Unfortunately, that turned out to be an enormous mistake.  Not because you realized that you loved your son and wished he were here; but because he has the immense power of the devil within him, and you need it.  Ogre has the Devil Gene, but you weren't strong enough to capture him.  Now the only way to get it is to find Kazuya's remains...

But as everyone knows, Kazuya managed to survive.  After G Corporation resurrected the lost soul, Kazuya offered his body as research material to determine the true nature of the devil that lived deep within him.  No one knows why, but Kazuya's goal was to become unified with the devil.

The Tekken Force army wasn't enough to contain Kazuya; he obliterated them and escaped without a second thought.

What do you do now?  Hold another King of Iron Fist Tournament, of course!  Make the grand prize something big (a financial empire, perhaps?) to ensure that everyone enters the tournament, including Kazuya.  He's smart enough to know it's a trap, but you know he'll come anyway.

Soon enough, the world will be at your command.  There's nothing that can stop you now!  Except for, perhaps...a giant bear named Panda.

And so the story of Tekken continues.  More questions are answered in this chapter than ever before.  To keep the player intrigued (and lead the way for Tekken 5's story), most of the endings (which are computer-generated, as in Tekken 1, 2 and 3) are not final.  They tell you what happened to the character at the time being, but there's usually more to the story than is revealed.  Nina and Lei cross paths in their endings -- the scenario is the same, but the result is different depending on who you beat the game with.  In Tekken 5, you can assume that the story will follow a combination of both endings, just like before.

Of course, the story is a secondary part of fighting games.  What gamers really care about is the gameplay.  Unlike its predecessors, Tekken 4 does not take the fighting genre any further.  Namco stuck with what worked and made a few subtle changes to enhance the gameplay.

Everyone loved the eight-way run from Soul Calibur, so it's no surprise that Tekken 4 features a similar control scheme.  Although jump moves are still there, you can no longer press Up to perform a quick jump.  That's not a big loss, but it does take a few minutes to get used to the new circular controls.  Surprisingly, this doesn't affect the gameplay as much as you might expect.  Aside from evading slow attacks, the eight-way run adds very little to the Tekken experience.

In the previous Tekken games, you could move anywhere on the screen, since the platform had no obstacles, and if you reached the end, it would just spin to keep the fighters from falling off.  Backgrounds were merely 2D/3D paintings.  Taking a cue from Dead or Alive 2 and 3, Tekken 4 features interactive backgrounds.  The backgrounds don't move -- you do.  When you circle around your opponent, the camera will follow, showing off all of the game's graphical detail.  The "interactive" part comes in when you are punched into a wall or some penetrable object.  Concrete pillars can be destroyed in an underground parking lot; pipes can be beat up, causing steam to shoot out of the holes; and statues can be obliterated, among other things.

The strength of each character's block has been reduced, giving the attacker the advantage.  You can still block a 10-hit combo, but each punch and kick you receive weakens the block.  If you're good enough hold out, you won't receive any damage, but it's not that hard to break a player's block and unleash the rest of a powerful combo.  This is another subtle addition, but it greatly affects the gameplay, helping to separate the good players from the hardcore masters.

Returning from Tekken 3 is the Tekken Force mini-game.  In Tekken 3, it was stuck in the second dimension.  In Tekken 4, it's still stuck in the second dimension!  The camera moves around a lot, giving you the impression that you're playing a 3D game, but you're not.  All of the movements function just as they do in the original Tekken Force game.  Depending on which direction you're facing, the Right directional button moves you forward.  In a game that was truly 3D, any button could move you forward, depending on how the camera was positioned.

Regardless, Tekken Force is better than ever.  Hordes of powerful enemies attack at once, requiring quick reflexes and skilled combos to deal with them.  Not only that, but the gameplay feels much smoother than before, making it easy to perform the skilled moves necessary to take out the enemies.  Hardcore fans will love it; newbies will want to pull their hair out.  When you die, you're forced to start the stage over from the beginning.  I think it's safe to say that 70% of the Tekken fans out there are "hardcore," and 80% of Tekken 4's buyers will be hardcore players, so it doesn't matter.  If you're having a tough time beating it, don't run away -- just play it more.  In time, you too, could become the winner of The King of Iron Fist Tournament.  And hey, if you're really good, you might even be able to beat me...

On a stranger note, Tekken 4 has a new "change position" move that allows you to grab your opponent and move him to the opposite side of you.  This move was created to give pinned fighters (that is, players who are pinned to a wall) a way out of the situation.  By changing positions with your opponent, you could combo him or her into the wall.

All of this adds up to a great fighting experience that is, for the most part, just as good as Tekken 3.  The thing is, Tekken 3 came out five years ago.  Back then, it was evolutionary.  But now, it's an experience we've had a million times before.  Tekken Tag Tournament may not have some of Tekken 4's cool additions, but it has more fighters, which is what every gamer wants.  Steve and Marduk are good characters, but Christie is a replica of Eddy Gordo.  Her moves are identical to Eddy's -- the only difference is that she's a girl.  Ironically, they took away one of Heihachi's best two-hit combos because it mimicked Paul too much.  So apparently it's okay to copy some characters as long as others are diversified.

I've had a blast playing Tekken 4, but like I said, I've been to this place before.  The walls have been modernized with a new coat of paint, but for the most part it's the same old house.  That isn't a bad thing, but obviously it's not a good thing either.  Tekken 4 is a stellar game, one that I know I'll be playing well into next year.  However, aside from the position change move, it doesn't do anything that hasn't been done before.  Rent it, enjoy it and have an all-night gaming session with some friends.  Just be sure to think long and hard before you spend $50 on a game that you (more or less) already have.

Gameplay: 8.5
With 20+ fighters (some rehashes, some brand-new), Tekken 4 delivers the goods.  No one can deny the fun of pulling off those massive 10-hit combos, or the thrill you get when you successfully perform a reversal move on an unsuspecting opponent.  Tekken 4 may not be a whole lot different from the previous games, but it's still one of the best fighting games on PlayStation 2.

Graphics: 8.9 
Tekken 4 is an extremely attractive fighting game.  In the underground parking lot stage, every car model is packed with detail.  To give you an idea of how much detail, think of first-generation PS2 games.  Light bounces off the shiny surface as the camera moves around.  All of the character models have been improved as well, featuring some of the most detailed faces around.

Sound: 6.7
Musically, the Tekken series peaked with Tekken 3.  Tekken 4's music is tolerable, and the sound effects aren't annoying, but that's not something to get excited over.

Difficulty: Medium
Tekken masters will be able to beat Tekken 4 in under 20 minutes.  This is a fighting game though, so you can't expect it to be longer.  The real fun comes from the multiplayer mode.

Concept: 5.5
As I said before, the new characters are good, but they aren't nearly as inventive as the original Tekken cast.

Multiplayer: 9
I have six things to say about Tekken 4's multiplayer mode: it plays just like Tekken 3.  Need I say more?

Overall: 8.5
Rehash or not, Tekken 4 is one of the best multiplayer games you'll find on the PlayStation 2.  I loved it at the arcade and I love it at home.  I just wish it was a new experience...