Random Thoughts About the Relatively Early Days of Competitive Street Fighter X Tekken Play

Street Fighter X Tekken is just under two months old, which is not that old in the competitive fighting game scene. I’m still very much enjoying it. Hope you’re enjoying it too if you’ve been playing this game of late. Not really sure where I want to go with this post yet, but I just had a few thoughts about the early days of Street Fighter X Tekken that I wanted to capture somewhere. I’m just going to write off the top of my head and see where this goes.

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Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for iPhone and iPad Review


Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is one of the most beloved fighting games of all-time. Casual fans loved it for the over-the-top action between their favourite comic book and video game characters, while hardcore players made it the battleground for the most high-stakes money matches in the history of the genre. After conquering the arcades and consoles, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is back; this time on your Apple iOS device of choice. Packing all of the characters and moves from the original, Capcom is hoping that you’ll take it for a ride one more time.

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Motorstorm: Apocalypse Review


Since the birth of the PS3, the Motorstorm series has been Sony’s go-to arcade racing franchise. Up until now, I haven’t played any of them. I must confess: I had no interest in giving the franchise a shot. I do like arcade racing games, but there wasn’t anything that grabbed me about Motorstorm, at least as someone on the outside looking in.

However, since Motorstorm: Apocalypse was included with the PlayStation 3D Display I picked up a few months ago, I figured I should at least give this a fair shake. Though I came into it fairly apathetically, did Motorstorm win me over in the end?

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Gaming Collections and Physical Space

When it comes to collecting gaming stuff, I’ve had the factor of physical space on my side. Having lived in my parent’s house, there’s been enough space to house all of the gaming stuff I could buy. I will not go into specifics, but over the years, I have amassed an above-average sized collection of video game stuff. It may not be as crazy as the picture above, but the end effect would probably be the same if I were to take such a shot with my stash.

Up until recently, I’ve always had dreams of having a nice big game collection to call my own. As I’ve unpacked my gaming stuff into Steff and I’s new condo, the realities of keeping a big collection are starting to settle in.

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Holographic 2Pac and the Future of Video Games

2Pac’s recent post-humous performance at Coachella has caused quite the stir. If you want to nit-pick enough, sure, you can poke holes at the things that didn’t look quite right. With that said, the effect was quite impressive and I’m fairly certain that we will see this holographic effect again. While Dr. Dre plots an entire tour featuring holographic 2Pac, I’m thinking about the possibility of applying this technology to the world of video games.

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Universal Fighting Game Guide: How to Read Frame Data

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(UPDATE: Part 2 of the frame data sub-series of posts is now live. Click here to learn more about frame advantage!)

When most people play fighting games, they don’t think about the underlying mechanics that drive the on-screen action. Odds are, all they care about is whether or not they’re beating their opponent to a pulp. That’s all well and good. However, competitive fighting game players will go to great lengths to find any sort of advantage on their opponents. This can include learning advanced combos, specific tactics, or as deep as understanding the raw mathematics that drives how a fighting game works.

Yes, I did say mathematics. You see, behind the action are a series of mathematical constants, variables and calculations that drive how everything works. Most people never think about this side of a fighting game (or any game for that matter), but the math is there, whether you actively recognize it or not.

In this entry into the Universal Fighting Game Guide, let’s take a high-level stab at talking about one element of the math that drives a fighting game, which is frame data. Certain off-the-shelf guides will contain frame data for your game of choice, though online sites will likely be your best bet to find this type of information. To the untrained eye, frame data charts look like rocket science. If you’ve never tried to read frame data (or have attempted it and failed), this crash course in the basics may help.

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Skullgirls Review

For a number of reasons, Skullgirls is a blast of fresh air in the fighting game genre. Not bound by the design or gameplay standards of a renown publisher or developer, the team at Autumn Games laid the ideas on thick. However, unique thinking doesn’t always lead to a fun game. Does Skullgirls manage to pull it all together to provide an experience on the same level as the giants in the genre?

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Skylanders: Cloud Patrol Review

When I first caught wind of this Skylanders iOS game, I immediately thought it would ve nothing more than a crappy cash-in that preyed on fans of the console game. Instead of being a logical consumer and saving my money, I forked over the $0.99 to see if my assumptions were true. To my surprise, I will not be reporting to you that this is a bad game, cause it’s actually good.

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Out Now: Skullgirls

Pretty much since the inception of the genre, fighting games have been dominated by a handful of major publishers and developers, such as Capcom and SNK. Outside of the hack-fest known as Mugen, I can’t think of an indie fighting game that’s made any sort of impact on the scene. Skullgirls aims to kick history in the face by being an indie fighting game that makes a big splash. The game is available now on PSN and XBOX Live Arcade.

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On Sale at Amazon.com – April 10th Edition

I’m trying something a bit different. If it works out, we might keep this as a regular thing. There are some sweet deals on Amazon.com and I thought it’d be cool to share them with you. These deals are likely a limited time offer, and I have no idea when they expire, so act fast before it’s too late! Part of the proceeds raised from the purchases of these games supports In Third Person, so I’ll send my good vibes to you should you choose to purchase.

Just Dance 3

List Price: $39.99

On Sale: $23.96

Buy Just Dance 3 From Amazon.com

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

List Price: $59.99

On Sale: $39.54

Buy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 From Amazon.com

Final Fantasy XIII-2

List Price: $59.99

On Sale: $29.99

Buy Final Fantasy XIII-2 Now from Amazon.com