We wouldn't blame you if you'd forgotten that Capcom was likely to bring the first in its Alpha series of 2D fighters over to Sony's digital playground. Honestly, we have trouble remembering what we had for breakfast last week. Nevertheless, Capcom has confirmed that Street Fighter Alpha (or Zero if you swing that way) will be the latest classic PSone game to hurricane kick its way over to PSN when it debuts this Thursday. So, yes, PS3 owners, you may not be in on the SSFIITHDROMGBBQ beta, but at least you're getting something, right? Don't be so greedy.
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix's recently extended "open beta" got a technical hadouken this morning, addressing a number of the issues faced by the redrawn brawler, from connection lapses to frozen consoles. Other changes include Ken's newly-nerfed dragon punch, while Capcom says that the overall online experience has seen around a 50% improvement.
Notes a post on the company's blog, "While we can't do anything about high ping times, we've optimized the gameplay experience so that it's less noticeable and smoother," some of which can be seen in video form here. Still, those pining for more characters to pummel will be left wanting. According to Capcom, adding additional fighters was "technically not possible for the patch." We'll just have to wait until we get our thumbs on the full game to get our Cammy on.
Namco Bandai's ridiculously cross-brandedSoul Calibur IV has cut a deep swath into retail shelves worldwide, shipping not one million units but two since its July 29 debut.
Still, and not to make an example out of you, Namco, but really all of this chest puffery over units shipped is a bit overblown. It's like bragging about how many pencils you threw at the ceiling, rather than what's really important, namely how many stuck. Then again, we imagine it's difficult to look up and count while you're ducking under the desk from falling profits.
We're so mad at ourselves for in some small way perpetuating the sphere of influence of Kim Kardashian, who, as Joel McHale correctly points out, is famous for having a big ass and a sex tape. But news is slow this morning, OK? It was either this or another cake shaped like the Companion Cube.
That said, here's EA Sports chief Peter Moore beating up on Kim Kardashian in Facebreaker, a fight you can re-enact at home with just a few free minutes and a semi-truck full of self-loathing. Who wins this historic clash of titans? All we can say for sure is not us, dear reader. Not us.
The creativity and ingenuity of gamers is not to be questioned. Case in point: the avalanche of (mostly) excellent classic characters re-created in Soul Calibur IV. We've already covered a few24 of them, but this latest batch warrants a look as well. After all, it will at least give you a kicking-off point for making your own versions of Mario and Lugi, along with Cammy (Street Fighter), The Bride (Kill Bill), Gundam (er, Gundam), and more. While you're at it, we're sure our podcast crew would love to see themselves in SCIV form. (hint-hint)
What's wrong with this picture? It directly contradicts what Soul Calibur IV director Katsutoshi Sasaki said in a recent interview, that's what. Specifically, Sasaki responded "we don't have any plans for that" when asked by XCN if we'd ever see both characters from a galaxy far, far away battling each other on the same console.
You can't get much more official than the game's director, but his comments don't explain screenshots (such as the one above) and video that have appeared on the net clearly (and seemingly authentically) showing both Yoda and Vader in the same version of SCIV. We can't help but think Sasaki is practicing his Jedi mind tricks on us with this one.
It's usually not until we roll out of bed on Monday morning that we find out what retro itch the Wii's Virtual Console will scratch. However, SNK has let the sword out of the sheath a bit early, confirming that next week's retro throwback will include arcade favorite Samurai Shodown II.
As great as SNK's 1994 2D fighter is, to say nothing about how much better it is than the original, it's starting to make less and less sense to pick up these Neo Geo titles piecemeal when SNK continues to bundle the games together at retail. It's hard to justify the digging through the couch for 900 Wii Points when we'll be able to pick up Samurai Shodown Anthology, which will include Samurai Shodown I-VI, on the Wii later this year for about $30.
What if an army of large-breasted female warriors, Darth Vader, and Yoda still weren't enough to satisfy your most illicit fanboy fantasies? Mathematically speaking, that puts you in a very small percentile but, never one to back down from a challenge, Namco has included a character creation tool in Soul Calibur IV to fill in whatever gaps you may feel are inexcusable.
For inspiration, we've got this video from CanoodleStrudel, showing off 24 different handmade fighters. There's a heavy focus on characters from Japanese games – Onimusha, Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, and Final Fantasy VII – but there's also some Western treats, like Arthas from the Warcraft universe and the Prince (of Persia), light and dark versions. But it's not all video game characters, we've also got Leonidas from 300 and Bruce Lee from ... real life.
So are there technically 24 characters? Sure, but only if you consider armor changes to be unique characters ... and yes, we're including Dante and Nero in the "armor change" category. We wonder how long internet memesters can resist from crafting a Pirate versus Ninja battle ... or a Chuck Norris versus Jack Bauer showdown ...
It makes perfect sense that even though Darth Vader and Yoda were appearing in two separate versions of Soul Calibur IV, they would eventually have to do battle with each other. We're sure they're drawn together by the Force, midi-chlorians, and, most importantly, the Scrooge McDuck-style vat of money derived from charging for both of them as downloadable content.
First we caught wind that Vader might be making his way to 360. Now, our friends at Siliconera have discovered a blurb from Sony Computer Entertainment Korea, which wrote, "you can make a dream come true with Darth Vader vs. Yoda and My Character vs. Apprentice fights through available downloads." Possible typo? Maybe. But after Friday's story that's looking less and less likely.
We don't know how you feel about Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe but we've gone from absolute bewilderment to an almost embarrassing desire for the full version. If you're still on the doubters' side of the fence, we'd like to humbly suggest only that you watch the above video, a boatload of gameplay narrated by your friend and ours, Ed Boon.
It all looks sort of cool, but we have a hard time getting past the part where Superman runs Scorpion through seven walls without picking up the phone to pre-order the game. We can't even watch it anymore because after call number 9, the guy at Gamestop was starting to get downright rude. What say you on it?
As Nintendo continues ride out the 'ebbs and flows' in its digital release schedule, we feel its our civic duty to warn you that today's Virtual Console offerings include references to drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. And bad guys, lots and lots of bad guys.
Art of Fighting 2 (NeoGeo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points): The second in SNK's Art of Fighting triple threat sees chronic bad guy Geese Howard, years before antagonizing those Fatal Fury chaps, printing up fliers for a 'King of Fighters' tourney of his own.
Chase H.Q. (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points): In Taito's arcade racer, your car is your fist as you do your best Miami Vice impression behind the wheel of a Porsche 928 and run the criminal element out of town -- and into the highway barrier.
Midway plans to eviscerate PlayStation 2 owners this September, bundling together the previous three Mortal Kombat titles as a single $30 box set. The compilation, dubbed the Mortal Kombat: Kollection, will include 3D fighters Mortal Kombat: Deception and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, as well as the under appreciated action game, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.
According to Midway, the set is designed to let players "refine their skills" prior to getting to clobber the Man of Steel this holiday. However, considering that Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe plays more like Mortal Kombat 3 than any of the more recent 3D fighters, we're not exactly sure how many of those skills will actually make the transfer.
Though we imagine there are those who will find this rumor too inconclusive and uninformative, anyone who has ever experienced the visceral thrill of watching Mega Man beat the mutant gene out of X-Men's resident pansy, Scott Summers, should appreciate even the slightest glimmer of hope for an encore Cyclops massacre. When asked at San Diego Comic Con 08 if a new Marvel vs. Capcom game was a distinct possibility, Marvel Studios' President of Production, Kevin Feige, slyly answered, "Yes. And maybe sooner than you think."
With two days of cosplaying goodness remaining at Comic Con, could Feige have been hinting at a big reveal still to come during the event? Perhaps, though considering Marvel's main panel took place on Thursday, it's somewhat unlikely. If a new Marvel vs. Capcom title is approaching as swiftly as Feige suggests, though, we're sure to hear something more concrete from one of the two companies involved sometime soon.
Siliconera brings word from San Diego Comic-Con that more karacters have been added to the roster of Midway's crossover fighter, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Specifically, the site confirms Jax and Kitana from the MK games are set to appear, along with DC Comics characters Green Lantern and the clown prince of crime himself, Joker. The site speculates that, since villains in MK vs. DC will be able to perform fatalities, Joker could conceivably kill Superman. We're not sure how happy DC would be about that, so don't get too excited.
_thumbnail.jpg "i am 8-bit: 2008")
