There was a time near the dawn of console gaming when it seemed that the world was hooked on one-on-one combat games and at the centre of this craze was a game that saw its birth (in 1994) in arcades. The first Tekken was fast and furious and an instant favourite, and 15 years on the sixth in the series - which was previously almost exclusively restricted to PlayStation consoles - has now been released for PSP, PS3 and X360.

If you're a newcomer to the genre, all you need to know is that you choose and customise a character who you hope will ultimately become the King of Iron Fist Tournament, a competition that also decides who becomes head of an all-powerful mega corporation.

In previous games not all the fighters were available to you immediately, but in Tekken 6 the developers have crammed in the largest roster ever with 40 unique fighters including 34 previous favourites. The six new brawlers with their own unique fighting styles and combo systems include the obese but remarkably nippy Bob, and Zafina, a weird girl who can fight like a tarantula.

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Regular Tekken fans will feel completely at home with most of the game modes, including five difficulty levels of Arcade action, Ghost Battle (which uses the data of real online opponents), Time Attack and Survival, plus two-player 'vs' and Team Battle. If you're a first-timer or just need to refresh your skills, there's a comprehensive Practice option to work out defensive moves and strategies for tackling each enemy.

In addition, there's now a brand new Scenario Campaign mode for both single player and two player online co-op. This is ideal for anyone who wants to know the back story to all of the Tekken games and is a completely different gameplay, with the focus on two previously unknown characters: Lars, who suffers from amnesia and Alisa, a laboratory engineered fighting robot. The two battle against multiple opponents until they confront the impossibly large boss in the hope of uncovering more of the overall plot.

There's also an RPG element thrown in, as you collect weapons, clothing and health from defeated enemies and other characters are ‘unlocked' as you beat them, so that you can later go through the same mode in their shoes. Surprisingly, you can't play the Scenario Campaign as a two-player co-op offline, which is clearly a missed opportunity.

You can fully customize your avatar's hairstyle, dress, fashion accessories and tattoos using money earned in the different modes and then take your creations online in 'vs' or Co-Op mode. However, online play is nowhere near as smooth as offline, with lag issues that probably need patches in order to be resolved. Load times are also lengthy in this game and you'll inevitably find yourself skipping through cut-scenes to get on with the action.

The fighting itself is, of course, what distinguishes the Tekken series and fans will be pleased that the 3D graphics are sharp and varied. There's now a much greater interaction with the battle environments which are dynamic and destructible, so you can not only back your enemies up to a wall but punch them through it or kick them through floors to open a whole new battleground.

You still have a vast array of combos and moves performed via the D-pad or control stick and some of the novelties here are the new bound system, where airborne foes are slammed into the ground, as well as the rage feature where you can dole out extra damage when your health drops below 10 percent: but you'll have to be quick as you're inevitably very close to defeat.

Tekken fans will find much that's familiar in the latest incarnation and will be delighted that the character selection has been expanded, more fighting possibilities introduced and a new Scenario Campaign created, even if online lagging and slow load times breed frustration.