Tekken 6BR: Hair How-To

One of the touted new customizations in Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion is Hair Customization. While most, if not all, characters have their own specific hairstyle options, you can go further with the generic hair customs. The option is the first thing you’ll see in the custom menus in-game, whether in the Item Shop or your character’s Item Box (your bought items/customs).

There are three steps to Hair Customization, when you start off in the Item Shop. Step 1 is selecting and buying your Hair Base, of which there are several. Base Hair is usually cheap- about 5000 to start. Take care to note what your base hair is, since it will dictate what stuff you can add on. Step 2 is where you pick color- it seems to be free, whenever you buy or select a new hairstyle. Finally, Step 3 has you add on stuff to the base hair- ponytails, pigtails, long hair, bangs, curls… there are tons of stuff that can make your fighter unique. So far I’ve seen fighters with Sailor Moon-long twin pigtails and Sephiroth-like white locks… crazy stuff.

Unfortunately, the Step 3 hair details are EXPENSIVE. And of course, you probably won’t have any idea what they look like- they could make your fighter look bad-ass and beautiful… or that their parents were probably brother and sister. The best thing to do would be to research for pics online, ask around, or just have tons of cash to burn (hair) with.

For now, I don’t think I’ll be spending any of my few monies on hair… I’d rather spend on clothes or items. Roulettes are, unfortunately, very rare these days. But this will surely be something even the most macho of players can get into… who’d ever thought that, eh?

Tekken 6BR: Dressed to Kill

Apparently Jin Kazama, current CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu in Tekken 6, has got more than just snazzy long coats in his closet.
Here’s a pic posted at the Tekken Zaibatsu forums, showing a customized Jin Kazama wearing stuff called Emperor Armor, which consists of pauldrons, cuirass and leggings. In addition to this, he can also equip an item called the Mishima War Sabre/Sword, which I believe is a usable item.

Players will notice a similarity between Jin’s getup and that of Lars Alexandersson’s armor… which is natural since they’re comrades- or to be more specific, master and subordinate.

It’s interesting to note these items as per the ongoing storyline. The Mishima Zaibatsu has, even before Jin’s time, always been girding for war… and I guess this is the time to bring these things out to play. It’s just too bad we’ll probably never see all these cool things in the actual Tekken movie. Maybe in future Tekken anime?

Well, we can always do fan fiction and fan comics… Heh.

Tekken 6 BR: First Week Recap

It’s been a cool first week for Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion here in Manila. For the most part, the game is all over the place, in Timezone and Worlds of Fun arcades located in malls and shopping centers.

If you’re gonna play, best invest in a data card. Cards cost from P150 to P170 pesos, and let you do cool stuff like give your character a cool name, records your win/loss records and, best of all, lets you customize. With money you earn by playing (not necessarily winning), you can pimp out your fighter with cool new outfits, accessories, hairstyles, usable weapons/items and basically make them unrecognizable from the stock characters. Be prepared though… items and customs cost a TON, so you’re gonna have to rely mainly on roulettes which only happen if you challenge or play with human opponents.

The two new characters are fairly popular, with Alisa Bosconovitch the robo-girl slightly more popular as Tekken Force captain Lars Alexandersson seems to be more for the more serious, hardcore player. Once he is mastered however, he’s obnoxiously powerful. Alisa however has quite a few crazy attacks that can drain your life bar in huge chunks.

Every fighter has had stuff added to his or her arsenal of moves, and tweaks made to old combos and strategies in Tekken 6.0, so don’t be surprised if your bread-and-butter juggle doesn’t work anymore. Just re-learn and re-orient.

Graphically, the game looks great- character models seem to be slightly bigger, and the overall animations seem smoother with a new ‘motion blur’ effect added. After a while though you cease to notice it. The new stages are awesome, the new music even more so. What can I say… BR made me love freakin’ YODELLING.

The new customizations and outfits are, for the most part, SICK AS HECK. As in, they’re awesome. Though some characters still seem to have gotten less than others, it’s still a big leap from T6.0. Hair customs are expensive but look like you will indeed be able to do crazy stuff… just be prepared to spend. Unfortunately it’s still mostly a guessing game to what exactly some items are (there’s no try-before-you-buy or visual guide to customs yet) so be careful when shopping with your hard-earned coin. Darn, I can’t wait for Enterbrain to release a BR Mook.

I’ve been able to play for a few days, and well, it’s fun, fun, fun! I seem to notice that the default A.I. for CPU opponents is either a lot easier- or I’ve gotten a lot better- since I have often reached the end boss Azazel (who’s now sporting new attacks and a more sinister look), and even won a couple of times… something I wasn’t able to do before. No special endings of course- we’ll have to wait for the console versions.

Anyway, I’ll be playing more of BR when I can. Fall 2009 is still off in the horizon, but for now all is good and cool. Carry on the fight, players!

Prince of Persia to get ‘Epilogue’ DLC

In case you haven’t already beaten Ubisoft’s beautiful run-and-jump-and-wall-slide action game Prince of Persia, know that the ending left many players… wanting. As in, it was a mammoth cliffhanger that left gamers open-mouthed aghast at what just happened. Well, fear no longer… a proper end to the game’s story arrives this February.

Called the ‘Epilogue’, this DLC continues the adventure some time after the end of the game, further developing the relationship of The Prince and Elika. The DLC will introduce a new area to explore, a new attack for The Prince and a new power for Elika, as well as a new enemy (however he/she/it will actually be a rehash of previous enemies). The game will also give players two new skins to play with once they’ve beaten the DLC pack.

No word yet on pricing, but the Epilogue will be available for download for PS3 and Xbox360 on February 23.

What can I say? I say it’s pretty dubious that Ubisoft didn’t add this ‘Epilogue’ to the actual disc. What ARE game makers thinking these days? In the Last Gen, there was NEVER this kind of thing. Goes to show how things are changing, producers are getting more money-grubby (no matter what lame reason they give). I just hope this DLC is worth the price. Anyway, more Elika is a good thing, in any case…

For a more in-depth article and interview on the game, click here.

Final Fantasy XIII Looks Amazing

Square-Enix just posted a new trailer to their long-awaited (and still being awaited) sequel, Final Fantasy XIII. The HD vid shows off, as usual, amazing CG cutscenes along with some gameplay. I still have no freakin’ idea what’s going on in this new adventure… but well… that’s pretty much par for the course in ANY Final Fantasy… heheh… anyway, it looks pretty awesome. Surely a game to keep on any gamer’s radar.

Since SE seems to be very protective of the trailer, best check it out at the official site. Click here.

Tekken 6BR: Samurai-zed!

Okay, here’s one more image I’ve found of Asuka sporting her samurai get-up in Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion. Talk about complex customs! The full set apparently includes shoulder armor, waist armor, kosode (the kimono top, I think), special hakamas, miko wrist guards and shin guards. Each item should go at least upwards of 240,000 to 320,000 worth of fight money.

Now, luckily you don’t have to be a Tekken God to earn money- in fact, you can pretty much lose every single match you fight and still get rich if roulette events keep popping up. That’s the cool thing about Tekken 6… it rewards both players for the most part. Well, if we all had to rely on the teeny-tiny bit of winnings per match, you’d literally have to play hundreds of matches just to get one pricey item.

I got to play recently and got a nice roulette run for my Asuka, and now I have about three hundred thousand bucks to spend. Of course, that can all vanish with one item, so I’ve got to choose wisely. Luckily I don’t feel the samurai costume is for me (maybe I’ll do that in the console version)… I’d rather have a more contemporary look for my babe. Perhaps I’ll just wait till I see more items and just keep saving up for now.

Samurai Asuka too feudal for you? Even just a couple of the pieces still makes for a cool Battle Armor Asuka.

Anyways, BR is all over the place here in Metro Manila by now, with pretty much every mall with a Timezone or Worlds of Fun outlet having the game. So if you’ve got the means and the hankering, go out and have a Iron-fisted good time. More on this as I get it.

Tekken 6 is slated for the PS3 and Xbox360 in Fall 2009.

Tekken 6BR: More Awesome Customs AKA Why Tekken 6 Consoles Will Be The Best. Fighter. Ever.

Samurai Asuka!!!

Showing off a bit of arm… badass.

To quote the Discovery Channel… “Awesome!” While they’re still not as crazy or perhaps as numerous as VF5R’s customs (granted, Sega has had at least a year’s head start), but Project Tekken finally seems to be stepping up Tekken 6’s customization options in Bloodline Rebellion.

I found these pics of some customized babes in the Japanese Tekken BBS, and well… WOW. Asuka’s feudal era outfit looks like something from Soulcalibur! If you’re thinking about putting her in this look, be prepared to spend a LOT of fight money- as far as I can tell, that costume is composed of several pieces, each of which costs a bundle; the gauntlets, kimono top, waistband armor, hakamas, shinguards… each one has to be bought separately. And then you should get her new bow-and-arrows item and a katana or a naginata to complete the set. Goddamn Namco-Bandai knows how to make money.

I am totally loving some of the new outfits and options, regardless of the damn astronomical prices. The hair customs also seem to be growing (pun intended) quite nicely as well, but my money is going first on costumes I think.

There are TONS of cool stuff for other characters though, too many to put on. Suffice to say you can easily make a fighter unrecognizable from his or her default look, and then some. It’s gonna be tons of fun to customize. And damn expensive. That console version can’t come soon enough.

“Please don’t tell my father… about my new wardrobe.”

So that’s what Julia’s calves and ankles look like…

All I can say is… Tekken 6BR’s customs ROCK. Hopefully all this awesomeness will make it into the PS3 and Xbox360 versions later this year. Damn it’s gonna be a long wait till Fall.

Tekken 6 Character Countdown Part 4: Nina Williams

A masterpiece of mayhem.

As a way of counting down the time to the release of Tekken 6 for the PS3 and Xbox360, I’ve decided to begin this weekly series of lengthy, character-specific articles, each one featuring one of the 40 or so competing warriors in the latest and greatest King of Iron Fist Tournament. Hopefully, by the time we finish and reach character number 40, we’ll have the console version of Tekken in our hands already.

Part 4 brings us to our first lady in the countdown… one of the first generation of Tekken fighters and the only female to have appeared in every game of the series so far… as well as her own somewhat less-than-stellar spin-off. She’s Tekken’s original blonde bombshell; a cold-blooded beauty who can easily break hearts as she does bones. She’s Nina Williams.

Nina Williams
Distinguishing Features: Blonde hair and pale blue eyes. Tight, form-fitting purple outfits usually made of PVC, leather or spandex.

Strengths: Her speed, versatile fighting abilities and specialization in Koppojutsu, aikido and the art of breaking bones is feared throughout the world. Very focused, professional and single-minded in her efficiency, even to the point of ruthlessness.

Weaknesses: Prone to being distracted and emotional whenever her sister Anna is around. Can be overconfident. Not the most mentally or emotionally stable of people.

Affiliation: She is currently aligned with the Mishima Zaibatsu, serving as Jin Kazama’s personal bodyguard.

Background: Born in Ireland, Nina was taught the arts of assassination from a very young age. Both she and her sister Anna competed for the attention of their father, Richard Williams, thus planting the seeds of a sibling rivalry and love-hate relationship that would follow them into their adult lives. Though the circumstances vary (from the original Tekken lore to the storyline presented in the Death By Degrees game), Nina’s father was killed before her eyes, turning what could have been a normal young lady into the cold-blooded assassin she is today. Gotta love severe trauma.

Nina was first contracted to eliminate Heihachi Mishima, the CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu, back during the first Tekken tournament. However, she was beaten to the act by Kazuya Mishima. Shortly after, Nina was hired to take out Kazuya as well. Interference from Anna though caused her to fail and be captured. Subjected to Dr. Bosconovitch’s cold-sleep experiments, she was placed in stasis for the next 19 years, thus preserving her good looks and lethal skills for the future.

In Tekken 3, Nina awoke from her cold sleep with complete memory loss, and this opened her up to be controlled by Ogre and sent to eliminate Jin Kazama. Nina was eventually stopped and recaptured. Anna brought her to Dr. Bosconovitch to try and recover her memories. After what seemed to be a failure, Nina finally started to remember her past- particularly her hatred of her sister. She went underground, and lost contact with Anna.
Reverting back to her occupation as a hired killer, Nina was sent by a criminal cartel to eliminate a boxer named Steve Fox. In the course of her investigations into her target, she discovers that he is in fact her own son- via In Vitro Fertilization- conceived during her years in the cold sleep experiments. Though she decided to accept the mission regardless, once the moment came she could not bring herself to pull the trigger. Shortly after, the criminal cartel was brought down by Lei Wulong, thus voiding Nina’s contract on Steve’s life. With no experience in motherhood or further emotional ties with her son, Nina has so far not taken any steps to contact Steve.

In Tekken 5, Nina has a reunion with Anna, sparking their bitter rivalry once again. Both women clash in heated battles that last for days, but in the end it is Nina who ends up victorious. Leaving Anna defeated but alive, Nina disappears.

She later emerges within the ranks of the Tekken Force under Jin Kazama, the new CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu. When Jin declares his war on the world, Nina is at his side as his personal bodyguard. As the new King of Iron Fist Tournament is announced, Nina enters to eliminate all who seek to approach her new commander…

Character Analysis: Let’s get it out of the way… Nina is a beauty. She’s got star quality that men fantasize about even as she cracks their spines. However, I suspect there’s a reason why Death By Degrees didn’t sell that well- horrid controls notwithstanding. Nina is a cold, unsympathetic and distant character. There’s little heart in her- perhaps her Tekken 4 ending was the only time this shred of humanity was ever shown. In short, she’s not hero material. She’s not a little girl lost, no Le Femme Nikita yearning for a way out of the deadly game.

The only way she communicates is by snapping a neck. Or a limb. This girl likes to be on top. As in, on top of her enemies’ still corpses. Which is why, unfortunately, we will probably never see her receive a Mother’s Day card from little Steve. She’d probably shoot him if he tried.

Still, you have to admire Nina’s simplicity and purity. She’s a weapon, plain and simple, to be wielded and cautiously deployed. Lest you cut yourself on her razor’s edge.

What lies in Nina’s future? As with many in the series, Nina doesn’t seem destined for change. Whether the Zaibatsu crashes and burns or emerges triumphant, she will somehow remain as she is- the emotionless assassin with statuesque beauty and cold eyes- for the foreseeable future. Such a deadly operative will no doubt find her way back into another conflict when the need for such a fine weapon be needed once again. It’s just a matter of who hires her first…

Next week we’ll delve into another fighter’s story. Stay tuned!

Tekken 6 is slated for release on PS3 and Xbox360 in Fall 2009.

Tekken 6 BR: First Day Impressions

I finally got myself to venture out and find myself some Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion today. As I expected, the game attracts gamers like hungry men to a free lunch.

Well, what can I say? The game looks great. As in, it looks just like Tekken 6… with a lot more cool stuff. I really didn’t notice that much of a change, and there was a Vanilla version T6 sitting right next to the BR machine. However, the motions and animations do seem smoother thanks to the cool new motion blur effects and animations.

There are GOBS of new customizations and costumes, including some that have returned from Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection– Ki and Aura give your fighter a cool glow as they move (not like Rage which appear only when your life bar is low) like they’ve got Super Saiyan blood. The tons of outfits and a short look at the in-game shop menu gives me the impression that the videos so far shown online barely scrape the surface of BR’s customization options.

I saw both Alisa and Lars in play, and for the most part Lars looks just as obnoxiously powerful as I’ve seen him in videos online. He’s fast and his combos regularly send his opponents flying and spinning like kids’ toys. As for Alisa, the guy playing her didn’t know her moves and continually got plastered (usually by Lars). Perhaps played competently she should be cool. But in a novice’s hands she looked very ineffective and weak. However, I did see a particularly cool new move- perhaps an unblockable- where she hits the opponent with her head. Not a headbutt, mind you… she takes her head in her hand and hits you with it. Pretty crazy awesome. Never saw the ‘Head Explosion’ throw done though.

Anyway I loaded in my Tekken 6 data card, and the game immediately asked me if I wanted to convert my data to BR use. A ‘Yes’ later, I was off. My items and gold were intact (although unequipped) as well as my win/loss record unfortunately. My rank was busted down to First Dan, as most will (unless you’re of pretty high rank). The gameplay has been tweaked of course, and so if you’re used to your character in T6.0, you’d better learn their new moves in BR to fight at your most effective.

I only got to play a couple of matches- there was just one BR machine (two-screen setup) with a long line of waiting players, so I was just content to watch. This week should see more Timezones have the game, so I’m not worried about being able to play. Thinking of getting an Alisa or Zafina card when I do.

Man, this has me really pumped up for the console version. Still quite a bit to go till Fall 2009, but thankfully with BR in the arcade, the wait should be a little easier. More as I get it, of course.

Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion: Becoming a Rebel

Okay dudes! BR is out in Metro Manila, AFAIK in several malls. So far confirmed are Timezone branches in Megamall, Robinson’s Midtown Mall and Trinoma. Other malls should be getting the upgrade by now or within the next few days. Upgrading the existing Tekken 6 machines supposedly only takes a CD and a USB device, in a process that only takes about 20 minutes.

A Tekken 6 IC/Data Card locally costs about 180 pesos, which you buy at the Timezone arcade itself. If you already have one, simply use it and the machine will ask you to convert the data for BR (hint: I’d say yes).

You keep ALL your gold. You keep ALL your customizations already bought, though when you initially begin they will be unequipped so simply go to your Item Box and re-equip them as you wish. Your Win/Loss record will also remain intact. However, the one thing that will go down is Rank- all but the highest-ranked fighters will be placed back at 1st Dan.

Supposedly there are TONS of new customizations and items, which probably includes color variants of the new outfit pieces like pants, tops and shoes. Hair Customizations are in, and the base pieces are apparently very cheap- at about 5K a piece (base short hair, bangs, etc) or so. The trick is to save up for stuff you really want, as money should go fast- unless you’ve been saving up millions from T6.0.

I expect a wave of new vids taken by local players to flood Youtube soon. I’ll try my best to check out the arcades tomorrow so I can post a hands-on report. More as I get it, then.