pays... old school.

Online match options includePick-up Match, Opti Match, Quick Match, Custom Match and Friend Match;a good variety of ways to find challengers. You can of course see which of your friends arecurrently playing Tekken 5: DR Online via your PS3 friends list, and you can receive invitations to playas long as your profile is 'online'. Even if your playing another gameon your PS3, as long as you're signed in to PSN, you can still receiveinvitations to play Tekken... pretty cool. The head-set support in thisgame is also an enjoyable feature, allowing for some funny (and sometimesnot so funny) live commentary and/or trash talking. However, choosing tocreate a room with headset support will increase your chances of lag, soI usually play without it... I prefer not talking while playing anyway.

T5: DR Online isa mixed bag as far as stability goes.... Sometimes it's smooth enough to play,other times (most ofthe time) it lags significantly. Lag is definitelythe biggest issue with Tekken 5: DR Online and once again greatlydependson who you play against & their connection, as well as your own.Unfortunately, there'sno way to tell who will lag before a match, but if you do notice someoneis lagging more than usual; you can easily kick them out of your room beforewasting your time.
When suddenlag appears during random fights (and it will), expect to mistakenly dropyour opponent after a launcher, and mess up your air combos that you usuallyhit 100% of the time. Missing a combo of course can change the pace ofthe fight, and needless to say you can very well lose the match becauseof lag. It comes down to who can play well with a little bit oflag; and who can't. With that said, the 'Online Rankings' shouldn'treally be taken too seriously, but there is some truth to the ranks.If you go up against one of the higher ranks, no doubt you're going upagainst a skilled opponent who knows some decent combos & strategies.

Players arerewarded with and judged solely by 'battle points,' which are earned fordefeating opponents close to their rank or above. Players are given littleto no points for beating a much lower rank. It's a simple yet fair rankingsystem, and thankfully, Namco seems to have fixed some of the annoyingdisconnect glitches. Before they patched it, disconnecting during a matchfor any reason (for instance your power or internet connection goes out),you will be penalized and lose battle points. You only get one warning,and after any future disconnect, you can say goodbye to '1000' ofyour hard earned battle points (equivalent to winning 7-10 ranked matches). This'penalty' for disconnecting is obviously in place to remedy those 'sorelosers' who might disconnect during a battle on purpose to save themselvesfrom a loss... and it seems to work properly at least.'Disconnects' also show on each player's profile, which you can alwaystake a look at before deciding to fight someone. Handy. ;)

Overall, TekkenOnline is about the fun of being able to play a live opponent at prettymuch any time. Unlike some people, I don't whine about the lag issues somuch because I appreciate the heart of the game and what it provides.I've had a ton of great matches online, and have also learned quite a lot;including more advanced combos for several characters and character tactics...no doubt this game can improve your Tekken skills if you don't know alot of skilled players in real life.
Tekken Onlinealso gives 'newbs' the ability to experience what a real Tekkenbattle if they've never had one, and exposes many different playing styles all without having to step foot inside anarcade to meet skilled players. With theability to watch a live match between two skilled players, novices and mediocre players are sureto see a lot of moves, combos, and strategies that they have never seenor perhaps never even thought of... thus, pick up a few tips from the pros!And remember, you're never too good to learn new combos. This 'learningexperience' will surely hold true for other next-gen online fighting gamescoming out in the future.

Page Updated: July 17th, 2020 Developer(s): Namco Bandai Publisher(s): Namco Platform(s): PlayStation 3 (PSN) Release Date(s): Aug. 1st, 2007 Aug. 30th, 2007 Nov. 8th, 2007 Characters: AsukaKazama, Feng Wei, Raven,Dragunov,Lili,Bruce,Anna,JinKazama, Lee Chaolan, LingXiaoyu, Bryan Fury, NinaWilliams, Paul Phoenix, Yoshimitsu,SteveFox, Craig Marduk, ChristieMonteiro, Eddy,Hwoarang,KazuyaMishima, King,MarshallLaw, Julia Chang, Jack-5,LeiWulong, Armor King, RogerJr., Wang, Baek,Ganryu,DevilJin, Mokujin, Kuma,Panda, Heihachi,Jinpachi Featured Video: Related Games: Tekken 5, Tekken5: Dark Resurrection, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Tekken,Tekken2,Tekken 3, Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken4, Tekken6, Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tekken 7, Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, Tekken Hybrid, Tekken 3D: Prime Edition, TekkenAdvance, Tekken Revolution, Street Fighter X Tekken, Dead or Alive 4, Street Fighter 4 GameplayEngine 9.5 / 10 Story/ Theme 9.0 / 10 OverallGraphics 9.0 / 10 Animation 9.5 / 10 Music/ Sound Effects 10 / 10 Innovation 8.0 / 10 Art Direction 8.5 / 10 Customization 8.5 / 10 Options / Extras 7.5 / 10 Intro / Presentation 7.0 / 10 Replayability / Fun 9.0 / 10 'Ouch' Factor 10 / 10 Characters 10 / 10 BOTTOM LINE 8.5/10 Final Words: In closing, Tekken 5: DR Online is a lot of fun, when there's no lag. The intense matches,open-ended combos & strategies, and great gameplay that us fans know andlove is all present (even with mild lag).Some people are way too hard on T5: DRO because of the lag,and many of them don't realize it might be mainly their connection. Onceagain, you need a very stable, if not ultra fast connectionto play T5: DRO smoothly; and if yours isn't that great, you shouldtry out some different connection options. For your information, I use wired Verizon Fios, and unless I play against someonewith a completely crap connection (or from another country); Tekken Online is actually very playable and quite smooth for me most of thetime. Lag issuesaside, I appreciate the fact that one of my all time favorite fightinggame franchises has finally gone online! Whyis Tekken still one of my favorite games? Maybe because there's35 or so different ways to play it... not counting the different ways you canplay each character of course. Yeah, the characters are still so muchfun to use, and now with Online, players can study and learn fromeach other's playing styles. It's awesome to be able to play against other Tekken players that otherwise youmay never have been able to play against. Once you find some players thatyou get a good connection with, it's great fun! When you mess up your aircombos and have to change your playing style too much because of lag, itwill surely frustrate even the most passive of gamers... myself included. To elaborateon my giving DR Online a 8 overall score;first off, I was hoping for a few more extras from this 'add-on' to thehome version of Tekken5: Dark Resurrection. I do appreciate the new buyable artworksthrown in randomly with the old ones, but some more would have been nice. The practice mode isn't bad, butwhere are the cool practice stages from the PSP version? (and the awesomepractice mode BGM?!?) I was also hoping for Namco to graphically fixa few of the stages, which are strangely set at a lower resolution than others...nope! I even had my hopes up for the updated intro, as seen in the PSPversion; but unfortunately it's still the (shorter) arcade version,with the new 'Online' logo flying across the screen near the end. New customizationitems or alternate outfits wouldn't have hurt either... Thankfully,and as expected, Namco didn't make any 'fatal' mistakes with Tekken Online...and I do appreciate the many fundamental things that they actually didright. For example: NO Jinpachi in Online Mode, character change at continue(just the way I like it), solid 8-player battle lobbies, the ability to kick laggy players out of yourroom, and the relaxing music while waiting in a battle room. Namco alsoanswered my prayers with their downloadable update on (4-17-08) by addinga sound (and vibration if you're using a Dual Shock 3) when someone entersyour battle room! At the endof the day, I played the hell out of Tekken 5: DR Online (the screenshotsat the bottom left are the proof). It was a proud day when I tagged 'Top 10' and Tekken Lord (circaNov. 1st, 2007) rank, as well as my player profile. For the record, I earned all those pointsfair & square... unlike those disgraceful boosters on there. ~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen HD WALLPAPERS / ETC.