Issues with Fighting Games

[Merrok]

I'm going to preface this by saying I am one of the least competitive gamers ever. Sure, I enjoy playing against human opponents in FPS games, fighting games, and to a lesser extent MMOs. However, that's only a small part of the issue I'd like to share today. I'm aware there's already an UMvC3 thread, but I want this to cover fighting games in general.

Also, there will be a "get to the goddamn point/tl;dr" summation at the bottom. Feel free to skip to that to avoid a major, useless rant.

So I found out last night that they're making a new Marvel vs Capcom 3 game (titles Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3). Now, I'm no HUGE fan of the series - I knew about MvC2 but never played it - but I really enjoy MvC3 as far as fighting games go. It's fun to pop in every now and then and play through arcade mode, or have a little one on one versus my wife (who also loves the game). We're not very good at it at all compared to the more "serious" people who play it, but we have tons of fun just playing.

It was announced that the "new" game will have 12 new characters, 6 or 8 new stages (I can't remember the exact number), and a "revamped combat system." The game will retail at $39.99. I mentioned to some of my friends that I was a little upset that I had been waiting for more DLC (which is usually cheaper than buying a whole new damn game) for the original MvC3 and instead a whole new game is being released. I just didn't feel that 12 new characters was worth $40. Sure, there's new stages and the "character balance" issues, but we'll address that later. Now, I know that releasing games in this fashion is nothing new (Street Fighter series, anyone?), but come on. Anyways, my friends seemed to really get upset over my comment. I can almost understand where they're coming from, but some of the stuff that was said just...I don't even know. Here's a quote:

"actually, i will say something. 1. balancing the characters is a great idea. if it wasnt for the fact that there r 4 characters u can spam all day with, u prolly wouldnt of won the tourney. 2. new maps r a great idea, seeing as the game is very visually pleasing, yet they only give u maybe ten levels to play on. 3. ud shell out the $40 dollars neway, cause if they did release dlc, they wouldnt release 12 characters in one. get over it, n buy it already. we know u will neway."

Poor spelling and grammar aside, I wonder if the points he makes are really that substantial. The first thing he mentions is a "tournament" I won. A mutual friend held a small, local fighting game tournament. There were only about 7 or 8 of us competing and we all knew one another for the most part. None of us were by any means pros at the games that were played, and I'm not even sure if anyone there had ever been in a tournament before this. Upon getting an invite to this event, my wife and I decided to practice in MvC3 a few weeks before the tournament. We wound up taking first and second place, which was a bit of an "upset" to some people there, because a few of the friends were considered, and I quote "really, really good."

But that's the thing. None of us were good. Hell, half of us button mashed the whole time, and I admit I did my fair share of button mashing. But of course now it's coming down to "Oh you won because you spam ez mode characers." The problem I have with this is that from the limited research I've done, few if any of the characters we used were considered by serious players as top tier characters. My team consisted of Amaterasu, Dante, and Wolverine. My wife used Amaterasu, Dante, and Trish. Two other teams included Sentinel, Akuma, and Zero and the gentleman who made the above comment used Amaterasu...and I can't even remember. I want to say Ammy Zero and...someone. Anyways, my point here is that I'm being accused of winning because I used characters I can "spam all day with" because the game is imbalanced. Oh, never mind the fact that the main character he's bitching about, Amaterasu, was included in his OWN TEAM. Am I mad, bro? Nah, I ain't even mad. I don't take shit like this seriously. It was a fun tournament. We all got a little drunk, played some video games and had a good time. I got my ass handed to me in Tekken 6, Soul Calibur 4, and Mortal Kombat.

Now on to the second point. New stages are great. Really? Do people really feel this way? It's not my place to say it is or is not a good idea, and I'm not going to do that. I personally couldn't care less about new stages. Do you know why? Because when I'm playing a fighting game I don't even notice what goddamn stage I'm on half the time. In a game where the environment is interactable I may care, but with something like MvC3 I really don't see the point. I mean, sure if I'm watching someone else play, stages may be neat, but if I'm playing against someone and I'm looking at the background I'm clearly doing something wrong. Ultimately, I don't feel that a hand full of new stages is enough to justify a new game at almost full normal retail price.

Next point? I'd shell out $40 anyways if it was DLC. Maybe. Probably not. If each character was released individually, I have the option of purchasing my favorites. Ghost Rider? Yes please. Strider? No thanks. Iron Fist? Hell yeah. Dr. Strange? Probably not. Don't get me wrong, though, if (and probably when) I get this game it WILL be for the new characters. Sure, I may not like or use them all, but oh well.

In the end, yes, I probably will buy this game, albeit reluctantly. I have a good feeling that half of the coming responses will be "You don't have to buy it, stop bitching," and that's fine. However, I promised a TL;DL version, and here it is. I'll leave you with this points for discussion.

*****************************

ACTUAL DISCUSSION TOPICS:

1) How do you feel about the "Street Fighter" model of releasing fighting games (releasing a new version of the same game at a lowered price every couple of months/years)?

2) What do you feel it takes to justify the purchase of said game?

3) How much do the stages in fighting games really affect you? Love them? Hate them? Don't care? Useless eye candy?

4) In a game where character balance may be off, but doesn't really effect you or the people in your skill bracket does it really matter?

[Creatinebrah]

Cashcom loves to release new games as fast as they can, but what company doesn't want to make money? But they do make quality games. When SF4 came out, they kind of ignored the PC community and basically let it rot. However, they recently released SSF4:AE for PC with amazing support for the game with bug fixes within days of release.

Stages for a casual player is an important thing. They released SF4 in 2009 and we still have the same stages 2 games later...kind of disappointing. I mean, they can re-do all teh old SF stages (ken's boat stage, hondas bathroom stage, balrog's vegas stage, etc), but they don't.

As in all games, Balance is a big issue. They released SSF4:AE with the worst possible edition of new characters...and of course, I'm speaking of Yun/Yang. They completely unbalanced the twins. Don't agree? Wait for EVO2k11 and watch how many Yun vs yun matches there will be in the brackets. For casual players, it's not that big of a deal, but when it comes to competitive play, most top players switched to Yun or Fei to stay competitive.

You talked a bit about MVC games but I don't play those games so I couldn't comment.

THey will do the exact same thing (hopefully, not the releasing of unbalanced characters) with SF vs Tekken. THey will release the game, then a year later, we will get another game with more characters, etc etc.

I actually read that Arcade Edition was initially the last game for the 4 series, but now, they are saying it's not the last...

[Merrok]

Yeah, I understand the issue with the competitive gaming. I have no issue with character balance there. I really hate when people are essentially forced to play a specific character/class/etc to stay competitive (especially when my personal favorite characters are considered some of the weakest), but that's why I play casually. I can beat on my wife (and this is probably the ONLY time this phrase is appropriate) with all my favorite baddie characters because balance isn't really an issue for us. However, when I go online I seem to get my ass handed to me by a shit ton of Zero/Akuma/Sentinel teams.

Fuck Akuma. Seriously. Just fuck him. Fuck that guy.

I'm still kinda meh on the stage issue. You make a good point, but I guess it just comes down to personal preference. I seriously don't notice what stage I'm on half the time when playing those games. Games like Soul Calibur (which my wife subsequently beats MY ass at) on the other hand handle it a little differently, since I need to worry about ring outs, etc.

Also, to put things into perspective concerning the skill level of myself and my friends, one of the games played was Super Street Fighter 4. Most everyone there had played the game since launch and considered themselves pretty good at it. I had NEVER played SSFIV. EVER. I won the tournament with Ryu. Is Ryu an impa OP character? I have no idea, I don't play the game, but I have a feeling he's not. What did I do to win? Spammed hadouken, used a few tatsumaki senpuukyakus to get around projectiles, and ultimately played smart for a novice (blocked, watched attack combo patterns and then countered when the time was right). So yeah, had anyone with any real skill been there my ass would have been grass, but since we were all really bad, balance wasn't too much of an issue.

[Kankuri]

ACTUAL DISCUSSION TOPICS:

1) How do you feel about the "Street Fighter" model of releasing fighting games (releasing a new version of the same game at a lowered price every couple of months/years)?

2) What do you feel it takes to justify the purchase of said game?

3) How much do the stages in fighting games really affect you? Love them? Hate them? Don't care? Useless eye candy?

4) In a game where character balance may be off, but doesn't really effect you or the people in your skill bracket does it really matter?

I read the whole thing, but I'll answer these questions specifically.

1. It really depends on how much you love the game. You've got to remember that back in the day, there wasn't DLC. Hell, it was hard enough to find a stable internet connection. This is why there are so many versions of SFII (The New Challengers, World Warrior, Turbo, Super Turbo, Grand Master Challenge, Hyper Fighting, etc.) To compensate for this, they often made visual differences. Each one of them have a ton of various technical fixes and character balances. Though, to be fair, there is one absolutely horrendous version of SFII. I believe that version is Grand Master Challenge. Why that game was made is beyond me. It had some decent character adjustments, but a ton of bugs plagued the game.

You also have to take into consideration that as more players get into the game, more bugs start to appear. Some of them are very minor, while others are completely game breaking.

An example of a minor bug: In SSFIV, if Ibuki grabbed a person in mid-air that was close to the ground, her animation would occur, but no damage would happen.
An example of a game breaking bug: In Mortal Kombat 9, the parry glitch. As Johnny Cage, if you use his X-Ray, then hold Block + Down, you can infinitely use his X-Ray.

With each version of Street Fighter, the bugs become fewer (though more may appear), and the game is cleaned up that much more.

I can confidently say that the best evolution of a fighting game came with SFIII. The first version of SFIII, New Generation, brought new characters, new gameplay mechanics, awesome music, and a new engine. The second version, Second Impact, brought more characters, an improved engine, and various tweaks to previous characters. The third version, Third Strike, is one of the best fighting games made. Everything about the game was improved upon from the previous two: more characters, more stages, amazing music, and a super improved engine.

I suppose what I'm trying to point out is that so long that the game is improving, I'm perfectly fine with purchasing more installments.

2. I have to see irrefutable evidence that the game has evolved. This doesn't mean adding more characters and giving everyone an alternate costume. I want to see the characters adjusted with proper buffs and nerfs as needed. I want to see a cleaner, tighter interface. You get it =3

3. I very seldom get attached to stages. My favorite ones are always the Training Mode stages. Tatsunoko vs Capcom, Marvel vs Capcom 2, and Street Fighter IV all have amazing Training Mode stages. Well, I can't really say that with confidence. I love all of the stages in TvC, and most of the stages in Capcom vs SNK 2.

4. Character balance will always be an issue with a majority of the population. These days everyone has access to information about all the characters' healths, damage, and combo potential. This makes it seem like the characters with higher health and higher damage are invincible. In reality, most people refuse to put in the work to figure out the characters' weaknesses. All I heard for the first month about MvC3 was how over-powered Sentinel and Phoenix were. My first major tournament that I attended, I made it to second place with Wolverine, Trish, and Deadpool. A few weeks ago, Tokido took a major with Wolverine, and now all I hear about is how over-powered Wolverine is. Sentinel got a major health nerf, and people still complain about him being over-powered. Hell, Captain America got his infinite taken away, and I've heard people bitch about him being over-powered. The fact is that people will always find a reason to bitch. Always.

No, I do not believe that it effects people. I can't tell you how many Yuns and Yangs I have murdered a tournaments using Dan. Sure, I may be very good with him, but doesn't everyone complain about Yun and Yang being auto-win characters?

I apologize if this didn't make a whole lot of sense, but its about damn near impossible to arrange my thoughts about fighting games. I do know what is clear...TMNT: Tournament Fighters for SNES is still my favorite fighting game of all time...ALL TIME!

[Merrok]

Thank for your post, Kankuri. It really wasn't hard to follow at all. I think you made some really great points.

Regarding the balance and bug topics, I get where your coming from. Obvious game breaking glitches like the Johnny Cage thing is just crazy, and yes I'd be pretty pissed if someone used that against me while I was playing against them. The thing that gets me about my situation is the fact that this friend was complaining about "spamming overpowered characters to win."

You sound pretty knowledgeable about MvC3, so I'm going to assume you're at least a small bit familiar with Amaterasu's combos. She one of the easiest combos in the game, for sure, but just because I can effectively use that character against someone does that make her cheap? The combo may be simple to perform, but it's easily avoidable and pretty predictable.

The combo that I would use and often frustrate my opponents (who didn't understand the values of blocking) was a simple HHHH into S to launch, then MHHH in the air, and then I'd usually launch into a team aerial assist with Down+S and continue the punishment. The thing is, though, is that team aerials are SO easy to counter. My wife - who is pretty bad at fighting games normally - busts me with an aerial assist counter EVERY goddamn time I try it.

Another thing that kills me is - and I think I mentioned this before - this same guy that was bitching WAS USING THE SAME CHARACTER. Of course I knew exactly what she was capable of so I was able to shut his Amaterasu down completely before he could even do anything with her. It's funny too because I also went into a weapon switch (Down, Down + Atk) with her into the prayer beads and busted him with Cold Star anytime he tried to stay at range. One of his buddies even commented to him, "See, you need to learn how to do THAT move," referring to a weapon switch - one of her most basic abilities.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not getting too worked up over his comments. I mean come on, I play World of Warcraft. People bitching that whatever beat them is over simplified and imbalanced isn't anything new...but seriously? I don't know. I get my ass handed to me EVERY time I step foot in an online match, but I never would have blamed it on a certain character having too much health or doing too much damage. I always just assume that I'm pretty fucking bad and need to get better.

Wish everyone could have that attitude.

[Kankuri]

Ammy's biggest strength is also her biggest weakness. She is full of BnB combos that are easy to execute. The problem is that she has virtually no mixups. Almost everything about her is predictable. All I can say is, "dat air grab."

One thing is for certain, you need to stop viewing online matches as a test of skill. There is no such thing as a perfect online match. Inputs are always dropped, and there is always lag. It may not noticeable most of the time (wait...this is MvC3 online, of course it's noticeable), but I assure you, its there. Also, its best to just ignore 99% of the people who talk online. You'd probably ignore me if you heard me. I'm always trash talking about the cards humping each other while I wait on a match on Endless Mode. The true test of skill comes with local multiplayer. Being able to read your opponent's inputs based off of physical reactions is one of the biggest adrenaline rushes you can get. Just knowing that you psyched him out so bad that he flinched and started spamming an ability is priceless.

Speaking of spamming, that only works online. I consider myself an above average fighting game player (I think I still suck though), and I get blown up by those Iron Man (Unibeam), Akuma (Tatsu), and Sentinel (Rocket Punch) teams. All they do is run away and spam assist. Just take those losses with a grain of salt and move on. You'll always encounter those types in any fighting game. I'm looking at you, Air Hadoken/Air Tatsu spamming Akumas...and you too, flowchart Kens...oh Cyrax, you can go fuck yourself with that net spamming.

[Merrok]

Maybe you're right with the online thing. I have a hard time believing that my losses have nothing to do with my lack of skill, though. I don't really play online that often to really worry about it anyways. As for listening to people, if you mean while I play versus online then the simple fact of the matter is that I don't (listen, that is). I NEVER have my headset plugged in, and generally if their voice is playing through my tv speakers then the game sounds drown them out so I can't hear what they're saying.

Trash talking is something I can't bring myself to do. I don't dish it out and I certainly can't take it. Don't get me wrong; I understand trash talking can be perfectly harmless and just part of the experience, but I really, really dislike being a part of it (mostly/especially being on the receiving end.) Though, I admit when I play locally with friends and they trash talk pre-match and I wind up handing their ass to them without saying a word it makes the victory that much sweeter. But in generally I avoid trash talk and trash talking players whenever possible. Do I hate on them and cause a scene? Nah. Like I understand, that's part of the fun for some people. My best friend (the one who hosted the tournament) is the biggest trash talker I know. Hell, he enjoys trash talking more than the actual game sometimes. It's funny to watch him carry on, but some people (like myself) were just cut out for a more friendly style of competition.

[DefeatedSanity]

Cashcom is the best name you could ever find to describe the whole thread.

Cyrax net spamming is hella gay too.

[Kankuri]

Maybe you're right with the online thing. I have a hard time believing that my losses have nothing to do with my lack of skill, though. I don't really play online that often to really worry about it anyways. As for listening to people, if you mean while I play versus online then the simple fact of the matter is that I don't (listen, that is). I NEVER have my headset plugged in, and generally if their voice is playing through my tv speakers then the game sounds drown them out so I can't hear what they're saying.

Trash talking is something I can't bring myself to do. I don't dish it out and I certainly can't take it. Don't get me wrong; I understand trash talking can be perfectly harmless and just part of the experience, but I really, really dislike being a part of it (mostly/especially being on the receiving end.) Though, I admit when I play locally with friends and they trash talk pre-match and I wind up handing their ass to them without saying a word it makes the victory that much sweeter. But in generally I avoid trash talk and trash talking players whenever possible. Do I hate on them and cause a scene? Nah. Like I understand, that's part of the fun for some people. My best friend (the one who hosted the tournament) is the biggest trash talker I know. Hell, he enjoys trash talking more than the actual game sometimes. It's funny to watch him carry on, but some people (like myself) were just cut out for a more friendly style of competition.

Most of the time, trash talking is just a way to bring out that inner fire in people. Look up any video on YouTube with Yipes. Hes not attacking the people personally, he just wants to see them step their game up. I do the same thing when I play fighting games. I love seeing someone passionate, and giving their all when I play. Emotionless people make me want to rage. Whether I win or lose, I like knowing that we both maxxed out Dragon Ball Z-style on each other.

Don't feel to bad. My girlfriend is a gamer, and she hates coming over to my house when we have a massive game night. We trash talk each other on every game we play (Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario Kart 64/Wii, Mario Super Sluggers, Mario Tennis, JUST DANCE 2...yeah the list goes on).

[Merrok]

Most of the time, trash talking is just a way to bring out that inner fire in people. Look up any video on YouTube with Yipes. Hes not attacking the people personally, he just wants to see them step their game up. I do the same thing when I play fighting games. I love seeing someone passionate, and giving their all when I play. Emotionless people make me want to rage. Whether I win or lose, I like knowing that we both maxxed out Dragon Ball Z-style on each other.

Don't feel to bad. My girlfriend is a gamer, and she hates coming over to my house when we have a massive game night. We trash talk each other on every game we play (Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario Kart 64/Wii, Mario Super Sluggers, Mario Tennis, JUST DANCE 2...yeah the list goes on).

Did...did you just compare me to your girlfriend? I think I was just subtly trash talked.



But anyways, that's how my friend is. It doesn't matter WHAT we do, he's trash talking. With him, though, it's pretty fun to listen to. We all know he's not a raging douchebag. Quite the contrary, he's a super nice guy. It's just some of the shit he says is comedic gold.

I watched the video you linked. That sort of trash talk I'm OK with (and is the kind that my friend spouts.) It's when people get into the real personal shit that I start to get irritated. You know, the "OMFG you fucking noob, look at this you're so bad" blah blah blah shit. That's just degrading.

Though all this talk about trash talking and online play really has me wanting to play some Halo: Reach right now. I suck at FPS games as bad as I do fighting games, but goddamn get a bunch of friends together and let the good times roll.

But that's getting a bit off topic. I really ought to brush up on SoulCalibur4 some. Wife has been playing it at least 2 hours every night this week. No wonder she stomps me. We also picked up Tekken6 (with the money we won from that tournament, heh) since it looked like it'd be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, neither of us are liking it as much as we had hoped. The "story mode" or whatever is confusing as shit. Action fighting rpg mode what? I'd LOVE to get SSFIV AC, but we're too tight on money right now, so I'll settle with what we have. Another game I miss is DoA4. It was my first next gen fighting game. I was soooo bad at it, but I played online like everyday and slowly got better. The luchadore chick, La Mariposa I think her name was, was SO much fun.

Also, you know what franchise I want to see rebooted? Fucking Bloody Roar, dude.

Oh god, did I just out myself as a furry?

Damn.

[Kankuri]

Did...did you just compare me to your girlfriend? I think I was just subtly trash talked.



But anyways, that's how my friend is. It doesn't matter WHAT we do, he's trash talking. With him, though, it's pretty fun to listen to. We all know he's not a raging douchebag. Quite the contrary, he's a super nice guy. It's just some of the shit he says is comedic gold.

I watched the video you linked. That sort of trash talk I'm OK with (and is the kind that my friend spouts.) It's when people get into the real personal shit that I start to get irritated. You know, the "OMFG you fucking noob, look at this you're so bad" blah blah blah shit. That's just degrading.

Though all this talk about trash talking and online play really has me wanting to play some Halo: Reach right now. I suck at FPS games as bad as I do fighting games, but goddamn get a bunch of friends together and let the good times roll.

But that's getting a bit off topic. I really ought to brush up on SoulCalibur4 some. Wife has been playing it at least 2 hours every night this week. No wonder she stomps me. We also picked up Tekken6 (with the money we won from that tournament, heh) since it looked like it'd be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, neither of us are liking it as much as we had hoped. The "story mode" or whatever is confusing as shit. Action fighting rpg mode what? I'd LOVE to get SSFIV AC, but we're too tight on money right now, so I'll settle with what we have. Another game I miss is DoA4. It was my first next gen fighting game. I was soooo bad at it, but I played online like everyday and slowly got better. The luchadore chick, La Mariposa I think her name was, was SO much fun.

Also, you know what franchise I want to see rebooted? Fucking Bloody Roar, dude.

Oh god, did I just out myself as a furry?

Damn.

If anything, you should take being compared to my girlfriend as a compliment. I've always been undefeated on StarFox 64...until I met her. She can lay all types of whoop-ass on me. I told her we'd play best out of 10 one day. She won 7-3. For revenge, I stomped her ass on DDRMAX. Max 300, upside-down, reverse, hidden...BOOM MOTHER FUCKER!

You've just got to ignore that "omfg ur a nob u suxxors" stuff. Anyone that wants to actually insult you will take the time to type out their responses correctly. I find it extremely funny when people message me after a match with stuff like "omg spam more dumsit u sux." I mean, I play Wolverine, Trish, and Deadpool. None of those characters have super awesome spammable attacks (compared to Akuma or Iron Man). I save all of those messages, and I plan to work them into an English class one day. Maybe it'll be a seminar titled, "How to Insult Others And Not Make Yourself Look Like a Dumbass In the Process."

To be honest, I think Soul Caliber IV is one of the worst fighting games out right now. The competitive value is very slim, as the engine encourages juggles more than anything. Its super similar to Tekken 6, which is probably the second worst Tekken made (Tekken 5 being the worst). I really don't understand how people get into Tekken competitively. The whole game is about who can pin the other character into the wall first. I agree about the single-player game as well. It's awful.

Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition was well worth the $15 (upgrading from SSFIV). The balances for the character roster actually make sense this time around. I just wish they didn't put so much work into the Twins (Yun/Yang). I'm not going to say they are super over-powered, but you can tell where their priorities were during development. I have to say this though, Yang's EX Palms -> Wall Bounce -> Ultra 1 is far too sexy for words. Hell yes, that is me in the video, son.

You know what series I want to see rebooted? Killer Instinct.

Did I just out myself as a furry? Wait...

PS: Melty Blood was too fucking amazing. Bloody Roar also needs a proper reboot.

[Merrok]

Haha, the StarFox 64 thing is awesome. Every now and then Laura (the wife, since I feel bad for constantly saying "my wife") will get a lucky win streak in whatever we're playing and get a little cocky. Unfortunately for her that becomes the point I stop dicking around and remind her who of the two was raised on this shit. Yeah, I can be a prick :P All in good fun, though.

I love the video you posted. I watched it thinking "this guy posted a video of himself getting his ass beat? Maybe he's Akuma, but that doesn't make sen...OH SNAP!" Pretty awesome win you got there.

Killer Instinct would be a pretty bad ass reboot. Glad you agree with me on the Bloody Roar thing. I think the mechanics/idea behind it was pretty neat. Though you know what would be a REAL epic reboot? Primal Rage.

As far as the Soul Calibur comment, eh, I can sort of agree. I like the game, I really do, but it's not a huge favorite of mine. The BIGGEST draw to me is the character creation options. If it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't touch the game. The weapon-based combat idea is kinda neat, but at the end of the day I prefer something like SF or MvC.

I also really enjoyed the Guilty Gear games. I didn't play a whole lot of it, but it definitely kept me entertained. I tried BlazBlue or whatever it's called. It had the GG feel, but I never stuck with it. Game like those that get into the whole "advance concepts" of fighting games make my head spin. I struggle enough with normal cancels in fighting games, but I'm pretty sure those two series have a whole bunch of shit that I can't wrap my mind around.

I'm still going to give Tekken 6 a shot. Since neither of us really play games like it often, it's a nice addition to our lineup for now. Sometimes I just get a hankering for a straight up 8 direction fighter where I don't have to worry about fireballs flying all over the fucking place, super hyper ultra mega finisher combo moves, and things like that. Actually, Tekken 6 may have those. I don't know. If it does, I sure as fuck don't know how to do them. I get the feeling that it's a bad game for the most part, but beating the shit out of a giant panda with a kangaroo (and a baby kangaroo!) is worth it to me. Plus the game was cheap (and practically free.)

My next purchase will probably be SSFIV AC though. It really seems like a solid game and I'm itching to give it a spin. I know I originally bitched about UMvC3, but the more I think about it the more I want to get it.

Actually, I think I may go play MvC3 now.

Or level an alt.

[Kankuri]

You know, I was actually thinking about typing in Primal Rage before I thought about Killer Instinct. If it ever got rebooted, it would have to be the arcade version, and not the horribly shitty SNES/Genesis versions.

Guilty Gear is one of the most refined fighting franchises in existence. Almost every game had a near flawless engine. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger was alright, but BlazBlue: Continuum Shift is definitely better. The only bad thing about Continuum Shift is that my main, Rachel, was nerfed quite a bit. That makes me a sad panda.

If you want to throw down on some MvC3, I'm game. I have it running right now on my television. My brother has been trying to get into it, but he gets easily frustrated because I'm throwing too many fighting terms at him that he doesn't know (OTG, DHC, THC, TAC, etc.) I've spent hours today in Training Mode working on combos, and I need to try them out. For my gamertag, just see my signature.

[Mechazod]

Well im personally glad for the remake because I absolutely despise DLC in all its forms. Now for all fairness sake I guess it would be better if Capcom released the new game but then also added a patch for the current version to fix the bugs/balancing and also have the new characters/stages as buyable DLC.

[Kankuri]

Well im personally glad for the remake because I absolutely despise DLC in all its forms. Now for all fairness sake I guess it would be better if Capcom released the new game but then also added a patch for the current version to fix the bugs/balancing and also have the new characters/stages as buyable DLC.

You know, I kept forgetting something, and this was it.

The new game will be a stand-alone version with EVERYTHING (I'm actually not sure if it will have Jill and Shuma Gorath), and it will be $40. Think of it like Super Street Fighter IV.

[Merrok]

If you want to throw down on some MvC3, I'm game. I have it running right now on my television. My brother has been trying to get into it, but he gets easily frustrated because I'm throwing too many fighting terms at him that he doesn't know (OTG, DHC, THC, TAC, etc.) I've spent hours today in Training Mode working on combos, and I need to try them out. For my gamertag, just see my signature.

See, that's me, kinda. I have no idea what OTG, DHC, THC, and TAC means. But you bet your sweet ass I'm about to google it. It took me a good while just to learn what the fuck QCF and QCB meant. And when reading move lists for MvC I was confused by "ATK ATK ATK." For the longest time I thought it meant three attacks in rapid succession. Nope. Three attack buttons at once.

[Kankuri]

See, that's me, kinda. I have no idea what OTG, DHC, THC, and TAC means. But you bet your sweet ass I'm about to google it. It took me a good while just to learn what the fuck QCF and QCB meant. And when reading move lists for MvC I was confused by "ATK ATK ATK." For the longest time I thought it meant three attacks in rapid succession. Nope. Three attack buttons at once.

Here, let me save you some time:
OTG = Off The Ground.
A good example would be Spencer's Wire Grapple H where he pulls the opponent up and "off the ground."

DHC = Delayed Hyper Combo.
This is when you activate another hyper combo during one in progress.

THC = Team Hyper Combo.
Using all three teammates' hyper combos at one time.

TAC = Team Aerial Combo.
Switching between characters during an aerial combo.

I don't like using QCF or QCB. I like using the numerical system. Basically, it gives each direction a number. You type out the numbers for the motion.

Up Left - 7, Up - 8, Up Right - 9
Left - 4, Middle - 5, Right - 6
Down Left - 1, Down - 2, Down Right -3

For example: To indicate a QCF motion, you would use 236.

[Merrok]

Ooooh, I remember reading about the number system YEARS ago. I realize it's REALLY simple, but QCF, QCB, HCF, and HCB really stuck with me.

Come to think of it, I think I was learning the number method when I was getting into Soul Calibur, or one of the other 8dir games.

[Kankuri]

Ooooh, I remember reading about the number system YEARS ago. I realize it's REALLY simple, but QCF, QCB, HCF, and HCB really stuck with me.

Come to think of it, I think I was learning the number method when I was getting into Soul Calibur, or one of the other 8dir games.

When specific directions are required to complete combos, the number system definitely takes priority. Try writing out MvC2 combos using HCF, QCB, etc. and you'll get a headache fast as hell.

I just realized I've been playing fighting games for too damn long =( I started with King of Fighters '94.

[Merrok]

When specific directions are required to complete combos, the number system definitely takes priority. Try writing out MvC2 combos using HCF, QCB, etc. and you'll get a headache fast as hell.

I just realized I've been playing fighting games for too damn long =( I started with King of Fighters '94.

I swear, one of my favorite quotes..."ARE YOU OKAY?! BUSTAAAA WOOOOLF!"