Platform	Xbox
Specifications	The game that costs a lot and has the big controller for the system that not many people in Japan seem to like.
Price	18,900 Yen
Genre	Mech em up

I really tried to see sense with Tekki. I mean, I -REALLY- tried. You see, lately I`ve been buying a lot of games that I know I won`t actually get around to playing - and i fore saw that Tekki would almost certainly be a very expensive addition to what is becoming something of a stock pile of unplayed games.

So I avoided it...
Successfully...
For 2 days...
and I`m glad that I gave in to temptation.

Tekki has a hefty price tag - 18900 yen to be precise. Along with the game and the huge required controller a free hernia is thrown in as part of the bargain as you get the added fun of lugging the huge box back to your apartment.

The box is kind of neat - a metallic military green box with various decals and scrawlings over it with lots of attention to detail, for example - the red seals that cover the box opening has "warning - authorised personnel only". Inside the box you are greeted by the manual which, again, is slick. The manual is done...err... like a proper hardware manual (kind of like the VT that you control is an off the shelf video recorder or something) replete with technical details and diagrams inside. Already, without the game being loaded, the immersion is beginning.

So... it`s time to build the joystick. I`d heard a lot of complaints about the build quality of the sticks, but i honestly can`t see a problem. Sure the buttons aren`t the best in the world - but, by the same token, neither are they the worst. Snapping the three bits of the controller together is a breeze. The pedals (which are weighty, sturdy and feel very very nice underfoot indeed) just need to be plugged in to the main-unit and we are set and ready to go. Another nice thing about the controller is the length of the lead... it`s long, meaning that i can be sitting on the couch some way away from the actual tv.

And so the game begins, and almost immediately we are thrust into action (via some truly horrible voice acting and contrived scripting). The game pretty much drops you in the thick of things. You are given no real instructions and you have to figure out what to do get the mech up and running (although the flashing buttons do help!)

Controlling the mech isn`t half as hard as i expected it to be, infact it`s pretty easy. Obviously, the mech isn`t the speediest of things and it does have a tendency to fall over if you try turning a bit too sharp whilst over speed 2 on your sliding controller. The controller is nice... really nice. It does however make you look kind of stupid as you are sitting with your feet poised on the pedals and your arms at 45 degrees from your body. I have a photograph that i will upload at a later date to illustrate this.... although it could just be my inherent lack of "cool". Build quality - as mentioned, i have no qualms, the sticks feel nice with the left stick (controlling the left and right rotate of the mech) being auto centering and the right stick (controlling the "gun arm") being -not- auto centering - a small detail, but nice that they thought it through. The buttons do feel -slightly- cheap, but are good enough for their purpose and feel sturdy enough to survive. Same goes for the switches. My only real concern is how long it will it be before i break the flimsy eject button cover in a fit of panic when my Mech is about to blow...

Graphically, Tekki is a very nice looking game indeed. However, frame rate vultures won`t like it at all. I wouldn`t know what rate the game is moving at, but it ain`t 60fps. Strangely, this seems to add to the gritty sepia washed surroundings of the grey and dull townscape that you are first introduced to. Other minor misdemeanors include some "build in" pop on the horizon (which is pretty noticeable on level 2) but this doesn`t detract from the game. The mechs look cool and animate and strut superbly, buildings look fantastic, the lighting from guns and the shadows of overhead planes is very nice, and added little touches like empty bullet cartridges emptying from the hot machine gun, birds rising from the trees as the hammering of shells all around disturbs them just adds to the immersion.

As the game is viewed from the rather restricted "viewport" from inside the mechs turret, then the opportunities to sit and gaze in wonder at the graphical splendor is likewise cut down. The replay of the mission previously undertaken rectifies this somewhat showing all the destruction in it`s glory. (Although there could well be a way to change the view - i should really read the damned manual!)

The sound in Tekki is fabulous. Full 5.1. The word immersion comes to mind again. The whirrrrr and buzz of your mechs every move surrounds you. The whizz and bangs of the raging battle is awesome and if does feel that you are in the middle of a war. Tekki`s only blot on it`s sonic copy book is the awful voice acting (although i am listening to the English comms - Japanese can also be selected).

The missions so far have been fairly straight forward - destroy target X in this time limit, destroy A and B, etc etc... I`m hoping that there will be more variety to come.

So, to sum up - so far so good. Very enjoyable. Immersion , immersion, immersion. I`ve just got my fingers crossed that the gameplay will adapt a little and that the pacing doesn`t go racing off, leaving me to get hammered due to my lack of mech piloting skills.

We shall see - but so far - an excellent experience.