Fighting games Tekken franchise released its latest version Tekken 7

Arcade fighting games have their own place in gaming history. Designed to test your reflexes on a gaming console - and your ability to execute lethal combos - games such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Samurai Spirits and Virtual Fighter, have for long been a source of bragging between friends and competitive gamers.

One such game that is bound to go down in history as 'the best fighting game' is the Tekken franchise, which released its latest version Tekken 7 last week.

Tekken 7 focuses on Akuma, the antagonist from Street Fighter, and Heihachi Mishima, Tekken's most consistent antagonist, who has appeared in all the game's versions till date.

In Tekken 7, Heihachi is actually the protagonist. He returns to claim control and rebuild the Mishima Zaibatsu Army, which is at war with the G-Corps, a cutting edge biotech firm making revolutionary advances in the field of biogenetic research, being controlled from the shadows by Heihachi's son (and nemesis) Kazuya. But, in the midst of both parties trying to thwart each other, word arrives in both camps of a 'demon' being spotted in the Middle East. This demon is Akuma.

In his brief dialogue with Heihachi before fighting, Akuma reveals that he was asked to destroy both Kazuya and Heichahi, by his wife Kazumi. Later, it is revealed that Akuma is 'fulfilling a promise to Kazumi' by killing Heichahi and his son. To find out whether he was successful, you need to finish the story mode of the game.

There's reason that Tekken hasn't gone out of style in the last two decades, even though its basic gameplay isn't any different. Sure, the graphics get better and the storyline takes turns that most gamers wouldn't be able to guess, but the secret to its realism lies in the depth of its gaming interface. Unlike Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, Tekken has a 3D gaming interface, where players are not restricted to moving in the forward or backward direction.

Players are required to sidestep, dash back/forward, step deeper into the background or roll into the foreground to dodge attacks and successfully land combos. Timing is everything - miss a punch and you might not get another chance to land one.

A new gaming feature added to Tekken 7 is the 'rage' feature, which takes up nearly 50 per cent health. However, this can be blocked. New characters apart from Akuma and Kazumi are playable from the very beginning, but we will leave that as a surprise for gamers. Customisation of characters with props such as hats, sunglasses, new clothing, and even thumbnail art, add richness of the Tekken universe.

The game has only a limited number of drawbacks. What we found problematic was that its servers take time to load a new game.

If you haven't yet given this golden arcade fighting game a go yet, this version of the game might be the best time to immerse yourself and become a part of the Tekken universe.