In a competitive environment, monopoly CANNOT be stopped. It is the process of competition by which the driving force of the market sector breathes. One may enter the monopoly of a given sector to compete in monopoly, but in order to stop monopolistic competition or halt it to a substantial degree one must declare itself in pure monopoly. This may only occur when all other companies have exited the market due to the extreme barriers to entry, such as a lack of profit making for any company besides the company in pure monopoly.

ROLE OF HYDROLOGY AND GRAVITY

Pure water doesn’t conduct electricity. Normal water too is a poor conductor of heat. Exchange of heat takes place almost entirely by convection. Molecules carrying heat travel within the system and spread heat uniformly.

Ice and snow being solid, molecules have no freedom of movement. Unlike a rod of iron, heat is not passed on from one end to the other if the rod is made of ice. This is the reason why the igloo (hutment made of ice blocks) retains warmth inside it, even when the temperature outside falls much below the freezing point. A human being may remain alive for some days, if he sleeps in the arctic region. The snow deposited on his body forms a blanket which will not allow the heat of the body to escape outside and also protects from the cold wind blowing from the Poles. Such cases have been reported. At the same time beggars sleeping outside in the cold season in north India die as reported in newspapers, as they lose their body heat easily in the absence of warm cloths.

 This unique quality of frozen water plays a very important role in preventing heat of the earth from escaping into outer space by radiation. The Polar regions, and a considerable part of temperate regions in winter, remain covered with ice and snow. This is true of the mountainous regions and the plateaus of higher altitude also. In the seas the thermal insulation provided by the snow cover allows life to flourish throughout the year but prevents escape of heat and makes considerable contribution to global warming.

 There is continuous evaporation of water from the seas (not covered by ice) and land. Each molecule of vapor carries considerable quantity of latent heat as additional calorie. When they rise in altitude, the molecules form clouds and then descend towards the earth as rain, snow, dew and mist. This circulation of water results in cyclic movement of heat. Only the latent heat released at the time of formation of clouds results in escape of heat by radiation. In areas where humidity is minimum the heat lost by radiation will be considerable. Ironically deserts help to ‘fight Global Warming’ and greenery works in the reverse direction!

 If the earth were devoid of water, transfer of heat from the earth by radiation to outer space would have been easy and enormous in quantity as in the case of  the Moon.

 GRAVITY

What is the source of geo-thermal energy?

 A stack of lignite will catch fire if left in the open. Obviously this is because of the pressure developed inside, raising the temperature to ignition point of lignite which is comparatively low. Such rise in temperature takes place inside a stack of coal, iron ore, sand etc also. The pressure is caused by gravity of the earth which continuously pulls the stack down and the surface of the earth opposing this force, causing pressure. Therefore we may say that gravity generates heat. A hill is also a stack of great dimension. As the crust of the earth is not falling down due to gravity; it is obviously subjected to pressure caused by opposing forces of gravity and forces supporting the crust to remain in position. When the pressure at a point, say 10km inside the earth, is multiplied by the area of the globe at this point, we will get a mind boggling figure of the thrust, capable of generating heat, comparable to that produced by thousands of hydrogen bombs.

 Well, this may be the source of geo thermal energy and not radiation as maintained by geologists. The above theory is borne out by the fact that as we go deeper into the earth the temperature rises. In depressions like the Grand Canyon in America and the Dead Sea it is very hot.

 “Hence, omitting all reference to the active volcanoes, and to thermal springs at all temperatures below that of boiling water, found in all parts of the world, it is well-known fact, that in descending into deep mines the temperature is greatly above that of the mean of the exterior air, and increases progressively with the depth. This was first remarked by Gensanne, about the year 1740, in the lead mines of Giromagny, near Beport. Saussure afterwards observed the same fact in the salt mines at Bex, in Switzerland; but the attention of naturalists was not generally directed to the temperature of the lower strata, till Humboldt has executed an extensive and interesting series of experiments in the mines of Freyburg, in 1791. The best set of observations we possess on the temperature of deep places, is that which has been uninterruptedly continued for more than half a century in the caves under the observatory of Paris. In 1783 the Count de Cassini, in concert with Lavoisier, placed a very delicate thermometer in one of these excavations for the purpose of observing the curious phenomenon of an invariable temperature, which had been noticed to exist in the same place, by the first Cassini, in 1671, and by La Hire, in 1730. The thermometer is placed at the depth of rather more than thirty yards under the surface, in a bed of fine sand, and has indicated no change of temperature, or at least its oscillations have not exceeded the 1/33 of centesimal degree. The constant temperature exceeds at that depth, by 2.16 degree Fahrenheit’s scale, the mean tempreture at the surface: and supposing a uniform increase at the same rate, we would arrive at the temperature of boiling water at the depth of 2542 yards under the city of Paris. We may quote a few other results of observation. In the coal mines of the north of England the temperature is 70° at the depth of 800 or 900 feet, when the air at the surface is only 48° or 49°; and in the mines of Valenciana in Mexico, it is 92° when the surface-air is at 60°. The following are additional examples:-. In a copper mine at Dolcoath, in Cornwall, a thermometer was kept eighteen months buried in the rock to the depth of a yard. The depth of the mine was 1377 feet. The temperature indicated was 75.5°, while that of the country is 50°; and consequently the increase of heat there is at the rate of 1° for every 54 feet.

 At Giromagny, in the Vosges, the annual temperature at the surface is 49°; at 330 feet depth it is 53.6°; at 1008 feet, 65.8°; at 1416 feet 74.6°. in four of the deepest mines of Saxony the annual tempreture at the surface is 46.4degree at from 510 to 600 feet depth it is 54.5 degree; at 840 feet, 58 degree; at 1080 feet, 62.6°.

 In the deepest British coal mine, that of Killingworth, the annual temperature at the surface is 48°; at 900 feet depth it is 70°; at 1200 feet, 77°. A similar gradation is found in many of the deeper mines at home and abroad.

 There is thus in the Vosges an increase of temperature in descent below the surface amounting to about 1° in every 60 feet; in Saxony 1° in every 66 feet; and in Britain 1 degreein every 45 feet. After the ratio observed in the Vosges, the tempreture of the hot springs at Bath, 113°, will be found at three-quarters of a mile in the interior of the earth, and that of boiling water at a depth of nearly two miles. “The facts strongly support three conclusions:- First, that the heat of an interior shell of the earth is greater than the superficial shell. Second, that this heat augments progressively as we descend towards this region, in a ratio bearing some relations to the depth. Third, that, even at moderate depth, this heat is greater than the mean heat of the globe ought to be, if entirely derived from the sun. The heat of such an interior mass must be constantly diffusing itself towards the surface; and at the surface it may be kept down, so as to affect the temperature derived from the solar action very feebly, by the greater or less rapidity of its dissipation. But as it is very improbable that it should be diffused with perfect equality round the whole exterior shell of the globe, it may be the true source of some of those anomalies of climate, such as the discrepancy in the annual heat under the same parallel, which cannot be easily referred to other known causes”. If the heat of the globe were entirely derived from the sun, Pekin, at an inconsiderable elevation above the sea, ought to have the same mean annual temperature as Naples, being under the same parallel of latitude; but instead of that being the case, the temperature falls short of that at Naples by nearly 9°. Other causes may contribute to produce this discrepancy; yet it is not unreasonable to suppose that the mean heat at Naples is raised by its proximity to a focus of internal heat which smokes and flashes through the chimney of Vesuvius”.

 It is amazing that pioneers like Humboldt, Lavoisier etc had done path breaking observations regarding geo thermal energy and deserve all praise. Had this line of research continued, the conclusions now reached by me would have automatically been revealed much earlier. That the scientists, especially geologists, have not cared to  study physical geography is a big loss. I have only filled up the spaces left void by the pioneers.

 To conclude: global warming is caused by the earth itself and cooling is retarded by water – our father and mother. Shall we blame our parents or thank them for giving precious life enabling us a few year’s visit to this wonderful earth to enjoy it’s beauty and sublimity?

Bien peu de mots à écrire ces derniers jours ou plutôt trop et pas de temps pour le faire.
Dix ans de vie dans un jardin laissent des traces, dans le jardin en question et en soi-même aussi.
Mes projets ont changé, mes possibilités aussi, je ne rêve plus aussi haut, ces temps-ci.
Où est parti mon bel enthousiasme? Comment ai-je pu imaginer tant de choses pour ce lieu, tant de réalisations, de créations, de mises en valeur?
Ces derniers jours, j’ai beaucoup travaillé sur mes photos, numériques pour l’instant mais qui ne concernent que les quatre dernières années. Les premières traces de ma rencontre avec ce jardin sont des photos argentiques, parfois même en noir et blanc et puis il y a aussi les photos d’avant ces dix ans, lorsque j’ignorai jusqu’à son existence…
Pourquoi, lorsque j’ai découvert ce lieu , cerné d’un tour de fenêtre en aluminium, ai-je pensé aussitôt que je devais venir y vivre, que ma place était là? Reconnait-on vraiment certains lieux? Je suis bien trop cartésienne pour écrire cela. Ce n’était alors pas même une friche, des traces humaines que l’Aspre se hâtait de faire disparaître, un semblant de chemin mais des roses ausi, un cordon de vigne, des piquets de clôture disséminés un peu partout, des fruitiers laissés à eux-mêmes, du lierre envahissant , une haie de berbéris, un tilleul qui ne se décidait pas à démarrer et puis tant d’autres végétaux ici ou là . Ils me parlaient déjà à l’oreille comme ils m’interpellent toujours, ils ont toujours tant à dire. Pourquoi me suis-je laissée envouter, et ces chênes au fond du jardin, de l’autre côté de la clôture qui masquent les collines toutes proches l’été et me les laissent déjà deviner en ce mois de novembre, pourquoi y suis-je tant attachée, alors qu’ils sont même au-delà des limites du jardin ?
Ce jardin où je passe le plus clair de ma vie et qui n’est pas vraiment le mien puisque cette terre , je ne l’ai pas achetée ni même choisie,  quel est ce lien si fort qui m’y lie?
J’ai cru longtemps naîvement que je ne faisais que poursuivre le rêve de son propriétaire et m’aperçois, ces jours-ci qu’il n’en est rien, que je suis seule à m’y être si fortement attachée.
Peut-on aimer un lieu d’amour, celui que l’on donne avec plus ou moins de bonheur à nos semblables?
Ce que j’échange avec  ces végétaux, ceux que j’ai plantés et les autres , va bien au-delà de l’attachement commun des trois-quart des jardiniers à leurs ouailles végétales!
Au coeur de ce jardin, je me sens beaucoup plus vivante, beaucoup plus moi même que nul part ailleurs et je souffre de voir mes forces décliner et de laisser tant de possibilités inabouties.
De quoi me suis-je détournée depuis ces dix dernières années pour accorder toute mon énergie à ces arbres, ces arbustes, cette terre si pauvre et caillouteuse?
J’ai passé un pacte avec ce jardin, je ne sais pas vraiment quelle en est la teneur, je sais seulement que  c’est extrème et exigeant, que cela ne s’arrêtera qu’avec la fin de ma vie.
Quoi qu’il m’en coûte et ce soir, comme la plupart du temps, j’en suis épuisée, j’ai l’étrange sensation de ne pouvoir être heureuse en faisant autrement, quelles que compensations que l’on puisse me proposer.
Aux pieds de mes arbres, je vis heureuse, je ne les quitterai jamais des yeux!
Bien que le “mes” ne convienne guère, c’est moi qui suis à mes arbres, pas l’inverse!
La vie passe et je revois à la baisse, mois après mois, ce que je comptais créer dans ce jardin mais l’essentiel est d’y rester, de m’en occuper, d’en prendre soin autant que je le peux, avec de l’aide ou sans.
Comme seule illustration , cette paire de gants dont je me suis défaite, il y a quelques mois, mes mains se sont tant musclées à les porter que je n’arrivais plus à les enfiler.

A eux-seuls, ils racontent, les courbatures, les tendinites, le découragement, la joie triomphante à caresser la nouvelle tige sur la charpentière abîmée, la lassitude des soirs d’été, posés sur le banc pour ne pas les mouiller en arrosant, la peur de la tronçonneuse que je maintenais difficilement, le besoin de toucher cette terre ocre, dont ils sont souillés bien que je ne les portais jamais pour planter un végétal.

J’ai changé de gants et d’idées et d’espoirs et de rêves mais si c’était la première paire de gants usées dans ce jardin, j’espère qu’il y en aura beaucoup d’autres…bien que rien ne soit moins sûr, c’est que mes mains se sont tant endurcies que mes nouveaux gants, les pauvres, sont bien rarement enfilés!

The floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift their waves. Psalm 93:3

Trouble comes our way, according Psalm 93, in relentless waves that surge and pound against our souls and break upon them with furious force. “The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice,” and they are deafening (verse 3).

Yet above the temptest we hear the psalmist’s refrain: “The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea” (verse 4).

Indeed, “the Lord reigns”! He is clothes with majesty and strength. He sits as King, exalted higher than the waves that rise above us, deeper than their immeasurable depths, greater than their strongest surge. The storm is in His all-powerful hands: “The world is established, so that it cannot be moved,” for His rule over it was established long ago (verse 1). He rules the raging of the sea; the “wind and the sea obey Him” (Mark 4:37-41). He speaks and they are still.

The storm will not last forever. Yet, while it rages, you can cling to the Lord’s promises of love and faithfulness, for His “testimonies are very sure” (Psalm 93:5). Waves of trouble and grief may sweep over you, but you will not be swept away. He “is able to keep you from stumbling” (Jude 24). Our Father in heaven is holding your hand. —david roper

When overwhelmed with problems, when weak or tired or ill, when storms are fierce and raging just hear His “Peace, be still.” —jarvis

When adversity is ready to strike us, then God is most ready to strengthen us.

Would you all agree with me that war is an ugly, but sometimes necessary thing? No SANE person ever wants to go to war. But when diplomacy fails and our national well being, safety, and security are at stake military action is sometimes necessary. When military action can no longer be avoided, for it to be truly effective it must be conducted violently and with overwhelming force to quickly defeat the enemy and make them KNOW that further resistance is futile. Contrary to what many opponents of any war believe, fewer people on both sides die if you hold to these principals. When you try to make war “nice,” as our spineless yellow bellied politicians have done, it turns into a slow war of attrition, a war of a thousand cuts. The enemy that threatened you is never defeated and will ALWAYS be a threat until they are defeated. They gain strength day after day and kill more and more of your people a few at a time.

With regard to Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other conflict in which our military is employed, just about every conservative I know, be they politician, talk show host, fellow soldier, sailor, Marine or airman, have universally held the opinion “let us win, or bring us home.” That includes me. When we went into Iraq and Afghanistan, there was a genuine military purpose and legitimate national security goal. Once the initial military victories on the ground had faded into history, the politicians got involved and began to tear down the success of our military. Especially those liberal politicians who didn’t want us to go to Iraq or Afghanistan in the first place, but who would not speak out because the POLLS said speaking out against the actions wasn’t popular. Cowards.

As each day passes, the liberals withdraw more and more support from our military men and women who are on the front lines risking and sacrificing their lives for America. The withhold money, new weapons, and reinforcements. They attack and belittle the military in the press. The two most notable examples of this are senator Harry Reid of Nevada who said the war in Iraq was lost before the surge ever began, and congressman Jack Murtha (spit) of Pennsylvania who with no proof or evidence came out publicly and loudly to proclaim that U.S. Marines in Haditha, Iraq were murderers and baby killers. Of course they were proven innocent, but Murtha (spit) couldn’t and still hasn’t found a microphone to say he was wrong, or that he is sorry for what he said. He calls himself a former Marine, but I assure you any REAL Marine would rather disembowel himself than shake this traitors hand.

Now we have the Obama administration about to prosecute three Navy SEALs for capturing a terrorist on the field of battle ALIVE. Keep in mind that usually SEALs don’t CAPTURE anyone. They kill them. Why are they being prosecuted? Because the terrorist, the mastermind of the abduction, torture, execution, and burning of four Blackwater agents whose bodies were then hung from a bridge, this scumbag got a bloody lip. I’m sure he wasn’t read his Miranda rights either. He should have died of acute lead poisoning. Navy “leadership,” in politically correct lock step with Obama and the liberals, tried to give these SEALs non-judicial punishment which would still effectively end their careers. Seeing the absurdity of this they exercised their option and demanded a trial by Courts Martial. God bless them.

Yesterday I heard several people who had been ardent supporters of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan say it was time to bring our troops home. Radio hosts Roger Hedgecock and Glenn Beck were two of the more notable. When our Commander-in-Chief (in this case the campaigner-in-chief) and the rest of our national command structure no longer support our military in a time of war, when they will throw our own soldiers under the bus, when they WILL NOT ALLOW OUR MILITARY TO WIN, it is time to bring them home. The lives of a million of those dirt bag, swine excrement, satanic terrorists is not worth the life of even one single American.

Bring them home. Now.
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Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist

Wednesday, November 25, 2009
By Rowan Scarborough

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy’s elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral’s mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named “Objective Amber,” told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.

Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.

Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.

Neal Puckett, an attorney representing McCabe, told Fox News the SEALs are being charged for allegedly giving the detainee a “punch in the gut.”

“I don’t know how they’re going to bring this detainee to the United States and give us our constitutional right to confrontation in the courtroom,” Puckett said. “But again, we have terrorists getting their constitutional rights in New York City, but I suspect that they’re going to deny these SEALs their right to confrontation in a military courtroom in Virginia.”

The three SEALs will be arraigned separately on Dec. 7. Another three SEALs — two officers and an enlisted sailor — have been identified by investigators as witnesses but have not been charged.

FoxNews.com obtained the official handwritten statement from one of the three witnesses given on Sept. 3, hours after Abed was captured and still being held at the SEAL base at Camp Baharia. He was later taken to a cell in the U.S.-operated Green Zone in Baghdad.

The SEAL told investigators he had showered after the mission, gone to the kitchen and then decided to look in on the detainee.

“I gave the detainee a glance over and then left,” the SEAL wrote. “I did not notice anything wrong with the detainee and he appeared in good health.”

Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, spokeswoman for the special operations component of U.S. Central Command, confirmed Tuesday to FoxNews.com that three SEALs have been charged in connection with the capture of a detainee. She said their court martial is scheduled for January.

United States Central Command declined to discuss the detainee, but a legal source told FoxNews.com that the detainee was turned over to Iraqi authorities, to whom he made the abuse complaints. He was then returned to American custody. The SEAL leader reported the charge up the chain of command, and an investigation ensued.

The source said intelligence briefings provided to the SEALs stated that “Objective Amber” planned the 2004 Fallujah ambush, and “they had been tracking this guy for some time.”

The Fallujah atrocity came to symbolize the brutality of the enemy in Iraq and the degree to which a homegrown insurgency was extending its grip over Iraq.

The four Blackwater agents were transporting supplies for a catering company when they were ambushed and killed by gunfire and grenades. Insurgents burned the bodies and dragged them through the city. They hanged two of the bodies on a bridge over the Euphrates River for the world press to photograph.

Intelligence sources identified Abed as the ringleader, but he had evaded capture until September.

The military is sensitive to charges of detainee abuse highlighted in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. The Navy charged four SEALs with abuse in 2004 in connection with detainee treatment.

So you have decided to buy a new racket. Maybe your first one? If you want to go into details, there are lots of things you should consider, on the other hand since this is your first racket there is not so much to consider! I will just give a brief overview on how to choose your first racket.

Power vs Control

Power vs control will be an underlying theme in squash. It is because in general power and control don’t really go together. This is always a dilemma because you want both but you can’t have both. The fundamental reason behind this is the Newton’s law:

f = ma (force is mass times acceleration)

So if you want more force you, you want a heavier mass and more acceleration. We can apply this equation to the squash racket: if you want more power (force generated), you need to have more mass (heavier racket) and more acceleration (more strength generated by your body movement).

The equation can be read the other way around:

a = f/m (acceleration is force divided by mass)

The acceleration is proportional to force but not for mass. Thus if you have a heavier racket, you will need more force to control the acceleration (racket control). In general we have the following trend:

the lighter the racket is the more control you get
the heavier the racket is the more power you get

So in the end you can’t get both!

Tear drop vs round

You will notice that rackets have wide spectrum of shapes. On one end of the spectrum there is this tear drop shape:

The advantage of tear drop shaped rackets are that they generate more power. This is because the racket weight tends to be distributed towards the end of the racket (tear drop shape). Also you get long vertical strings that bend more and thus release more power when coming back to normal length.

On the other end of the spectrum sits the round shaped rackets:

As you can guess, this shape has the opposite effect of the tear drop shaped racket. It gives you more control rather than power. This is a result of the strings bending less and also the weight distribution being towards the middle of the racket.

Conclusion

So what should you get? It depends on your style of play. If you are a power player and like to smash the ball around the court, get a tear drop with decent weight say 140g-ish. If you would like to have more control, go for a light round racket 130g-ish. Ideally you should try the racket before buying it. This is because even though racket A might be lighter than racket B on the scale, racket A might feel heavier when you swing it due to the weight distribution requiring and generating more torque.

But in the end don’t worry too much about the racket. Modern squash rackets are very good, you can’t really go wrong.

Practical 3 Steps

Normally when I buy a racket this is how I do it.
1. Visit the manufacturer’s website and read technical details.
2. Pick a racket and try to see if I can get my hands on one.
3. Visit Google Product Search, check the different websites online and order! (Be aware that some websites charge posting fees separately.)

References:

1. Squash Racket Review (reviews of high end rackets)

Concern for Gayle’s physical condition after rushed trip home… From The Australian. Full story

This site may contain information about: train travel. The blog is also related to: sydney airport.

Me likey.

The South African government has pledged to give life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to 900,000 HIV-infected people by March next year. But many of those who currently need the medicines to stay alive arent getting them. At some state clinics and hospitals, there are drug shortages and insufficient training for nursing staff. Staff nurses are overworked and have difficulty finding the time necessary to teach patients how to take the pills properly. This scenario is leading to serious illness and in some cases, say health professionals, to death…. From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: classrooms. The blog is also related to: education department.

First Published Saturday 21 November 2009 here at Ace Gamez – Summarising the entire back story of the Tekken series is a massive task thanks to the fact that we never really know which character’s ending is considered canon. Plus, the whole ‘daddy issues’ chess game of power between the Mishima bloodline has more twists, turns and double entendres than an interview with Hideo Kojima. It is seriously convoluted and, at times, improbable. I mean how many times can geriatric megalomaniac Heihachi be thrown into a volcano or fired off a giant cliff and still return with not so much as a scratch? At least a fracture or a scraped knee would have been believable, but really? Originally a hallmark series for Sony consoles and a launch title for both PSOne and PS2, this sequel may have arrived late in the generation and lost its exclusivity to Xbox 360, but has this tardy re-emergence had a negative effect on the winning formula?

Well typically, a little extra development time works wonders for observing the competition, researching the wants and needs of the fan base and delivering all of these observations in a competent and well-crafted package. Tekken 6 delivers an exemplary arcade mode and painfully detailed visuals, but falls in to the trap that too many modern games seem to blindly stumble in to time and time again. The problem is that we are living in a generation that seems to demand online features, multiple modes and a gamut of customisation options. As a result, too many developers will tack on a lot of extras in the hope that the ‘less is more’ rule will kick in and that the game will be awarded a rake of top marks from critics. Granted, Namco does deserve brownie points for delivering a pretty exhaustive package, but it is a package that feels too lumbered with naff modes, questionable decisions and throwaway features to be designated as a pure Tekken experience.

For starters, almost every one of the 40+ character roster is unlocked from the moment you pop in the disc. Part of the allure of Tekken was that you were always keen to play through the story mode and unlock a new character every time you completed the game. Not only did this make the game longer, but it gave you incentive to play as every character and become accustomed to their fighting style and maybe, just maybe, you would find yourself a new favourite character in the process. Instead you are steamrollered by a tidal wave of characters from the word go and, if you are new to the series, you will probably feel a tad overwhelmed by the breadth of choice. For example, If you are a die-hard Law player and you really have no desire to play with anyone else, then chances are you won’t and you will skip straight to the versus modes.

It’s a baffling decision by Namco, but again it shows that the developer has pandered to this recently recurring notion that players don’t want to be forced to play through a game before unlocking all of the available multiplayer content. Yeah, thanks a lot Guitar Hero and Rock Band! The only alternative to the straight arcade mode is an incredibly dire story campaign that players of previous games will recognise as another sloppy re-hash of Tekken 3’s Force mode. So far, none of these side-scrolling, Streets of Rage wannabes have been any fun, verging on the realm of budget shovelware, rather than a competent and fully-fledged extension of the core game. It follows Lars, one of the leaders of Jin Kazama’s Tekken Force unit as he attempts to secure the scarily doll-like Alisa Bosconovitch from a testing lab. Oh and she’s also a robot with a detachable head and saw blades for arms.

Again, this incredibly ludicrous plot, coupled with the overall shoddiness of the game mode is proof that sometimes less is more. Had this game simply consisted of refined and painfully balanced arcade and multiplayer modes, this could have been the best entry to the series yet. Instead, Story mode gives us dodgy cameras, a barely functional lock-on mechanic and a stripped down move set complete with throw moves that only work when they feel like it. It’s certainly not a short mode, but this just highlights what a tedious slog the whole thing is. Where previous Tekken games let you play through each character’s story via arcade mode, here you must slog through this campaign and unlock each fighter before you can view their ending cinematic. It’s an odd choice to make players suffer through the slack campaign to view these scenes and while most of them are great to watch, the method is far from inspiring.

The only upside is that you will progressively unlock new customisation items throughout the campaign, ranging from simple items of clothing to special accessories that give your character stat boosts such as regenerative health and increased attack power. Perhaps the coolest feature is character-specific weapons such as a pair of assault rifles for Lars or Law’s Nunchucks . While these look impressive they remain balanced, keeping everything on a level playing field. For example, Brian Fury gets a mini-gun, which isn’t exactly fair game in what is supposed to be a hand-to-hand fighting tournament.

On the other hand, the actual core arcade mode is a fine-tuned piece of mastery. New characters are always a gamble, but here each of the six newcomers are superbly crafted, boasting unique move sets and a diverse range of fighting styles. The slinky Zafina is a strong addition for her double-jointed, almost boneless movement that smacks of Soul Calibur IV’s freakish gimp Voldo, but without the ugly. She almost mimics Lei thanks to her multiple stances and also bears elements of Xiaoyu, thanks to her low crouching stance that allows for a range of devastating follow-up attacks. Although the influences are clear, she is incredibly unpredictable and this odd movement makes her a formidable opponent.

In true Tekken fashion, the end boss Azazel is an absolute cheesemonger, battering you in seconds with a ludicrous barrage of laser blasts and literally earth-shattering magical attacks that are simply infuriating. Forget Street Fighter IV’s bald badass Seth, this demigod entity really takes the cheddar, with an unpredictable move set and AI that reacts with split second precision. At least Seth had predictable traits and once you got these ingrained in your memory, he was a piece of cake. Azazel on the other hand is a real sticking point that throws all sense of skill out the window in yet another disappointing final battle.

The insanely tough boss battle is a staple of the genre, but Tekken 6 isn’t entirely set in its ways. Instead of simply giving each of the classic characters a visual makeover, Namco has tweaked and re-balanced the move sets of all of the series mainstays to make sure every fighter exists on a level playing field. As such, you may need to spend some time with your favourite character to re-adjust to these changes, which range from subtle additions or omissions to parts of a combo chain, to the deletion or insertion of moves altogether. Another new fight mechanic is Rage, a last-minute attack boost that is granted whenever a player is dangerously close to being knocked out. This opens a last-ditch window that allows players to turn the tide of battle and in some cases this really does ramp up the tension. There is also a new Bound system that lets you smash opponents off the arena floor and launch them into the air to for juggle combo possibilities.

As the game has been in development since 2006, the visuals can show their age at points, failing to match the painstaking detail of Namco stable-mate Soul Calibur IV. But for the best part, this is as razor sharp as they come, with each character rendered in suitably chunky style and flourishes of motion blur thrown in to underline the frantic pace of every battle. The stages themselves are a treat for the eyes, throwing your fighters head to head on neon-lit rooftops that tower above a sprawling metropolis, to a sunny farm complete with animals that can be knocked about like bouncy balls. So quite far removed from the realistic settings of past Tekken games, but colourful nonetheless. Many stages are also multi-tiered with collapsible floors. If you smash your opponent off the ground enough times, the floor will give way, causing both players to fall to the next level. This looks great when it happens, but if either player happens to be sprawled out on the ground when the drop occurs they will lose a significant chunk of their health once they hit the lower floor, which can seem a tad unfair at times.

So while the offline modes are a mixed bag ranging from the mundane to the magnificent, it is the online element of Tekken 6 that stings the most. It has become vital for developers of fighting games to really nail online modes to push longevity, but some genuinely crippling lag sours the experience. Playing with people on your friends list seems to run much smoother then challenging random fighters but then again, the loading time for each match can often border on the unacceptable. The ranking system from Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection makes a welcome return, awarding you with GP points for each victory. If you lose a fight, you are given a chance to earn GP through a neat fruit machine system that softens the blow of a crippling defeat somewhat. Its functional, but is still far from the sprawling tournaments and deep levelling up systems that could have been.

It is difficult to bemoan such a generous package when it delivers so many modes, superb new characters and an intricately balanced fight mechanic. Offline multiplayer will always be a key draw for Tekken, but without a lag-free online mode to back it up, the entire experience suffers as a result. While a welcome online patch is currently in the works, it still doesn’t excuse the game shipping with such glaring issues. The meagre campaign mode is another thorn in the side of Tekken 6 and as such, the game simply fails to stack up against the slick perfection of Street Fighter IV. It will be interesting to see what patches and DLC will become available in time and whether or not they redeem the package.

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