25 Days of Begging: Part Three

25 Days Of Begging: Week Three

         Well, we’re winding down to the last few weeks of begging and chances are you have already offended everyone you know with your incessant chatter about what presents you’d like for Christmas. But soldier on! How else do you expect to be able to get everything on your list? The trick is to nag them to the point that they give in and buy you everything you want just to shut you up. And that’s okay: who needs real friends when you have electronic ones? And just so you know, this is the last set of five before the J1Studios.com Game of The Year top ten list. And yes there will be surprises!Everyone loves suprises.

15. Mortal Kombat 9

         Mortal Kombat came up 1000% since its last outing. They set a new standard for story mode for a fighting game, brought the series into the new millennium with a fighting system made for high level play, and really upgraded the graphics with the additions of x-rays and visible damage. And some of the fatalities are just silly (link). If you don’t have this game yet, it’s a must buy. Or I’ll send Reptile over to give you a kiss.

14.        Ico and Shadow of the Colossus HD

         Sometimes you need to play a game that doesn’t just consist of shooting people in the face, curbstomps, and mindless violence. There’s were real gaming art lies: story, art, design, and interactivity all coming together to make an experience that moves the player. A great example of that sort of game is the Ico and the Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection. As you play these games, you encounter characters you care about, story lines that engage you, and game play that is just amazing. Not having a game like this in your collection you are really missing out on a major portion of the gaming industry.

13. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

         This game is purdy darn fun. You have multiple ways of story progression, multiple ways of defeating your enemies, and multiple endings. It’s one of the few shooting games in which you literally don’t have to shoot anyone, outside of cutscenes. Granted there are a few issues, but there’s nothing that should keep this from showing up on your list.

12. Catherine

         In one of the deluxe versions of this game, Atlus sends you a copy of underwear, a t-shirt for your lovely lady to wear as pajamas (or I guess you could wear it too, but trust me, you won't look as good), a pillowcase, and a pizza box. Everything you need for a night out. Persona Team has ever come out with anything that hasn't been hot, and Catherine is definitely a game worth grabbing. Just make sure you're faithful to your girl or it will turn you into a sheep-man, and have a screaming baby try to kill you.

11.        Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition

         Without a question, Street Fighter is the franchise that innovated the fighting game to something enduring that we actually want to play. If it wasn't for Ryu, then there would be no Morrigan, Fulgore, Marstorius, Jack the Ripper, Joe Higashi, or Scarlette. Street Fighter has continued to be a frontrunner in innovating the fighting game genre, and is still the ruler to which we hold everything up to.

         That said, if you're a serious fighting game guy, and you have been kicking around the idea of getting AE, but just haven't pulled the trigger yet, or if you're holding out because a character you like got nerfed, the 2012 update just came out (free), so the balancing and little details are worth taking a look into.

Honorable Mentions

Blaz Blu Continuum Shift 2

         Until Guilty Gear makes Badguy in HD, this is what ya got. Be happy with it.

Beyond Good and Evil

         You should get this game before the NDAA passes and we all go to jail.

Sonic Generations

         Sega made another Sonic game. But this time they decided to leave out the suck! (cough cough Shadow cough)

Street Fighter 3 Third Strike Online

         I dare anybody to make Q top tier.

By Chris Alexander

psn Imnotonfacebook

Xbl Mastergief

Email Mastergief@gmail.com

Street Fighter X Tekken is official folks!

So yes ladies and gentlemen it's true Street Fighter X Tekken is coming out in 2012!! Hold on to your hats, so your mind doesn't get blown! The official "announcement" happened over the weekend at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) during the producer of Super Street Fighter 4, Yoshinori Ono's panel discussion where he was asking about additional things fans would love to see in downloadable content (DLC) that will enhance your Super Street Fighter 4 experience. As he started make his opening remarks concerning the add-ons, a voice was heard in the distance....

It was Katsuhiro Harada, the producer of Tekken 6!! To add insult to injury, not only did he interrupt Ono's panel, he began giving out copies of Tekken 6 to all the fans that came to hear Ono speak. Harada made sure that when walked up on stage that he talked as much trash as he could. Ono responded with a hearty laugh and then it happened...

Watch this video to see what I'm talking about.

For those who want to see the trailer in a even better quality you can watch this.

Then to top it all off they gave everyone GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE!!

Now after screaming like a sissy, I studied the footage to see what they will be offering to make Street Fighter X Tekken have that "pop". Oh don't think that Namco won't be doing their version which will most likely be titled Tekken X Street Fighter. So what was I saying? Oh yeah, my thoughts of what to expect from SxT:

1. Ryu will play a little more like his Street Fighter III 3rd strike version.

2. Tag Team Ultras/Supers similar to Rival Schools. Maybe they will have a tag system like Tekken Tag as well.

3. To make the Tekken players feel more at home they will be adding a juggle system.

4. Target combos will be the way you can blend the Tekken style with Street Fight style.

5. Wall bouncing, so you can truly punish a player once you get them up against the wall.

6. You will be able to roll forward which can allow you do dodge projectiles.

7. Critical hits can cause the victim to spin around, but it keeps them on their feet so that you can continue a combo.

8. When you get knocked down you can roll in any direction you want as an escape. Which means if you don't get up you can keep getting hit.

9. Obviously it will be based off of the Super Street Fighter 4 core engine.

10. It will be available for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Now for what I would call my wish list.

1. Story for the tournament.

M. Bison desires more fighters for his [army of assassins/replacement body/fight ability siphon] project, and goes to Heihachi who is in need of even more money to start the Iron Fist Tournament again. M. Bison provides the money and power, while Heihachi provides new challengers. Kazuya finds out about this hidden ancient power and realizes that if he could get a hold of this "Satsui-no-hado", and merge it with his own Devil powers he would become a god!

2. Proper rivalries/roster.

Ryu & Kazuya (read #1)

M. Bison & Heihachi (read #1 again)

Chun Li & Nina - Interpol agent hunting down an assassin

Guile & Brian Fury - Investigating terrorist activity

Zangief & King - Wrestling to see who's #1

Ken & Paul - Settling a bet

Fei Long & Forest Law - Forest wants to take over Fei's role in film

Gen & Lei Wulong - Hired killer sent to take out the super cop

E. Honda & Ganryu - Wanting to see who's #1 in sumo

Blanka & Panda - They fight over a ball (haha)

Dee Jay & Eddy Gordo - DJ wants 2 perform at E's club but the only way 2 do it is be the bestat everything

Juri & Julia Chang - Was hired to take Julia out before she uncovers the truth behind the tourney

Vega & Yoshimitsu - Vega finds him to be hideous thing on the planet and wants him dead

Jinpachi & Seth - Seth wants his powers to add to his own

Sakura & Ling Xiaoyu - Ling thinks Ryu is cute & it made Sakura not like her

Dan & Mokujin - Was told he couldnt even beat a dummy

Abel & Marduk - were rivals in the MMA circuit

Balrog & Jack - Heihachi hired Balrog to be his bodyguard

Dudley & Steve Fox - Dudley told that the champ (Fox) can beat him

Rose & Zafina - Rose senses an unusual force that leads to Zafina

Cammy & Dragunov - MI6 sent her to investigate him

Sagat & Bruce Irvin - Bruce is looking to dethrone the "Emperor"

Adon & Hwoarang - they both see each other as an obstacle before they kill their masters

Akuma & Jin - Akuma can sense that Jin's devil is the strongest and he wants to face it in battle

3. Character specific endings

You know what I mean. No shortcuts Capcom.

So what do you think, cool right? Any extra news will be update over at our forum.

Super Street Fighter IV Review

Game: Super Street Fighter IV
Genre: Fighting
Developer(s): Dimps/Capcom
Publisher(s): Capcom
Release Date: April 27, 2010
Rating: T
System(s): Playstation 3, X-BOX 360

Review

Street Fighter…one of the most iconic titles in fighting game history. You grew up on it, knowing that if someone shouted out “Hadoken”, then they were trying to be like Ryu or Ken. More than 20 years later, Capcom released the newest addition to its legacy of world warriors: Super Street Fighter IV. So the question is: will it stand up to the legacy of its predecessors, especially Street Fighter IV?

If you’ve played Street Fighter IV (released on February 2009 for PS3 and 360), then you’ll know that the story is basically the same. And if you haven’t played SFIV, then you may want to go back and get the game if you’re looking for story. That’s not to say that there’s no storyline in this game. This game picks up where Street Fighter II left off, if you go by the timeline (Street Fighter, SF Alpha Series, SF II, SFIV, Street Fighter 3rd Strike). Shadowloo is destroyed and a new syndicate named S.I.N. appears, hosting a worldwide martial arts tournament. As you play with each character, you see their specific story from beginning to end.

There’s one thing I’d like to point out about this game before I really get into it. On the back of the box, the creators title it as “The Ultimate Vision of Street Fighter.” To be honest…I agree with them.

The controls of this game are classic Street Fighter, with its 6 button configuration (light, medium and heavy punch/kick) that we’re all familiar with. Honestly, not much has changed with the system’s basic movements. The Focus attacks – attacks that can temporarily immobilize an opponent and absorb a single hit –, Special moves – unique moves for each character -, and Super Combos and Ultra Combos – character-specific command moves that can be done when filling up your respective meters – are still in the game. On the surface, nothing much has changed, proving the old phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

However, even though the basic stuff hasn’t changed, a lot of other things are new in the game. SSFIV has 10 new characters added, bringing their total count to 35 characters. Characters from previous Street Fighter titles make an appearance on here, something that has fans of the series ecstatic over. Dee Jay and T. Hawk (who I respect but hate with a passion…yes, LeVonn78, he’s going down) from Super Street Fighter 2 appear on here, two characters that everyone expected to be on SFIV. Cody and Guy from the Alpha series are on here as well as Makoto, Ibuki and Dudley from Street Fighter 3rd Strike. And 2 new characters are added to the roster: Juri, a lethal Tae Kwon Do fighter that possesses a destructive mechanism in her left eye called the Feng Shui Engine and Hakan, a Turkish oil wrestler who is Capcom’s “joke” character in the series.

Don’t get me wrong, Hakan is an interestingly good character. Just…

...eh, on with the review.

One of the better improvements that they did was rebalance the characters. And by “rebalance”, I mean they altered the character’s damage properties so that there would be a bit more equality. For instance, the damage on the ultra combos – end-all combos that can easily change the tide of the match when a character takes enough damage – has been modified so that a weaker character’s ultra will do slightly more damage than – let’s say – Zangief’s ultra. Granted, some characters will have strong moves, but it won’t be devastatingly strong as with last game.

Speaking of moves, the moves are another change that I like to highlight. Characters now have 2 ultra combos in SSFIV, bringing with it a bit of strategy. Taking a page from SF 3rd Strike, players can choose which ultra they can perform in their match. And the new ultra combos in general…it’s something that I have to tip my hat off to Capcom for. These new set of Ultra combos…it’s one thing to see an ultra and be like “That’s gotta hurt!” but a lot of the newer ones just make you cringe at the end of it (cough*Metsu Shoryuken*cough). Visually stunning, they are the exclamation point that you can add to the beating you give to your opponent.

The new online modes is another thing that they introduce here. Besides the Ranked match that is standard with most fighting games, there are two new modes on here: Endless Match and Team Battle Match. Endless Match is pretty much as the title states: you’re in a room with 8 other people, fighting against everyone until you lose. When you lose, you go to the end of the line, watching everyone else battle until your turn comes up. Yes, the trash talk runs rampant here with the addition of the peanut gallery in this mode. Team Battle: you’re in a team of 4 battling against the other team. When you’re not up, you’re watching the mayhem go down.

Also added is a Replay channel where you can upload the replays of online battles to the worldwide network for everyone to view. Personally I like this idea; however I don’t like the rules regarding replays. To save a replay – just like in SFIV - you have to meet certain criteria in a match. Personally, I think that you should be allowed to save a replay regardless of criteria. Because honestly, when you’re in an online fight, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to save a replay of you demolishing an opponent with or without meeting their criteria. Other fighting games let you do so with no stipulations, why not here?

And finally, for all the ol’ skool SF fans, the bonus stages are back. Yes, demolishing the car and breaking the barrels are included in this new installment of the game. And you are able to access them without going through Arcade mode.

So what else is there to say about SSFIV that hasn’t been said? Graphics are amazing, the new characters are a welcome addiction/addition (Dudley/Balrog, Adon/Sagat, Juri/Cammy, Juri/Chun-li), the new ultras are nuts, and the online is worth playing. What I can say about it is this: they’ve taken everything right about the earlier titles and just brought it to life here in this huge battle royale of warriors.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5
- The Wolf's Core