Video game dodgeball has existed since the 80s with the likes of Super Dodge Ball. As a whole though, dodgeball is an underutilized concept. Maybe other game designers didn’t want to step on the toes of the Kunio-Kun universe. Maybe they just didn’t have any ideas to expand on the core concept of hitting people in the face with balls.
Enter Knockout City. Taking cues from team deathmatch shooters, Metroid Prime, and…fighting games(?)…this might be the most ambitious dodgeball game yet.
Underneath the veneer of fantastical dodgeball, Knockout City is a team deathmatch shooter. Players roam around an enclosed space, hitting each other with projectiles to score points.
In practice, Knockout City feels very different from a traditional shooter. Not because you’re hurling dodgeballs instead of firing bullets. Its unique feel is derived from the absence of a core tenet of shooter design: aiming.
Street Fighter IV still stands as not only my favourite fighting game of all-time, but favourite game across any genre. As we transitioned into Street Fighter V, I had high hopes that the game would match or exceed the heights of its predecessor. It did not.
A disastrous launch botched basically every aspect of the game, from no single-player content, to awful online, excessive button input delay, to fundamentally-flawed combat design. My fandom for the franchise still carried me quite far. I reached a pretty high ranking in online play and even won an IRL tournament before finishing 17th in the Cineplex WorldGaming Street Fighter V National Championships.
Not long after my most successful tournament run ever, I left the game behind. I found myself being overly-frustrated with the game’s faults, as well as my personal struggle to continually improve as a player. Though I’ve dabbled in other fighting games here-and-there, I never found a new game to call home.
Almost on a whim, I picked up Street Fighter V: Champion Edition on PC as a potential first step towards moving all of my future fighting game playing on the platform. Most of my time thus far has been reacquainting myself with the fighting game I left behind long ago. How are things nowadays?
When I left Street Fighter V behind, I was an Ultra Platinum ranked player. While not the highest possible rank one can attain, it’s one of the higher ranks in the game. Based on the distribution of players as of last year, that would have put me within the top 2.5% of all players. Not too shabby!
After taking a multi-year hiatus, I’m kind of back. Been putting in some time with the PC version and really enjoying what the game has finally grown into. However, one particular aspect of the experience is driving me nuts: my struggle to regain my old ranking.
Years after leaving Street Fighter V behind, I recently began my journey anew. This time, with a clear mind, no pressure to perform, and with a new account on PC with zero ranking points.
Though I still have a lot of rust to shake off, I didn’t exactly return to the scene as a white-belt warrior. In about a day’s worth of work, I jumped from 0 BP to about 4,500; good enough to get me into Gold rank. Based on the way that players are distributed across the rankings, I leapfrogged roughly 88% of the player base.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout loosely translates the experience of game shows like Wipeout and Takeshi’s Castle into the realm of video games. Up to 60 players compete for the top spot by partaking in a series of mini games that will have you running, jumping, working as a team, and more. Are you ready to wear a silly costume and race for the goal?
Steff and I team up for a Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout stream! Can we get our first win? Also, we discuss 90s movies and share our Lego NES build!
The Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo is the largest video gaming convention in Canada. Though the event has been taking place for a few years now, this was my first time attending. Here’s an assortment of pictures and a recap of what we experienced!
Next year, Overwatch League will be taking its show on the road, and my brother and I will be there! We got our tickets to their April home stand and I’m pumped!
Street Fighter Week continues! Though this story was sort of told in real time over the years, here’s a consolidated story of my rise (and fall) in the world of competitive Street Fighter!
There was a time when I thought the world of competitive Street Fighter didn’t extend beyond the bounds of local arcades. For a long time, I fancied myself as being savvy in Street Fighter II, as I could perform any of the game’s special moves on command and I could beat my friends. I didn’t think there was anything more to learn.
Boy, was I wrong.
