Tekken 6 Update Coming To Eliminate Online Lag

Tekken 6

Namco Bandai is looking to release a Tekken 6 update that will eliminate the online lag, and improve the over all experience, which many reviews have been complaining about.

The Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 online experience was widely ridiculed for the annoying abundance of lag, even seen in my own Tekken 6 Review. It does not have to do with your individual connection either, because many of the major reviews out there complained about the very same topic as well. This problem with online lag led to the disappointment of many of those who are fans of the fighting franchise. Namco Bandai is planning on releasing this downloadable update as soon as it has been properly tested and verified for working.

This update will be extremely enjoyed by many gamers. If you go online and read about some of the experiences that some are having while playing this game online, you will read tales of people abusing the lag to link combos that you will not be able to break out of. Not to mention the fact that the combos are hard enough to execute when you have a one or two second delay of the input from your controller. Then those who do manage to successfully get out their combos manage to link it into a juggling combo, which only causes further frustration within the players. So the release of an update to fix this online lag in Tekken 6 is a great thing. Namco Bandai is expected to reveal more information and a release date in the near future.

Tekken 6 Has Troubled Online Play

 

Tekken 6

Having bought Tekken 6 on the day it came out, and reading many of the reviews released for the game, it appears that the game is struggling in terms of offering a stable experience while playing over Xbox Live.

 

Now if you have not guessed already, I bought this for the Xbox 360, so that is what my impression is based off of. But I have played about 12 matches over Xbox Live so far, over half of them being great lag matches. The problem with fighting games and lag is that it requires a stable and smooth framerate, or you simply will not be able to execute many of your combos or juggling attacks, because they are based on timing. So when you enter a lag match, you will pretty much just be button mashing hoping for a combo to come out. Most of the matches you may encounter will most likely be a lag match, and I know that this is not just my connection, since I have a smooth online experience for other Xbox 360 games. You can also read reviews of the game on other websites, they most likely will have the same critique of the game.

Now, there is another thing I noticed about the game while playing online, though some of you veteran Tekken 6 players may be used to it,  is juggling and turtling. People who are considered pros at this game will often just sit back and wait for you to throw the first punch, and when you do, they will counter with their move and catch you in a massive juggle combo. Then they will rinse and repeat. So yeah, a players first reaction to this statement may simply be “get better at the game”. But a first impression is important, and being caught in juggle combos that you are not able to even get out of probably alienates and bores more gamers than just me. I mean, if the combo is a legit and flashy combo, I will not mind so much, but when most of the players I encounter are simply cheap and turtle (constantly block and wait for you to make the first move), then catch you in extensive juggles, things start to get boring.

This is my general opinion of the Tekken 6 online play. But honestly, this is to be expected of the game, since juggling is a mechanic that has been kept in the Tekken series for quite some time. So basically, for those of you who are already fans of Tekken 6, you will not have a problem with online play except for the fact of constant lag.

Mmorpg genre gaining popularity?

All Points Bulletin

It is pretty obvious that the mmorpg genre as of now is fairly popular, but how popular is it getting? Just like multiplayer is starting to completely replace single player,  mmorpg fashioned games may completely replace multiplayer games.

It is an interesting thought, for those of you who are actually trying to imagine the future of gaming, because it is something that has the possibility of happening. From a development perspective, having a mmorpg reduces the amount of games you need to create. Simply because of the amount of management one requires. But not only that, you make more money simply because of the subscription fee’s or premium items being sold through the game, which, contrary to popular belief, far out does the server costs if your game does moderately well.

The world is becoming more connected in a video gaming sense. Before, when games did not feature online match making, it would be all about the single player aspect, maybe including an option for offline cooperative play. But now, with the technology as advanced as ever, we are able to connect from opposing sides of the world, with the purpose of playing a game together. So now we have advanced match making, yes, and we are able to connect and play with people from all over the world. But the manner in which this is presented is quite different. You have to enter rooms, within a multiplayer game, to be able to play with others across the world.

While playing a mmorpg, you simply have to run into someone while going through the world, to be able to find a partner with which you want to do something. It offers a way for you to become much more social, makes the video game experience much more interactive and spontaneous, and in many cases, it just offers more fun period. Like the game in the picture to the upper left, All Points Bulletin, or APB for short. A game with one of the developers of the Grand Theft Auto original on the team, they pretty much managed to create an intricate and complex online mmorpg of cops and robbers. The game is looking fantastic, and will most likely sell out and make way more money than if it included the simply 16 player online mode that GTA4 had. The more players a game is able to support, the better popularity it achieves.

So I personally believe that within the future, near future at that, with the power of the consoles increasing, video game developers will begin to look towards a more unified form of gaming. I am pretty sure that mmorpg games will become the new standard in the video game industry, simply because of the possibilities it presents, the money it makes, and the benefits it brings.

Final Fantasy XIII Has No Mandatory Install

Final Fantasy XIII Ingame Screenshot

Final Fantasy XIII will not require you to adhere to the mandatory install feature, which is pretty good for those of you whom are losing space on your PlayStation 3.

Though the game is still a long ways off for those of us in North America, the game is reaching its release date over in Japan, coming this December. Though there is no mandatory install, the game will have a load time during the transitions from towns to field. But once you are in the open field, there are no more load screens, as it becomes an open world. Square Enix has been searching for ways to lessen load times, which has seemingly paid off. Many PlayStation 3 games require a mandatory install, which is taking up a lot of space on the hard drive. So it may be a relief to some that a game of this magnitude does not require one.

An install feature might have helped completely remove, or greatly reduce, the need for in-game load times, however. So maybe Square Enix will offer an optional install, for those of you interested. On a side note, Square Enix has revealed that Final Fantasy XIII will be sporting a trophy system as well.

Microsoft Starting Xbox Live Rewards Program Testing

Xbox 360

Microsoft has started conducting Xbox Live Rewards Program testing for those of you who have Xbox Live accounts. You may have been receiving an email from Xbox Live saying how out of the millions of active members, only a few will be chosen to win.

Surprisingly, when Microsoft was contacted for confirmation, they did indeed confirm that they are looking into ways to incorporate a rewards program for Xbox Live users. They say that they are constantly looking for ways to entertain and provide new and interesting things for their customers. They are currently looking into testing a pilot rewards program with a “select” amount of users in the Xbox Live community of the US. Though they have nothing more to say than that.

So far, the email that is sent has a sign up time period before the program ends, which is the 21st of October. The email simply requires you to do a survey, that gathers your thoughts on the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live service as a whole. Though unclear what the program will require you to do, it may reward you with things such as Microsoft Points, Free Xbox Live membership or even retail games. But what I am guessing this will require you to do is either take surveys for entry into these contests, or something else that benefits Microsoft without you knowing. Not saying that it is a bad thing though, since it does return back to the community.