Darth Vader and Yoda will be playable characters in Soul Calibur 4. (One apiece for Xbox 360 and PS3)

All I can say is WTF.

There is no other phrase in the English language that better describes this ungodly sacrilege.

Why these two worlds should never collide after the jump!

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Source: IGN

When Street Fighter 2 came out in 1992, I played it alot. I mean really alot. So much that my SNES buttons got indented and my fingers had blisters. My favorite character back then was Dhalism, also known as “that stretchy indian guy that sucked.”  Well, I decided to make him “my guy” and “my guy” he became. I kicked some serious ass with that dude. I was a SF2 Dhalism bad-ass.

Unfortunately my mother didn’t see it that way.

Find out why after the break!

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Fighting games may be down, but they’re not out. Virtua Fighter 5 for the Xbox 360 is still in the ring and it’s kicking some serious ass.

This is a perfect example of what makes a good fighting game great. The problem is, most people are turned off or “just aren’t into” them anymore. Most players find long lists of moves and techniques intimidating, or just too frustrating to learn.

VF5 could change your mind, but you have to give it a chance.

Read my reasons you might like it after the break!

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Source: Capcom 

If you’ve read any of my fighting game articles, it should come as no surprise to you that I’m quite excited about the new Street Fighter HD remix. It’s not coming until next year for XBLA and PSN, however for a moment, I had a Ha-Do-Ken fireball sized heart attack.

Read why after the break!

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by SupaSlick

(Note: This is the final edition to a three part series. Click for PART 1 or PART 2.)The fighting game genre is dead, or at least it will be if we don’t see some big changes soon. The sad part it is, most of you will read that sentence, shrug, and move on. That’s the problem, no one really cares, and for those of us who do there’s nothing we can do about it.

Fighting games may exist, but their future is certainly bleak. Fighting game designers need to think of a way to bring back the community feeling that I’ve mentioned before. Designers need to create a way to engage more people at once. Also they need to create a new form of intensity. If people got the same thrill out of 3 hit combos like they did from a head shot with a sniper rifle, we might be on to something.

Designers need to take all these customizations and online capabilities out there and import them into the fighting game world. Imagine if the technology behind the Halo 3 level editor was put into a standard fighting game! Don’t like the available characters? You should be able to TRULY create your own. Tiger Woods let you do it, why not a fighter?

How bout customizing your character controls and special moves. Don’t like those quarter circle movements? Create your own! Think that fireball should be able to hit the feet instead of the chest? Change it! The more customizeable, the better.

As I look ahead to the holiday season, and 2008, I wonder if the dismal selection of titles coming out will do anything to revitalize the genre. I’d like to take a moment to give props to the Super Smash Brothers series, as I’ve neglected it so far. They were some truly great games, and broke new ground in the multiplayer fighter (more than 2 people). The new version for the Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, could be the breath of fresh air the genre so desperately needs. But even if it does, it won’t be enough.

So what else is on the horizon? I’ve spoken about Virtua Fighter 5 for 360, which hopefully will be great, but that’s already out for PS3. Next year, we can expect Soul Calibur 4, which will for sure generate some press, but part 3, an exclusive for the PS2, was a bit of a disappointment.

As far as 2d fighters go, some forums members may remember the Guilty Gear series. Its coming back with a new sequel next year. Then there’s the new HD remix of Street Fighter coming out for XBLA. I’m excited about these two, as they are probably the only 2d fighters on the horizon. I just hope they do both their series proud.So, is that it? What’s that, four new games, and none of them will be all that revolutionary. So tell me, is it even possible for fighting games to make a comeback? What features would an awesome fighter need to have? Are fighting games dying because most are made just for 2 players, or is it something more?

I say if we don’t see a true revamp soon, we can kiss the fighting game goodbye.

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by SupaSlick

(Note: This is the second part of a 3 part series. To see part 1 click HERE.)

A lot has changed in the world of fighting games since their heyday in the early to mid 90’s. The biggest difference you’ll notice today is the switch from 2d to 3d. Unfortunately, this transition hasn’t worked for most of the 2d classics. The kings of the genre, Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat, both had their shot and in my opinion, failed.The Street Fighter Series failed miserably in the late 90’s with a SF EX version for the PS1. Thankfully, the creators stuck with 2d after that and continued to make some great, if not overdone, revisions. Mortal Kombat fared much better in its 3d changes, however most die-hard fans will refuse to play them, claiming that the old school versions still rule.

Fighting games today are graphic powerhouses. The eye-popping visuals and spot-on controls drastically changed what can be done in a 3d ring. Look at the Dead or Alive, Soul Calibur, and Virtua Fighter series. These three are still popular, with current versions still around.

Apparently, they’re just not popular enough.

(Cue hulk-like rage!)

So what’s the deal?! Why aren’t you playing them? I guess the fighter just isn’t good enough for you. Screw the tight controls, accurate hit detection, and awesome chainable combos! Screw the different selection of cool characters with their intricate and unique playstyles! Screw the fun of beating your buddy to a pulp in a non-stop chain of ass-kickery and getting a perfect! It’s all Master Chief this and Master Chief that…. Well ya know what *explicative deleted* Master Chief! You can take a rising dragon punch right up your green armored ass!

Ok, I’m enhancing my calm.

The trouble is, as great as those series are, the excitement and popularity over them is nothing compared to 2d fighters in their prime. With more games becoming popular because of their multiplayer features, where does that leave the fighter that, by definition is built for two? The real problem is, no matter what fighter you play, the single player is short lived. You can add all the unlockables and modes you want, but the bottom line is you only want to play the computer for so long.Going online against a friend certainly threw a spark into the mix, but in the end it’s hard to find people who still like them. I was psyched to play Street Fighter: Anniversary Edition against other people on the original Xbox, at first. (I still play it if you ever want a whoopin!) However, even though playing a stranger online is better, it’s still lacking that rush.

The best solution so far has come from Dead or Alive: Ultimate with its “quarter match” mode. This is a mode where a group of people get to talk and watch while waiting their turn to fight. I really hope VF5 has this feature. I think this is the closest a fighter can get to the “community” feel of a popular FPS. You get a couple of other decent fighter fans, good game with a good quarter mode, and maybe, just maybe, we can recapture that feeling from the good old arcade days.

So are fighting games dead? Do you still play them? Is it worth a SarcasticGamer night if there’s a good tournament mode? Tell us on the forums!

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by Alex “SupaSlick” Shaw

(Note: This will be the first of a 3 part series.)

The game was called Street Fighter 2, and as far as I’m concerned, it put fighting games on the map. I remember guys standing around, waiting for their turn, who freaked when they figured out their first “Ha-Do-Ken” (fireball). Quarter circle and “charging” joystick/pad movements in games would never be the same.

Mortal Kombat and MK2 also generated their own brand of excitement, especially when you figured out how to do a fatality, and refused to tell anyone! Games like those were so good for their time. I feel like they were the ones that started the whole “line of quarters” thing back in the good old arcade days.

Then SF2 came out for the SNES, and the home consoles exploded. For the first time I could stay home and play a game that was, for all intents and purposes, IDENTICAL to what I was walking down the street to play for a quarter a pop. In fact, I remember my mother got me the game just so I’d stop going there so often.

Fighting games back then were built to last. If you wanted to play, you had to LEARN techniques. Button mashing didn’t do squat. Friends would have Street Fighter tournaments, talk about what characters they liked to play, even what buttons they liked for “high punch.”

When was the last time you got that excited about a fighting game? To this day, I still say SF Alpha 3 is one of the best fighters ever made.

What are your fondest fighting game memories? What fighting games from the past do you still play today? What games would you like to see make a comeback?

Tell us on our forums, and stay tuned for Part 2!

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