fighting games

ARMS 5.1 Finally Includes A Mode With All Arms Unlocked

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Finally!

One of the biggest knocks against ARMS was the inability to play a local versus match with all arms unlocked. This greatly hampered the tournament scene, as tournament organizers simply didn’t have the time to unlock every arm for every copy of the game. As such, tournaments up until now have been forced to use default arms for each character, undermining the core game design and severely limiting the meta.

Now with the 5.1 patch, players will have access to a Tournament mode that unlocks all arms. You will be locked out of other modes and records will not be kept, but that’s fine for the purposes of running a local tournament.

This is great news for a fighter that continues to get better. Plus, with the game having sold about 250,000 copies in Q4 2017, the game now has an install base of 1.6 million, making it a great success for a new fighting game IP. Now if they could only fix the lag in LAN play…

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Out Now: Dragon Ball FighterZ

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There are no shortage of Dragon Ball fighting games on the market. However, none of them look as close to the source material as this, and none have been backed by a developer as renown for fighting gams as Arc System Works.

Dragon Ball FighterZ has been stunning viewers since it debuted at E3 2017 off the strength of its anime-like visuals and team-based gameplay. With Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite having stumbled out of the gate, combined with the buzz surrounding this game, it has the opportunity to really establish its footing in the genre as a force to be reckoned with. With the game out now, we don’t have to wait to see if it’ll kamehameha the competition!

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Street Fighter V and My Urien Problem

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My interest in Street Fighter V cooled off for a number of reasons. One, certain aspects of the way the game was designed mechanically didn’t jive with the way I like to play fighting games. Two, I had a very difficult time coming to grips with my first 0-2 defeat at Red Bull Proving Grounds. Finally, I was getting destroyed by every Urien player in sight.

Introduced near the middle of season 1, Urien is a force to be reckoned with. He has a killer tool-set that allows him to dominate in many ranges while being able to string together lengthy combos for massive damage. Best/worst of all is his Aegis Reflector V-Trigger, that is unparalleled as a tool for starting combos, extending combos, and creating reset opportunities.

Each time I matched up against a Urien player, it was like watching the same movie over-and-over. I would either get beaten to a pulp, or strike Urien enough to allow him to activate his V-Trigger and turn the tables on me. After piling up loss-after-loss, my motivation to play the game fell through the floor.

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Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition Review

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Rushed out the door in 2016 to coincide with Capcom Cup, Street Fighter V was released in an embarrassingly bare-bones state. While I initially praised the game for its great gameplay and detailed graphics, the launch product was woefully lacking in many ways. From a single-player suite that didn’t include a traditional arcade mode, to unstable netcode, to menu items that had “coming soon” messaging as placeholders, the sorry state that the game debuted in negatively impacted sales and public perception in a big way. Had it not gained a foothold as the premier fighting game esport, this game would have fallen off a cliff into obscurity.

Despite the bungled launch, Capcom has continually put in the effort to improve the product. In the summer of 2016, they added a story mode as a free update. The netcode has been stabilized for the most part. They’ve even added 12 more characters as paid DLC to boost the current roster size to 28, with another six on the way. Unlike those incremental fixes and updates, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition is a sizable step towards the game that this should have been all along.

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Dragon Ball FighterZ Open Beta Matches

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Some of my first matches in this stunning fighting game. Dragon Ball FighterZ is out at the end of the month!

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Out Now – Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition

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Today’s the day!

To Capcom’s credit, they’ve made many updates prior to this in order to improve the half-baked version of Street Fighter V they put out in 2016. But the Arcade Edition update is the first truly major shake-up to the game. Now including a long-awaited arcade mode, multiple V-Triggers for each character, new modes and more, the package here is probably what should have come out in the first place.

If you don’t have Street Fighter V yet, now’s a good time to jump in. At a discounted price, you’ll get the disc plus the first two seasons of DLC characters, raising your base roster up to 28. If you already own Street Fighter V, you’ll get the update for free, albeit without the extra characters.

Admittedly, my interest for the game has fallen off quite a bit. However, I will give this a go and maybe there’s enough improvements here to keep me around!


Buy Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition Now From Amazon.com

For Honor Impressions

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Who wins in the ultimate battle between knights, vikings, and samurai? Ubisoft hopes you can answer that question by playing For Honor. This novel game mashes up elements from team-based shooters and fighting games to create something unique. Does this battle between some of mankind’s greatest warriors live up to the hype?

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Biggest Game Surprise of 2017

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2017 has certainly been an eventful one for the video game industry. From Nintendo’s resurrection off the strength of the Nintendo Switch, to the franchise-crushing disappointment of Mass Effect: Andromeda, there was a lot about this year that we didn’t see coming.

In this post, I’m going to highlight the biggest surprise in terms of software. I think the success of the Nintendo Switch would take it hands-down otherwise. Anywho, here’s my biggest video game software surprise of 2017!

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Why Fighting Games Are Awesome

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In 2009, Street Fighter IV changed my life.

Having taken an extended hiatus from the fighting game genre, Street Fighter IV roped me in for good. The transition wasn’t instant, as I gave up the game initially after losing dozens of matches in a row online. However, once I watched my first fighting game tournament live stream, it opened my eyes to how great fighting games can be when you have a deeper understanding of how to play them. As I tried to emulate the likes of Gootecks, Mike Ross, and Justin Wong, I found myself falling in love with the genre in a way that I’d never loved any other type of game.

Since 2009, fighting games have grown to become my favourite of any gaming genre. Here’s why!

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Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

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Better late than never!

After finally getting its ducks in a row with the Mega Man franchise, Capcom seems to be doing the same with Street Fighter. Pretty much every major version of the franchise from Street Fighter 1 through 3 are coming in one package at a discount price. On top of that, Hyper Fighting, Super Turbo, Alpha 3, and Third Strike will all feature online play.

While I have numerous copies of these games in different forms, it’ll be super convenient to have them all in one place. Might even double dip with the PS4 version to play online or at home with my fightstick, along with the Switch version for portable action.

This compilation will be out in May of 2018. Can’t come soon enough!