Generally, a three or four bar connection will lead to a smooth experience but anything below that and you risking a battle plagued with lag, especially if it involves more than two players such as in a Pair battle where up to for player can compete by each taking control of one fighter. It is important to pay attention to the connection ratings when setting up an online fight. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 does a good job of tracking your stats and giving you the ability to save and upload replays so you can show your prowess off to your friends list and the wider world beyond. Over the long run I encountered a few hiccups, slow downs, and freezes when it came to online interactions but these were rather infrequent. The game’s online mode is characteristically stable. Of course, all semblances of balance and fairness go out the window when confronting the final opponent of the arcade mode, but that is to be expected of fighting games. However, the fighting by and large seems fairly consistent with the experience provided by past Tekken games. I’m not sure what to make of the game’s balance issue because I have both benefitted from and been the victim of unexpectedly devastating attacks. Most feature traditional CGI graphics but others take more artistic license by utilizing 2D and other stylized forms of animation. Tekken has always had a taste for the wacky and bizarre, which is certainly well represented by the assorted cutscenes that total over one hour in length. These sequences vary in length, emotional impact, and coherence. There is no traditional story mode but progressing through an Arcade Battle will result in an ending cinematic for your character. Unlike its 13 year old predecessor, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 features its own unique storyline, though it is not considered series cannon. The story unfolds in five chapters that are injected with humor and feature a few cameos from Tekken’s rival Street Fighter series. Combot borrows moves from many different fighters, so the combos you learn are not immediately transferable to any character besides Combot. The player takes control of the Combot and navigates various minigame challenges designed to teach defense, tags, movement and other important techniques. One part tutorial and one part story mode, Fight Lab teaches you the fighting essentials wrapped around a story of playboy businessman Violet trying to create the perfect fighting machine, the Combot. As well developed as the Practice mode is, the primary educational mode is the Fight Lab. The game provides a Practice mode as a resource particularly tailored to defensive training but which also allows you to reset the position of your fighter at any time so you can practice wall combos and other position dependent techniques. Of course, mastering the intricacies of the tag mechanics and Tekken’s combat in general is a challenging proposal. Not all fights involve four combatants, as you still have the option of choosing one fighter if that is your preference, so you can stage 1-on-1 or 2-on-1 fights. Another part of the tag team dynamic is strategically monitoring your fighters’ health bar to know when to make a switch because the round ends if either character is defeated. Tag mechanics include special grabs, launchers, and bounds where swapping out your fighter at just the right time will leave your opponent vulnerable to devastating combo damage. Old favorites come with largely the same moves from past games with the biggest change to their arsenal coming in the form of special Tag Assaults. The roster of characters is large, bordering on overkill with over 59 new and returning characters (including those available through free DLC). Tag Tournament 2 is a step-up from the somewhat disappointing Tekken 6, delivering the most attractive and feature rich iteration of this beloved franchise to date. It’s funny how adding such a simple feature such as 2-on-2 fights, an option readily available in other fighters, can dramatically change the feel of the game. We’ve had plenty of Tekken games since the original Tag Tournament was unleashed in arcades (remember those?) way back in 1999, quite a few good ones even, but those were all strictly one-on-one affairs. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is one of those long overdue videogame sequels where the end product does not quite justify the long wait but is thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless.
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