Excellent Graphics, Great Gameplay and multiple Game Modes make Tekken 5 a deeply satisfying portable gaming experience!
I've been playing Tekken since it first came out on the consoles, and while I haven't been the best Tekken player around... I'm certainly one of the more committed ones. Year after year, the Tekken series has pushed new boundaries for what already started out as great gameplay, and for the large part (except Tekken 4) it has succeeded tremendously. With Tekken 5, the franchise has considerably expanded the gaming experience, giving players a multitude of gaming modes with which to satisfy their gaming urges. Add to this the already excellent graphics and sounds, and mix it up with simple yet deep gameplay, and you have an instant classic on any console system. Seeing this classic translated into a PSP version therefore is sheer guilty pleasure. You have everything the console offered .... and PORTABILITY! Play virtually the same game anywhere you want.... without sacrificing the quality! Virtually everything is in there -- the tutorial, customizing the characters, advancing fighter skills, the game modes, etc...
The only differences I see between this one and the console version are the following:
1. Simplified interface. Naturally, with only 1 analog stick, 1 "L" button and 1 "R" button... you can expect the fighting interface to substantially deteriorate. Uh -uh... not necessarily so. While you can do a lot less moves than what you're probably used to, the PSP controls don't really get in the way. In fact, with the simplified interface, streamlining moves become that much easier, allowing for a clearer, more deliberate style of play. In this case, I think "Less is More".
2. More characters. There are more characters here (at least three, I think -- Dragunov, Lili and Armor King), and you start out with ALL the characters right in the beginning. Of course, this is bad if you like unlocking the characters one by one, but I don't think this is substantial enough to be considered a negative.
Overall, I think this is the best PSP game to date. An instant classic, for sure.
Gameplay: 9.5
Graphics: 10
Sounds: 9.0
Value: 9.5
Overall: 9.5