Tekken 6 without the Campaign mode? Yes please!

I'll say this; Namco Bandai has really got the PSP down pat when it comes to their fighters. First we had Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny, which was one of the better portable fighting ports I had seen in quite a while, and then they follow that up with this, Tekken 6 on PSP. Not only is it a really solid port, but it actually improves on a couple areas from the home console versions of the game. Sure, it doesn't stack up when it comes to visuals (even though those are still pretty damn good), but for the most part the core experience of the original shines through here, minus the awful Campaign Scenario Mode from the home game. The load times are much improved here, both with the physical UMD and the download if you opt for the digital route. You can now go into a straight up story mode and play the four matches that you'd normally have to grind through a bit of Campaign mode to get through in the home version, meaning it's far easier to see the opening and ending story bits for every character in the game. There's no loss to the roster that I could notice, and while I wish the cheap ending boss had been fixed a bit, it's still present here for the fans that actually liked him.

Besides Story / Arcade you'll get Ghost mode, which pits you up against ghost data from opponents with improved AI, and Practice which is identical in scope to the one featured in the home game. Even the Challenge mode makes its way over intact. There's also a hefty character customization option, and while I'm not entirely sure that the PSP version features every item of clothing and little accessory that the home version did, there still seems to be a hefty amount of stuff packed in. Tons of options are available; you just need to earn the money in game to buy them.

Of course, without the Campaign mode this might come off as a little harder to do. However, pretty much everything you do in the game will earn you some cash, since you're not tied strictly into the Campaign this time. It does take a little bit of time to really pull in some serious money though, and a lot of the items are ridiculously priced. Basically, character customization won't be a huge draw for a more casual player, it'll take more time with the game then you'll be willing to spend to really unlock any item that's worth a damn. However, it's a cool system for players that are already planning to dump some serious hours into the game, as you'll constantly be rewarded for playing regardless of what you do.

The controls make the transition without a hitch too, which is greatly helped by the standard set-up for Tekken games anyways. Since you're sporting a high / low punch and kick set-up, the face buttons on the PSP are perfect for this. I know a lot of players prefer using the D-Pad for Tekken too, so you've got that option covered as well. It was a little more of a transition for me, as I had become accustomed to playing Tekken 6 on the consoles with a stick, but it doesn't take long to get used to the PSP set-up in reality. Basically, the PSP is tailor-made to suit Tekken controls, as I'm sure fans of Tekken 5 were already aware of.

One minor issue some fans will have is that the portable version of the game lacks online play. There is ad-hoc support, which seems to work pretty well from my limited experience with it, but since online was present in the home games I'm sure a few of you will be disappointed that it doesn't pop up here. That said, the online in the home versions had some serious issues to be ironed out, and it's possible that would have been the case here. As it stands, it's a great single player fighter, and if you've got local players near you interested, at least you don't have to contend with lag problems that faced online players a few months back. Maybe not the best option the game could have given you, but I'll take a more focused approach to the single player game over a broken online component any day of the week.

Finally, while the visuals of Tekken 6 on PSP won't quite match up to the home game, there's still plenty to be impressed about here. Character models look noticeably improved over what Namco had done with Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, which is actually saying something since that game looked pretty good to begin with. The soundtrack here is just as good as the home versions, and the limited voice work comes off a little goofy, but still fits well within the Tekken world. Basically, it's one of the better looking PSP games out there, and really shows off what a fighter can do on PSP.

So if you're a Tekken fan that's been hoping for a way to take your Heihachi on the go, Tekken 6 will certainly fit the bill. Even if you missed out on the home versions of the game, I'd almost go so far as to suggest just picking up the PSP version instead. A lot of the unnecessary fluff is cut out, giving you a streamlined version of a really solid fighter. Without a broken online component to bring the rest of the game down, I'm actually scoring this higher than the home version of the game. Everything presented here works well, and while I'd still like to see a good online mode in the future, I can't argue against much of what's present here. Definitely worth checking out, and one of the best fighters you'll come across on Sony's portable this year.