Superhero-X (PS4)

Well, what can I say? This game, Superhero-X, is ambitious. It's definitely indie. It most certainly feels like the foundation to something that could be better. For those of you who happened up on this review, and are wondering what the hell I'm blabbering on about it's all about a new 2.5D fighting game on the PS4. A 2.5D fighting game known as "Superhero-X". It is a bare bones concept style of experience that isn't anywhere near as polished as modern fighting games, but does present some interesting features that are unique to it. Coming in with the staple arcade mode, survival mode, missions, and training mode is a character customization that is somewhat decent. It allows you to create your own Superhero-X from the name to appearance, and allows you play as said character offline, or in couch co-op. Something that's been done to an extent in 3D fighting games, but not in 2D fighters. Unfortunately that plus side, is greatly overshadowed by the game's glaring issues.

Kill la Kill the Game: IF (PS4)

I'm going to do something I usually don't do. I'm going to suggest that if you are on the fence about buying this game to download the demo, and play it first before reading my review. Afterwards return here to find out what I think about the game, and what features the game has to offer ...

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R | Nintendo Switch Review

As fighting games continue onward their features evolve. It's a given. Such is the case of "Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R", as one might expect. Fast forward a few installments to a point just before the series' most lengthy cut off, and you will find this game being the penultimate edition of the PS2 era Guilty Gear series. An enhanced edition of an already enhanced edition. Arc System Works, along the way, had experimented with several different new features, modes, mechanics, and characters before finally settling on this culmination of the Guilty Gear fighting game experience. With the largest roster to date including some new faces such as Bridget, Robo-Ky, Order-Sol, Anji-Mito, Jam, Dizzy, A.B.A., and a few others the series returned in a much more robust form. More akin to the Guilty Gears of the modern gaming age it also included a handful of newly introduced modes including a 3v3 team elimination mode, a new iteration of M.O.M. (Medal of Millionaire), Arcade Mode, a Gallery, Survival Mode, and online PvP play. Even the mechanics included evolved in such away as to be faster, more efficiently executable, and flashier than before. Utilizing a new BURST gauge, tension gauge, and mechanics revolving around both deeply involved defenses as well as offenses along with new finishers this game set out to make it or break it for the series. It was a sight to behold back in the day, and even as a Nintendo Switch port it still, to this day, holds it's own as one of the most memorable entries in the franchise.

Guilty Gear (NS)

Though I've played, and owned most of the other Guilty Gear games I've never, before now, played the original release. I knew it was released on the original PlayStation console, and that the series never really caught on big until later on. Having the chance to experience It though I've gained a new appreciation for the advancements in tech the newer series releases made in the way of in-game mechanics. Though the original Guilty Gear does harbor at least some hints of the series direction taken by Arc System Works in the way of design it is not the perfected fighter that is Revelator/2, or Xrd SIGN. It has it's flaws, and a unique, but never again used Chaos Gauge that was kind of abusive. In the right hands, and with the right character the gauge could be filled multiple times quickly, and the action mechanics used in rapid succession without much pause. There's that, and the Insta-Kills that can be done in the first round ending all rounds thereafter. Before I get too far ahead of myself though I will say that for the asking price of $9.99 it's not a bad deal, regardless. Gameplay maintains a smooth experience across a couple modes of play, and one that offers a bit of an origin story for those looking to see where it all began. With 10 classic characters, and the presence of one that was never seen in such a way again it is truly something to behold, especially for fans of the series and the studio.

Dead or Alive 6 Deluxe Demo

We are a not far away from the scheduled launch of DOA6 here in the US. I was excited, but in all honesty that excitement has waned a bit. The game has been delayed once before. Likely for pre-order reasons. In that delayed time period the team at Koei Tecmo has been gracious enough to give us two goes at the online beta. Having played the first time around, and this weekend with a more complete online experience, and roster I have to say that despite knowing things may supposedly change before release I'm left not wanting to buy into DOA6 right away. The game, from what I've experienced, is promising. I'll give it that much. It seems at least a little better than DOA5LR, but at the same time the online component is once again plagued by gamers who would exploit lag, and possibly even use mods to win.With online being one of the biggest reasons I buy into a fighter I'm left not wanting to buy into this one.

In my extended time with the open online beta I did note that there's gonna be some sort of quest mode, and the returning survival mode I'd hoped for (leaked in the tag listings), but it's not really enough to make me want to pass up two other games I have my sights set on in March. Though I was impressed to the point it might have been one of my game purchases for March the more I played the more obvious it became to me that other less than appreciative or considerate players were also testing the waters, and finding ways to manipulate the experience. It's a problem I've talked about many times before. The releasing of online betas to the public without screening said players. This never fares well, and ultimately leads to the release of day one mods, hacks, and exploits. There's nothing that can be done at this point though as the damage is already done.

BlazBlue Central Fiction Special Ed. (NS)

Making it's way in complete form on the Nintendo Switch is Aksys Games' last BlazBlue series release known as, "BlazBlue Central Fiction". This special edition gets all the former steam, and PS4 DLC including announcer voices, color palettes, lobby avatars, stages, BGM soundtracks, and the bonus characters which would have set you back $7.99 a pop. The DLC characters include Susano'o, Jubei, and Mai Natsume. Along with the extra content comes the full game experience. Everything from the in-depth tutorials starting from beginner, and ending with expert to the free training setup, and character missions that better help you understand specific character mechanics are included in the mix. Also returning is the fleshed out story mode full of animated art panels, and character conversations pertaining to the ongoing drama between the NOL, the Nine, the science division, and other key characters of interest.

Beyond the story you will find extra activities such as the Grim Abyss, and Speed Star. Two modes that take the fighting game mechanics, and apply a sort of variation to the normal fights. Things that include routes to take, grimoires to equip for added effect, and bosses to defeat. In Speed Star, specifically, you will be choosing route A, B, or C as you follow the guidelines such as performing special attacks while fighting off opponents in an attempt to complete the route before the timer depletes. Grim Abyss, on the other hand, is more of the RPG spin off in which your chosen character battles a series of opponents, and earns grimoires and skills of varying rarity that can be added for perk sake. Things like health regen, and stuff like that can be obtained, and used in the fight to unlock "Boss Rush Mode".

Fighting Ex Layer - A Retrospective Review

Arika's return to the forefront of fighting games was perhaps one of the most hyped moments in the FGC in recent history. Possibly over hyped. Their game, "Fighting Ex Layer", brought back fan favorite characters from a once dead 3D fighting game series, and attempted to do something new within a 2.5D fighting game frame. The mechanics, which were mostly unique to the new experience, did not hold the gamers' attention for long though, or at least not seemingly so. The online as of late is pretty much dead in the water. At the heart of the game, and perhaps what turned people away, was a deck based system known as GOUGI in which players could earn buffs, and abilities that would add an advantage if requirements were met during battle. The timed, and limited perks weren't game breaking per say, but they did play into that initial April Fools Day announcement that sparked the game actually being released in full. By that I mean it incorporated a sort of absurdity that normally would not be a part of a tournament friendly fighter as it threw the rules right out the window with what equates to cheats.

SNK HEROINES ~ Tag Team Frenzy (PS4)

Some things in life make you wonder WTF!? They literally make you wonder what in the hell someone was thinking when they did something? Such is the case with "SNK HEROINES". I was going into this playthrough, and review expecting a competent fully fledged fighter in the vein of older SNK fighters, but what I was met with felt more like a low budget novelty. It felt like it was one step above games like "Dive Kick". Moreover it felt like it was a game catering to female gamers while implying they aren't competent enough to play a proper fighting game. It was like a dollhouse dress-up fighter filled with SNK's version of Barbies made available for all those gals who like to play with said Barbies like boys do with their toys. The kind of childhood experience that leads to naked, and headless dolls. The story, which was itself lacking in seriousness, revolved around a perverted KOF character named Kukri and a pocket dimension he created just for the occasion. It felt so out of place and fantastical that the only thing that rivaled it's lackluster and ludicrous nature was the simple mechanics that anyone could pick up on and win with.

Blade Strangers (PS4)

I have decided to approach this review differently than past reviews. I'm gonna ditch the artistic word play, and get to the point section by section. Those sections will include a story, characters, mechanics, modes, and visual/audio breakdown. By doing this I hope it will make digesting the information easier, and help you to find what you want to know about the game easier. Without further adieu here is my review of "Blade Strangers" for the PlayStation 4 ...

My Thoughts On The New BBTAG Character DLC

Locked away from the core game at $4.99 a pop, character DLC packs #2 and #3 along with their equally inclusive three additional characters each definitely have an impact on the state of balance within the updated roster. Initially BBTAG was comprised of a base roster of what I like to call equally exploitable characters. By that I mean these are the types of characters everyone cheesed back in the early BlazBlue, UNIEL, and P4A/P4AU games. They are factually characters of certainty that guarantee victory in most cases. Back in the day, of course. While that was an early concern of mine I felt it was balanced in that all the characters were either able to get in easily, or were so zoning heavy that they could hold their own at a distance. Exploitable, but not so much in the traditional one-sided sense.

BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle - The Short And Sweet Of It Review

BlazBlue has evolved quite a bit over the years. There's no denying it. It started off as an anime fighter in the vein of the flagship fighting game series Guilty Gear. It was fast paced, and featured an entirely new roster of characters with an entirely new story. Regardless of the new offerings the early or initial games in the ongoing series that is BlazBlue were simpler in the sense that they weren't as mode inclusive, or as story heavy as series entries midways, and later on down the line. As the series continued to grow though the story expanded as did the lore, the roster of characters, and the modes of play. Even in the online portions of the games innovation showed, if slightly so. New ways to stand out as players were given, and things like nameplates, avatars, and titles made their way in. Fast forward to today's times, and BlazBlue has all but strayed from it's beaten path. In "BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle" it has ditched the tried, and true formula for a lesser spin-off that in most ways gives the paying players less. The roster, though inclusive of different characters, does not present the game in a light that truly builds upon, or even changes the core experience in such a way as to be awe inspiring. It borrows mechanics from tag team oriented games like MvC and Dragon Ball FighterZ, renames said mechanics to seem different, and in doing so only manages to rehash what's already been done. Perhaps to a slightly different degree.

The Importance Of Being Thorough And My BlazBlue Video Review

By now you've no doubt read my "BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle" impressions article. In all honesty it didn't paint a very good picture of the new entry, and like the IGN review itself you were no doubt left with more questions than answers. Since that article posting I was given the opportunity by Aksys Games to play through, and review the game myself. To experience it for myself, and share with you what I experienced. In this instance I decided to do things differently though. I decided to do a raw hands-on review via Twitch to allow everyone to get my reactions as they happened in accordance to the features contained within the game in the most genuine fashion possible. That and to also disclose important need to know details in a manner that would be more beneficial to someone than having them to read through ten paragraphs of technical breakdowns regarding in-game features. I think I succeeded in doing so, but you will have to sit through nearly two hours of video, and commentary to get the most of it. Supposing you can you will get enough coverage of the game's inner workings to be able to decide for yourself if this is a worthy fighter to add to your collection. At least I think so.

BlazBlue Cross Tag Impressions Taken from Reviews And Gameplay Footage

So ... I spent part of the day watching gameplay, and reviews of the latest entry in the BlazBlue series. I saw IGN give it a beat around the bush passing review that pointed out both good, and bad things. The bad mostly attributed to a lackluster, and repetitive story mode element as well as some matchmaking quirks. Being the observant fighting game player that I am I paid attention to the roster. Those guys, and gals who transferred over from RWBY, BlazBlue, UNIEL, and Persona Arena Ultimax. What bothered me was the fact that the roster was made up mostly of the easy to use, and abuse characters. The projectile pests, and the ranged reachers. Even Iron Tager in all his abusive magnetic glory returned to my dismay. The only exceptions I noticed were Rachel Alucard who is a more technical BlazBlue character, and Chie from Persona Arena who is an up close melee martial artist. I had paid attention to the roster situation since the first announcement, and knew it was going to be the deciding factor as to whether or not I bought the game for myself, and as it turns out I did not end up buying the game for that very reason.

Street Fighter's Impact On My Interest In Fighting Games Plus USF4 Code Contest!!!

I've told this story a few times on this blog. A story about how I grew up in an extremely religious home with parents who frowned upon violent entertainment, and who strictly adhered to the various ratings systems implemented across the entirety of the entertainment industry. I mentioned that it wasn't until my 13th birthday (through some begging & desperate pleading) that I was able to convince my mother to buy me "Street Fighter II: Championship Edition" for the Sega Genesis as a birthday present. Of course after that big feat my world opened up in huge ways allowing me to enjoy various other fighting games, and violent video games while not being strictly monitored or chastised for doing so. Street Fighter, more or less, was my gateway into fighting games and so much more. Some things to my moral detriment ... certain adult things. That aside I have invested years of my life in playing, enjoying, and learning fighting games. None more so than Street Fighter though. It is for that very reason I decided to pre-order Capcom's "Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection". I wanted to relive the moments I experienced as I played through the various series entries in the Street Fighter game library, and after having picked up my copy today I aim to do just that. I don't expect the games to be as impressive as they were the first time around, but the trip down memory lane will be more than worth the $40 asking price. At least to me.

My Favorite Fighting Games Of 2018

Often times I like to discuss things related to gaming on Twitter. I often share uploaded gameplay videos, talk about industry goings on, and even throw in my two cents worth about the direction gaming is taking. In the Twitter gaming moment I share here I briefly note the two good fighting games I enjoy. I realized I complain a lot about fighting games, and the corruption thereof, so I figured it was about time I let you know that not all was lost in the genre. I hope you enjoy the glance at this screenshot captured Twitter moment. Feel free to let me know what your favorite fighting games are.

Slice, Dice & Rice (PS4)

Slice, Dice & Rice (by Dojo Games) is a gimmick fighter in the vein of games like 'Dive Kick' and 'Bushido Blade'. It takes the rock, paper, scissors formula in regards to trumping one's attacks or Bushido Blade's opening focus and wound system while utilizing a four button controller layout with 3 melee attacks (horizontal, vertical, heavy) & a parry along with dash options, aerial attacks & cancels to do so with. The fights last up to several rounds depending on the mode being played with each round being a potential insta-kill depending on the attack landed. There are fatalities done through a heavy attack no matter what round you might be on as well as splashy blood effects. The graphics are cell shaded, and the stages layered. It has an ancient Japanese folklore appearance, and a traditional instrumental soundtrack with a variety of different fighters included that each move, and attack differently according to fighting style & weapon type. The 'Dojo' mode which takes the place of a practice mode allows for learning the characters attacks on a basic level while the Story mode allows for a ladder style series of matches against select characters with story elements embedded.

Questionable Quickie ~ Why Injustice 2's AI Simulator is Not A Proper AI Simulator

I've tried since the launch of Injustice 2 to find the perfect AI simulator setup for my AI simulator team. Sometimes I've succeeded, and other times I've failed using the same three character team with the same static stats. What's odd is that like a match against a human player even once promising AI constructs in similar match-ups were beaten regardless of former victories under similar circumstances. Hear me out a moment. At one point (using the same setup) my lvl.20 Aquaman beat a lvl.20 Batman, but going against the same character with the same level, and moves later on my Aquaman ended up fighting differently, and lost as a result. Ultimately as a bi-product of becoming more negligent, and careless with the actions, and reactions he/it applied. The latter Batman also did as the former batman tended to do, only switching things up as to not mirror every other Batman, but more effectively so due to my Aquaman's missteps. All the while with my Aquaman harboring a similar brawler type setup as this Batman AI obviously had.

What you have to take in account is that players tweak 6 stats up to 30 points each, but limited to a total of 60 points altogether. Points which are strategically allotted to make the AI character behave in a certain/specific way in the unmanned matches. These are strategically assigned, and more often than not players will adjust the stats as appropriate for the type of character they are putting into a match. A couple of examples being that a zoning character will get a decent amount of their stat points allotted to zoning, and runaway while characters that are brawlers will get more stat points assigned to rushdown, combos, and counters. All because the characters are more efficient with certain play styles. Thus is the "programming" to act, and react in specific ways, but not in a truly adaptive AI mannerism.

Hobby Highlight Archives (July 2017)

Fighting Games

Despite being called a salty noob by so many internet naysayers me, and fighting games have a long history. A very long history. A history spanning over thirty years. It was journey through time that included my early gamer days, and my latter gaming journalist days. Though my path has fairly much been set since then my origins leading up to today were more of a chance encounter. It wasn't until my 13th birthday that I really got into fighting games, and I really had to fight for that opportunity on a religious scale due to my parents' stance on violence. It was a late entry point no doubt, but an entry point at the perfect time. That time being at a point when the genre was really beginning to expand.

TEKKEN 7 ~ The Story (Spoilers!!!)

After having played Injustice 2, and seeing how good a fighting game could be in regards to story direction I was taken aback by the sub-par experience that TEKKEN 7 held. TEKKEN 7's story mode is lazy. Pure laziness. It's a mixture of slightly animated art panels complimented by emotionless voice acting, and further told through equally emotionless CG cutscenes. There's even a rehashing of old cinematic sequences from past TEKKEN games thrown in as filler material. Some of which look better than the current CG scenes. The story that's being told is unnecessarily drawn out with fights that feel less than heightened as well. It's as if they were thrown in as filler material themselves. One fight in particular, the climactic battle between Akuma and Heihachi, has Akuma playing like a weakling while Heihachi manages to completely avoid direct hits, and sponge up a majority of the damage thrown at him. One would expect Akuma to dominate his arse, especially in context with his forced role in the story, but Akuma takes a distant second seat to Heihachi in regards to battle prowess early on. Particularly in the player controlled portion of the fight.

INJUSTICE 2 ~ Day One Impressions

This following impressions article is going to take in account only part of the "INJUSTICE 2" experience as I've yet to spend enough time with all of the features to give any definitive rating, or assessment. I will however go over my thoughts on the new mechanics, the application of the base mechanics, the functionality of the controller in-game as well as my thoughts about the online. I'll even, on a spoiler free level, go over my thoughts of the story ...