fighting games

Dead or Alive 5 Review

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“She kicks high.”

Having never played an entry in the DOA franchise before, that and breast physics were the extent of my knowledge going into Dead or Alive 5. Why would I even bother with the series at this point, especially when my track record of enjoying 3D fighting games is not very good? Academic curiousity, for one. Ever since I jumped deep into the competitive fighting game scene, I’ve bought almost every fighter on the market just to get a sense of what’s out there. Two, you’ll never know what awesome games you’ll come across if you don’t put your neck out there every now and then.

In this case, I’m really glad I did.

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The ‘Language’ of King of Fighters XIII

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When it comes to comprehending the combo system in any given fighting game, I love using sentence structure as an analogy. Sentences in any language have a very particular rule-set that dictates how words can be arranged to make sense. When you have a mastery of that sentence structure, you no longer think about the rules; you just create sentences on the fly. Each fighting game is has its own unique sentence structure. And just like language, when you have a mastery of a game’s combo system, you’ll inherently know what series of inputs will string to form a combo.

A few months back, I picked up two fighting games on the same day: Persona 4 Arena, and King of Fighters XIII. While I am far from an expert at the former, I understand its ‘language’ enough to string together basic combos on my own. Even at this entry-level of skill, I’m having a lot of fun with it. The latter is a different story.

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Soulcalibur V Review

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When it comes to 3D fighting games, Soulcalibur is my bread and butter. Say what you will about Tekken or Virtua Fighter, I’ve generally enjoyed the fast-paced, weapons-based combat of the franchise over any other 3D fighting game offering. Soulcalibur II was my introduction to the series, and was incredible for its the time. However, by the time I got around to Soulcalibur IV, the formula felt dated, especially when compared to Street Fighter IV, which came out in the arcades at the same time. Street Fighter IV went on to define the modern-day fighting game blueprint, while Soulcalibur IV just felt old and was quickly forgotten.

With Soulcalibur V, Namco was clearly looking to make a title that better fit the modern era of fighting games. Besides some major gameplay system overhauls, they took the extra step of blowing out roughly half of the original roster and replacing them with all-new characters. Was the shake-up worth it?

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PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Public Beta Impressions

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Lets get the obvious out of the way: PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is Sony’s take on the Smash Bros. franchise. While conceptually bankrupt, not all games have to reinvent the wheel.

Having played this a few months ago at Fan Expo, I came out of it with a fairly positive impression. Now that I’ve gotten to play a bit more of it through the public beta, my feelings towards the whole thing have cooled off some.

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Quiet Sanwa Buttons Review

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(Regular button not pictured above. They look identical to the regular ones, so I used a regular button picture instead)

The clicking, and clacking of an arcade fightstick is music to my ears. However, as I’ve come to learn in my few months of living in a condo, not everyone agrees with this sentiment. Because my gaming setup is in the living room, my girlfriend has been subjected to the noise far more than she’d like, to the point where it drove her nuts. Though I love me some fighting games, I genuinely love my girlfriend more. As a means of not driving her insane, I’d either reserve my fighting game time to moments when she’s not around, or asking for permission before playing; neither of which are ideal.

Luckily for me, Sanwa has released a new line of quiet buttons, and joysticks to alleviate the noise. Though the joysticks were prohibitively expensive ($80 each, which is roughly 4x the price of a regular joystick), I did buy two sets of quiet buttons to use on my XBOX 360, and PlayStation 3 fightsticks. Are these buttons able to maintain their signature feel, and durability, while reducing the noise?

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Check Out My Marvel vs. Capcom Origins Review on Splitkick.com

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For my latest Splitkick assignment, I review the latest Capcom fighting game re-release, Marvel vs. Capcom Origins. This XBOX Live Arcade and PlayStation Network release includes arcade perfect ports of Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes. For diehard fans who have waited for over a decade to play these games in their original glory, this is right up your alley. For everyone else, proceed with caution. Check out my full review below!

Marvel vs. Capcom Origins Review


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Universal Fighting Game Guide: Gimmicky vs. Intelligent Tactics

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Gimmicky fighting game techniques are about as old as fighting games themselves. When I first stepped up to a Street Fighter II machine back in 1991, the first character I ever chose was Blanka, as I thought I could cheat the system by simply mashing the punch buttons to trigger Blanka’s electricity move. At the time, I thought it was a fool-proof tactic…for about 5 seconds. Instead, the computer systematically picked me apart as I wailed on those punch buttons, thinking the electricity move was bound to save me eventually.

While gimmicks may have their place in extremely specific situations, they’re not a substitute for solid and intelligent play. In this month’s Universal Fighting Game Guide post, we’ll talk about the difference between gimmicky and intelligent tactics.

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Street Fighter X Tekken Mobile Review

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(Download Street Fighter X Tekken Mobile from iTunes)

Capcom’s track record with porting their fighting games to mobile devices are hit-and-miss. While their work with the Street Fighter IV series set the standard, their ports of classic fighters have been mediocre to poor. What sets those apart is that Capcom really took the time to optimize Street Fighter IV for mobile, while the rest are simply shoehorned in. Thankfully, Street Fighter X Tekken Mobile is not an example of the latter.

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To Buy or Not to Buy: Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Set

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I have a hard time abstaining from purchasing items with the Street Fighter name on them. I’ve bought figurines, t-shirts, posters, fightsticks, and over 20 Street Fighter games – including Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight. I’ve always joked with my girlfriend that if Capcom released Street Fighter branded rocks, I’d probably buy those too. As a life-long fanboy of the franchise, the purchase of Street Fighter merchandise rarely gives me pause.

But then I saw the gargantuan Street Fighter 25th Anniversary set.

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Toronto Top Tiers Announces T13: Toronto Championship Series

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Toronto Top Tiers – organizers behind T12, and Toryuken – are back! A few days ago, they announced the that they will be hosting T13, Toronto’s second major fighting game tournament of 2012; set to take place in October. This year, they’re planning on running 13(!) different games, which would make it the biggest tournament lineup I’ve ever seen. Click through for the full list of games, and some of my initial thoughts!

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