Mortal Kombat Gets Patched on XBOX 360, Online Play Improves

The new Mortal Kombat in my eyes was a pretty fantastic game with one fatal flaw (no pun intended): crappy online play. It would take forever to get matched up with anyone and if you did get into a match, it was always a laggy mess. At Mortal Kombat’s best, it was as laggy as Super Street Fighter IV’s worst. As much as I wanted to deep dive into the world of Mortal Kombat online play, it was an unplayable mess. Without good online play, I had basically no one to play against.

If you’ve been disappointed in Mortal Kombat’s online play to date, I’ve got good news for you.

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Universal Fighting Game Guide: How to Deal With Cross-Up Attacks

With fighting games experiencing an upswing in popularity, there are a lot of new players getting into fighting games and fighting game veterans taking on new games. With any new fighting game you take on, whether that’s a mainstream hit like Street Fighter IV and Mortal Kombat, or a more niche title like Arcana Heart 3, comes a learning curve that’s usually steeper than that of most other video games on the market. Playing against the computer or playing with your friends of similar skill is fine and dandy, but if your goal is to play these games on a competitive level against anyone is going to take some smart training and elbow grease.

The good news is, a lot of the knowledge you’ll learn in one game is transferable to the next, which makes learning fighting games as a whole a task that’s not as daunting as it seems on the surface. It also makes it possible for someone like me to write a somewhat-one-size-fits-all guide to fighting games that you can apply to any fighting game you play.

I’m not sure how far I’ll go with this series of posts, but for my first attempt at this, let’s talk about fighting games from a defensive perspective. More specifically, how to deal with cross-up/cross-over/cross-under attacks.

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Off-Topic: Bring The Beat Back

Long before the Internet knew me as a video game blogger, I made music. I was an aspiring hip-hop music producer. I wanted to be the next Dr. Dre, Timbaland or Kanye West. During my run, I made hundreds of hours of music. Some of that music ended up on Soundclick and MySpace, which were heard by thousands of people. I even managed to make a few fans in the process. However, most of my work (and the stories that go with them) never left my bedroom studio.

Out of fear that my work will ultimately go to waste if it’s never heard, I began archiving my music on Bring the Beat Back.

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Review: Candy Train


The makers of Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies are back! Sort of. From PopCap Games 4th and Battery division comes Candy Train, a universal app for the iPhone and iPad that is free as I type this. I’m not sure if that’s going to change by the time you read this. In any case, if you have either of those devices and the app is still free, you don’t need me to give you a review. Just go grab it already and come to your own conclusion. If you’d still like to hear what I’d think, then I’m not stopping you from reading my review, either.

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Novril’s MS Paint Guide on How to Beat Phoenix


YouTube user Novril is back! I loved his first MS Paint video guide on how to beat Sentinel, and this time he’s back with a great guide on how to beat Phoenix. It’s comforting to see that much of the Phoenix knowledge I wrote about a few months ago is in here, but he also has some great strategies I wasn’t aware of until watching this video.

Also, the MS Paint style and charm are pretty funny. I’m looking forward to newer installments of this series, as I think the world needs a guide on how to beat the over-powered Yun and Yang in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition. Anyway, click through to see the Phoenix video and share your appreciation with Novril if you enjoy this series!

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Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Review

The Street Fighter IV series has had an incredible run. Having single-handedly bringing the genre back from the dead, Capcom rode the wave of success by releasing Super Street Fighter IV, which was an excellent update to the original. In fact, Super Street Fighter IV was so nice, I bought it twice. Now, Capcom is closing out the Street Fighter IV series with Arcade Edition, which is available now as DLC for Super Street Fighter IV owners for $15, or as a separate disc for $40.

In a time when with new fighting games such as Mortal Kombat and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 are stealing the spotlight, is the latest iteration on the Street Fighter IV worth your time?

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Pick-Up Post: More Blockbuster Liquidation Madness

The hoopla surrounding the closure of many Blockbuster stores died fairly quickly in my area. One day removed from the start of the liquidation sales, and the lines that once wrapped around the store had dwindled to four or five people per store. While most of the good stuff had been quickly snatched away on the first day, I was able to find a few games that piqued my interest on day two of the sale. Here’s what I grabbed:

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Out Now – Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition

Though the eyes of most gamers are focused squarely on E3, the fighting game world gets a major release today. If you own a copy of Super Street Fighter IV, you can now purchase Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition as DLC for $15. The update will feature four new characters (Yun, Yang, Evil Ryu and Oni), new balance changes and a number of major upgrades to the replay channel.

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Snap Judgments: Microsoft and Sony’s 2011 E3 Press Conferences

Having just wrapped up watching the E3 2011 Sony press event, I though I’d share some quick thoughts on what I saw of Sony and Microsoft’s press events. I won’t speak too much on the specifics, as other major gaming sites will do a much better job of discussing the specifics. However, I wanted to share my general opinions on what I saw today.

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Review: X-Men Arcade for iPhone and iPad

Hot on the heels of the release of X-Men: First Class comes the return of X-Men Arcade. Earlier this year, it made it’s return on XBOX Live and PlayStation Network, which I reviewed when it came out. This time, it’s out as a universal app for the iPhone and iPad. Though a lot of what I said about X-Men Arcade initially still stands for this port, the iOS version does have some perks and quirks worth noting in a separate review.

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