SYSTEM: PLAYSTATION 3

PRICE: R599

AGE RESTRICTION: 16

Whether you decide to team Alex the dinosaur with Roger the Kangaroo in a fight against Bruce Lee wannabes Martial and Forest Law, or get into some robot versus ancient Japanese war-god action, the huge cast of characters from the series will have you covered.

The big strength to these games has always been a deep multiplayer experience because AI will never quite match playing against a human - but the single player game offers a lot of different modes and benefits, too.

Ghost mode in particular is fun - giving you a run against tactics developed by real players in real time.

While the sheer number of possible characters can be daunting for new players, there is a story-driven tutorial that explains everything as you perfect the fighting robot Combot, a character who doesn't really have a unique fighting style so much as the ability to be programmed with the moves of other characters.

This game is helped along by the fact that the Tag Tournament series isn't canon with the main Tekken line, so it doesn't have to take itself quite so seriously and can glory in the silliness of the franchise without getting bogged.

Instead of having the central conflict being about an abusive male line of half devils fighting for their souls and killing their fathers, this game is free to just have fun with a panda beating up a jaguar-masked wrestler.

The variety of game modes, the variety of characters and the variety of ways you can enjoy this makes it the best Tekken title in years.

One thing I did find disconcerting, though, was the default control scheme. I am used to using the analogue sticks for motion, so using the D-pad instead and finding that the left stick didn't do much of anything was a bit weird.

THE GOOD:

It has a huge cast of characters, deep fighting mechanics and a nice selection of game modes. It is definitely for the loyal Tekken fan.

THE BAD:

The controls can be a bit disconcerting at first, and that degree of depth can seem daunting to new players.

RATING: 8/10

The Nal'ibali column will resume on October 9