Although far less vocal than fighting and sports game players, wrestling game enthusiasts are intensely particular about their genre; they more often than not, tend to go far lengths to experience new titles or support established franchises. This kind of genre-specific dedication is truly fascinating to me, but comes as no surprise, considering the huge impact professional wrestling has on different cultures. THQ, no stranger to the wresting game genre, is set to release WWE All Stars on March 29^th. Although wrestling games seem to come out at a somewhat consistent clip, All Stars looks to set itself apart from the pack by approaching the genre not from the traditional wresting simulation angle, but as a wrestling/competitive fighting game hybrid.

Although this has been done in the past with such titles as WWF Wrestlemania The Arcade Game, Capcom’s excellent Saturday Night Slam Masters, SNK and ADK’s 3 Count Bout, and more recently, AKI’s Gamecube/PS2 wrestler/brawler titles (based on the popular Kinnikuman anime) Ultimate Muscle. Wrestling/fighting game hybrids have had their impact on both the arcade and the console fronts, but have not enjoyed the success of either fighting games or wrestling games. THQ aims to fill that gap, and entice both fighting game players and wrestling enthusiasts, while ideally providing accessible game play that will bring in sports-arcade game players.

THQ has put Sal DiVita in the role of Creative Director to spearhead the development of WWE All Stars. DiVita worked on arcade style sports titles such as NFL Blitz and NBA Jam, so he knows a tiny bit about making your eyes explode. He is backed by Lead Designer Dave Friedland and ex-members of Midway San Diego, also all very versed in over the top sports titles, so the team behind the game is more than capable of creating the arcade look, and more importantly, the feel and pick-up-and-play nature of old arcade sports and fighting games.

In addition to the more arcade sports/fighting game play and look, THQ has chosen to not only use current characters from WWE’s stable of wrestlers, but add a slew of classic wrestling greats. With 15 current wrestlers and 15 classic wrestlers announced, and wrestling stars like Andre the Giant, “Macho Man” Randy Savage to Rey Mysterio Jr. and John Cena, THQ went out of their way to include as many WWE Superstars as they could. With the recent confirmation of DLC, there may even be the possibility of seeing other classic and current wrestlers and possibly even additional venues.

Even with the right developer in place, and all the obvious good intention, a solid fighting engine will have to work as a foundation for the action. It seems like THQ has gone with a completely different (or radically altered) wrestling/fighting engine, as the game plays more like a 3d fighter with an emphasis on linking attacks/juggles and combination throws/grapples. Game play looks fast and fluid with lots of strings/juggles and stagger/ground bounce states for extended combo strings. Characters fall into 4 different fighting classes that cover both fighting game and wrestling archetypes. The categories include the Acrobat, Big Man, Brawler and Grappler. Characters will fall in one of or a combination of those classes, and have some shared attacks, strings and grapples while also having access to character specific special attacks, grapples, pins, submissions and combos. Each character will also have super attacks, much like a super combo in Street Fighter, that they can use after filling a super meter. THQ has made quite the effort to cater to both player bases and has even gotten together with MadCatz to provide a WWE All Stars Special Edition fight stick. It seems THQ means business on both fronts.

Growing up in the arcade scene, I have really fond memories of playing both the 90′s arcade sports games like NBA Jam and the arcade fighters/brawlers like Saturday Night Slam Masters and WWF Wrestlemania The Arcade Game. The time and team couldn’t be more perfect for this type of game and I am really excited to see what THQ San Diego has put together for us. Come on back March 29^th for a detailed review of the final build, and videos of Mr. Hawkins and myself going to town on this puppy. See you then!

GolgoHypeMachine is an open sounding board for our staff to concisely share their excitement about upcoming games.

A couple of days ago news was released about actor/director/stuntman-turned-Fighting Game enthusiast heartthrob Joey Ansah’s new project “Street Fighter Legacy”.  Two teaser trailers were released showing a very believable Ryu and Ken in the moments leading up to a little sparring session.   Needless to say, live action and Street Fighter have never worked well together, and low budget independent shorts would be the last place that I thought the awesomeness of Street Fighter could ever be sufficiently captured.  Today, Joey released the 3 minute short on his Youtube page and I have to admit I am pretty impressed.  It was good enough to leave me wanting more, and that is a damn good start.

Joey, together with his partner Christian Howard (who also played Ken “Flow Chart” Masters) directed, wrote,  and choreographed the short.   In an interview with Joey found on his site, he talked a little bit about what he and Christian and co-producer Owen Trevor were thinking when creating the fan-made short.

“As an actor, film maker and a fan, I have been repeatedly disappointed by the many diluted, un faithful and outright butchered movie adaptations of fighting video games. It was clear to me, that given the way the movie industry worked, we would never see a super faithful, darker toned and more adult themed (or just plain good!) incarnation of Street fighter unless a die-hard fan director or film-making team with the game canon knowledge,  film making know how and connections stepped up to the plate to helm such a project.

So almost a year ago, I began writing treatments and a production design brief and partnered with Streetlight films before proposing my concept and vision to Capcom. I’m pleased to say they gave their blessing and permission for the project to move forward.

My team subsequently attracted a great ensemble to support and execute the project including Owen Trevor (Top gear director) who co-directed the film with me, Jacqueline Quella my Producer, Anthony Waye as my exec producer who has senior production credits on over 90 movies including the last eleven ‘James Bond’ films (Line-producer of the entire Bond movie franchise), and the renowned post production/VFX house, Prime Focus, to name but a few.

My Team and I have strived to make a beautiful lil’ film that hopefully non fans will really appreciate, but ultimately this is a love letter to the Fans and the brilliance of the game. As a result I’ve gone to every length to be as faithful as possible down to the smallest details of the costume, the choreography, the narrative, the original music themes and of course the special moves!

After almost a year,  of blood, sweat, lots of favours, enthusiasm and love we are ready to announce and shortly thereafter, release, ‘StreetFighter: Legacy’ to the people who deserve it most…….the fans.”

Joey and the fellas at StreetLight Films seem to really have their heads on straight, as the short was really entertaining and a much closer to what I personally would want from a Street Fighter movie.  Check out the short and the various making of vignettes and tell me what you think.  Maybe Capcom ought to talk to Joey and Co about taking care of the next SF movie, otherwise, we will keep getting BS like Taboo as Vega.

For anyone who missed the Chris Cowen/Thousand Pounds Fight Team Street Fighter short, check it out here.  It was quite good (yet poorly timed?) as well.  It is quite a bit more DIY as it was filmed/edited/choreographed (very competently might I add) for about $400.  So in that way, it’s way more indie then you will ever be.  It goes to show what you can do with a decent camera,  editing software, some time, and a fully versed martial arts choreography team.  Oh and check out that ST Ken Kick Grab into Throw shinanigans…  S-C-R-U-B… Anyway, Chris and crew all do some pretty good fight choreography and you would be doing yourself a favor to see some of their stuff. From their Youtube page, it seems all their work is filmed on a Canon 7D, Edited in Final Cut Pro and effects are done in Adobe Aftereffects, that’s dedication homes.

After a period of whispering on various fighting game/video game forums, Capcom has finally released the long awaited announcement trailer for Marvel Vs. Capcom 3.  Rumored to have been in the works for quite some time now, the trailer shows some cool cell-shaded Tatsunoko VS Capcom style cut-scenes with returning characters like Ryu, Hulk, Iron Man, Morrigan and some new stuff…  Mainly Chris Redfield(!).  As more is announced, I hope to see some more awesome Capcom and Marvel characters and ideally, this time around, the Capcom characters will be able to hang at high level play…

Here is some new info that was recently revealed at the Capcom Event… (via EventHubs)

• The game is set for a spring 2011 release date on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

• Right now the development team is looking at having about 30 characters — or so — in the roster.

• Seth Killian said that fans can expect “a healthy dose of new blood” when it comes to fighter selection.

• It’s a 3-on-3 tag team fighting game, players build their own squads and uses Assists as well.  Very similar to MvC2.

• The title uses an advanced version of Capcom’s MT Framework, which powered Resident Evil 5 and Lost Planet 2.

• MvC3 has aerial combos, hyper combos and other original gameplay systems.

• The game is officially titled Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.

• The goal is to get 100 pieces of music in the game, that includes old favorites, new tracks and remixes.  The ‘Take You For A Ride’ song won’t be returning.  At least, it’s not planned right now.

• There are no plans for an arcade, PC or Wii version.

• The team behind this wants this game to have a strong storyline.

• Development started on MvC3 in the summer of 2008.

You can see more by taking a look at the article.  They also have some images of the announced characters and some extra non-gameplay footage.

Oh, and for fun, let’s make a giant list of all the characters that ought to make it in!  Annnnnd… Go!

As is typical of the internet, Hakan, the tenth and final (?) character to be added to the cast of Super Street Fighter IV, was debuted a couple days earlier than expected.  IGN’s Daily Fix posted the debut trailer earlier this evening and all I can say is wow. I don’t think that now is the best time to get into what I think about Capcom’s design philosophy for this title, but I am interested to see what you folks think.

Oddly enough, Seth Killian had mentioned that Hakan, a burly Turkish oil wrestler, was going to be pretty bizarre, and had what he thought was some of the craziest (read absurd) ultra moves in the game. Take a look at the footage yourself and have a gander at what Capcom feels represents Turkish oil wrestling down to the most minute detail…

The silliness is quite silly, but I have to admit that I am intrigued. Last, here is a match video of Hakan fighting Juri, another of the new characters, note the silly English voice overs.

So that is the last of the new characters for SSF4. Expect more footage and info on the character as we get closer to the April 27th release, including whatever super secret extra stuff owners of the original SF4 will be unlocking in SSF4.

Over the past week Capcom has been kicking the Super Street Fighter IV final push into gear. Various news outlets have been receiving packages from Capcom with mysteriously cryptic messages like this nifty blue Everlast glove clenching a rose.

Capcom ought to start sending ME stuff...Jerks.

Apparently both Señor Jeff Gerstmann (GiantBomb) and Brian Cresente (Kotaku) received said packages and both were immediately converted into affluent British pugilism aficionados.

Cresente before the glory of Dudley...

Hurray for Pugilism!

Elsewhere, EventHubs has updated with both last weeks Nakky (Shiozawa) Blog SFIV translation (it was a long one) and this weeks update. They have a lot of information extracted via stupid questions from random fans. Of course, Nakky was unable to answer all the questions, especially when it had anything to do with characters or new aspects of the game not yet revealed, there was a lot of info about some of the various modes, fixes to the overall flow of menus, matchmaking and the occasional comment on balance/ character tweaking details. An interesting read if you are at all curious about some of the background info of characters and development stories/ practices that the team are using Etc.  A warning though, some of the questions are flat out pointless.

• No “Making of” video, but that’s what the Dev Blog is for.

• No plans for any SF1 character, but who would you want to see?

• Would be cool to one day have the characters actually speaking their respective languages (ie Russian for Gief, Chinese for Chun).

• Someone asks for a flight suit alt for Guile, and she points out a picture showing Guile throwing a sonic boom while wearing sunglasses – is this a new item, or a new move?

• SSFIV will run at 720p just like SFIV.

• She says you’ll be able to use the new characters from the beginning (no unlocking?)

• Someone asks to be able to pick the regular stages in the training mode, and she says its something to think about for next time (implying its not a feature this time around).

• Someone asks for Vega’s stage with the chain link fence. She says that it’s a popular request, and if they add any more stages its sure to be at the top of the list.

• New Mad Catz stick being developed for SSFIV. She’ll share more info when she has it.

• She says they’re working hard enough to make the dream of arcade SSFIV a reality. Believe in them and please wait.

• Many people wanted to see a Mama Viper costume, but Nakky says if Viper is in mom-mode she’s probably not going to fight.

• Someone points out the way BP is handled is weird, with minimal gains and big losses. She doesn’t really address this issue.

• No comments in the Replay Channel.

• Some complaining about the new costumes, in which she refers to the last dev blog.

• Someone asked if Ultra II can only be used when the gauge is maxxed out – she replies that it can be used the same as Ultra I.

• Someone asks for Evil Ryu. She doesn’t answer the question.

• Someone asks about a BP penalty for ragequitters. She says the penalty is the disconnect ratio that’s displayed.

• She says that the search function has been improved from SFIV – before, it gave you someone close to the specified parameters, now it will only give you what you asked for.

• No special mode for just viewing character models.

• Someone asks if the devs really listen to the comments. She says they do – they don’t depend on them, but as they want the players to enjoy, they do at least listen.

• Confirms 2 alt costumes for the new SSFIV characters and 3 total for the returning SFIV cast.

• Someone asks if there will be a time limit for picking ultras. She says that you pick the ultra at the same time you pick your character, so there’s no time limit. I will assume this doesn’t apply to vs modes (or at least hope so…)

• They won’t be able to make any changes based on the feedback from 4/4 (the game to be shown at the National Tournament).

• Apologies, but the anime will not be available for the PS3 version. The anime is only available on the first-run production of the game. The anime is not a separate disc, but when you buy the game you get a code that will let you download it from the Marketplace. She also says that its possible for people outside of Japan to have access to the anime.

• Someone asks about R. Mika, and she doesn’t really address the question.

• Someone asks about a portable version of SFIV, and she says it would be nice if there was one.

• SSFIV’s story takes place around the same time as SFIV… but the story itself is separate.

• Titles and unlocked colors won’t carry over from SFIV.

• There will be “something” at the National Tournament.

• There will be a special update next week on the 18th (one day early), she hints very heavily that there will be a new character reveal.

• Shiozawa said that when they were making Super Street Fighter 4, they were considering redoing the profiles of the characters in order to fix issues that had come up like the low weight. However, they decided to keep the profiles as is under the consideration that the Street Fighter IV line of titles is meant to be based on Street Fighter II.

• Someone complained that the Street Fighter IV commercials weren’t too great and asked that Capcom make better one this time around in order to make the Street Fighter IV name rise in Japan. But Shiozawa said Capcom is not making commercials this time around.

And last, the Blog did point out that there will be a BIG update on Thursday, (which means Wednesday night for us) which should include information on the new characters Etc.  It is safe to assume Capcom will go the 1 character at a time route, starting with Ibuki/ Dudley although a big 3 minute video with all of them (like the alpha characters video) would be really nice. Make sure to check back here on Thursday to get a full rundown of whatever it is Capcom reveals.

With that, I leave you this little picture… I’ll just place this right here…

ZOMG! SUper Rose Fighter IV!

]]> http://Golgotron.com/2010/02/ssfiv-boxing-brits/feed/ 3 http://Golgotron.com/2010/02/super-street-fighter-iv-new-character-info-rumors/ http://Golgotron.com/2010/02/super-street-fighter-iv-new-character-info-rumors/#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:18:17 +0000 Jorge http://golgotron.com/?p=3627

Street Fighter news/ community blog Event Hubs updated last night with some exciting news concerning the existence of 4 extra characters yet to be revealed for Capcom’s update to Street Fighter IV. As many of you know, Event Hubs was one of the first sites to reveal the leak for the character list/ change details late last year for Super Street Fighter IV, and so far that rumor list has been spot on. As characters were being revealed, fans were awaiting the announcement of the Street Fighter III: Third Strike characters Makoto, a young female karate practitioner,  Ibuki, a young female ninja and rival to Makoto,  and the triumphant return or the super-classy Dudley, who you might say is London’s boxing Batman… Or I would just like to imagine that.

Makoto looks like a boy.

Ibuki is a ninja student, minus the crappiness.

Dudley is a rich business man... Who has an older butler... Who drives him around... Dudley is Batman.

Anyhow, the final character to add to that list is a new character that was rumored to be a Turkish oil wrestler. (!)

This is Turkish Oil Wrestling... For realsies...

Recently some images posted on MagicBox showed a terrifyingly Dudley-free character select screen that caused some confusion, (the previously shown images/videos had 4 empty slots that were thought to have been reserved for the new characters.) Those images were promptly dismissed as early-build examples and a crisis was narrowly averted. Now with the April release date of Super Street Fighter IV approaching fans have been hoping that Capcom wouldn’t hold off showing the new characters till GDC and Event Hubs has heard, from a credible source no less, that we should be getting information on the last 4 characters somewhere between February 18th and March 11th, which would give them just enough time to show 1 character a week leading up to GDC. (March 9th-13th) It would be safe to assume that Street Fighter will have a strong presence at GDC and the hype-train will be at full speed for the April release.

Head over to EventHubs to see the full story and stick around to check out the BattleField Arcadia 11 tournament highlights.

In the event that you didn’t know, you really should have circled July 29^th on your game calendar, Space Bust a Move for the Nintendo DS (That is Space Puzzle Bobble for you “cool” people) is going to rock your puzzle game playing ass off. I thought I would give you a friendly reminder and take a look at why Bub, Bob, and that crazy bubble launching arrow thingie kick so much ass. I have been a pretty hardcore puzzle game player for some time now, and I am always excited when a new version of any time tested classic formula gets an American release; especially when it has a head-to-head component and more especially when it is handheld and MOST ESPECIALLY when it is Bust a Move.

I have noticed in my time playing puzzle games that Bust a Move never really got the play that other puzzle games did, despite the fact that it was fun, fast paced, and had quite a good head-to-head component. Almost every system has had a good version of Bust a Move and the game play has changed slightly on every release, slowly adding various modes, bubble types, removing the “ceiling” of the levels in Bust a Move 99 (Puzzle Bobble 3 1996), retooling of specific scoring mechanics, and the “chain combos” and “rainbow Bubbles” introduced in Bust a Move 4 back in ’97. Taito, either wisely or accidentally, has aged Bust a Move into a fine wine. Even forays into early DS touch screen development produced one of the finest DS stylus controlled puzzle games for the system, bested in my opinion, only by Intelligent Systems Planet Puzzle League (Panel De Pon DS) and Q Entertainments Meteos series. The stylus control was well implemented, changed the game enough to deliver a new experience and held up at high level play.

With all that awesome, why no love? I don’t have a clue. I think that puzzle games in general don’t get the play they ought to, players either focus on the single player portion of a puzzler or can never find anyone to play puzzle games with. There have been more than a few times that I have been at a games convention and put my feelers out there for some Meteos/Puyo Pop Fever/Planet Puzzle League matches and was met by blank stares and offers to play Mario Kart. I think Bust a move suffers from the fact that you both have to think and perform, really quickly, and just like games of that type (Puzzle League, Puyo Pop, I’m looking at you!) it’s that execution requirement and pattern memorization that keeps people from playing them as much as they would. Kinda like fighting games, only with more sequential thinking and less chess-like strategic branching. (multiple options for various reaction possibilities, or absence thereof.) Luckily, Bust a Move is really easy to learn and the aiming and shooting of bubbles comes naturally. As such people pick up the game quickly and play the hell out of sinlge player and never touch it again, which is lame by any and all accounts. There is a lot of good fun to be had in the versus modes and I encourage all puzzle game players to give it a shot if they haven’t already.

My first experience with Bust a Move was at an arcade on a Neogeo cabinet. The fast game play and skill based aiming aspect really drew me in, and the vs. component, which I still play to this day, really cemented Bust a Move as one of my favorite head-to-head puzzle games. It’s fast as hell, equal portions skill and knowledge/strategy, and set up – with 2 out of 3 rounds, just like a fighting game, victory is cut and dry. It made for some very fun and heated battles. The game play is not quite as cut throat as say Puzzle Fighter, Panel De Pon or Puyo Pop (which has gotten totally out of fucking control and somehow more awesome) but it certainly deserves its place among the better head-to-head puzzle games, and has definitely earned its place as one of the best puzzle games for its creative and highly addictive single player modes.

If you have always been a Bust a Move fan, and don’t play the versus mode, play more of it. If by any weird chance you don’t play or haven’t tried Bust a Move, give it a shot. It truly is quite good. With 4 player online and a plethora of single player modes, Space Bust a Move is a great deal at $20. Get on this. Now.

Space Bust a move is available for the Nintendo DS July 28^th.

System: Nintendo DS
Developer: Taito (Square Enix)
Publisher: Square Enix
Price: $19.99

Recently, Alon posted an article about playing old games and peoples’ apparent inability to refrain from buying shitty games like Golden Axe, Streets of Rage 2, (none of which I think suck BTW) and TMNT: Turtles in Time. Now, I am sure we all know that the TMNT:TIT remake is not out yet. Assuming the game is trash despite the fact that the game play has changed a bit, and considering it’s based on arguably one of the better arcade brawlers I have ever played, is a little short-sighted. (notice how I didn’t just say it IS IN FACT one of the best….) I would venture to say it is perfectly acceptable for people to be excited about this release. If you are a lover of brawlers and arcade style game-play, and the absolute train wreck of a franchise that is TMNT, (yes I really do think that TMNT is one of the most poorly handled IP’s of the last couple decades. With as much available plots and characters Laird and Eastman put into the universe. What we got in the form of the cartoon and games was a slap in the face. Red bandanas for life!) then you have a free pass to be giddy about this upcoming release and even do a little happy dance.

Now I want to say that I do agree with SOME of Alon’s article, but I also think that Alon kind generalizes a bit much. Every genre had standout games that are still fun to this day. Whether or not Alon, or like-minded folks, enjoyed those games is beside the point. For example, just because Alon (and Ara apparently) think(s) Megaman sucks doesn’t exactly make it so. First of all, let me get this out of the way. Turtles in Time is a bad game to use for this idea, as Alon is in the minority when it comes to opinions on TMNT: TIT. I would go as far as to say that he may need to sit down and play some more brawlers/beat em’ ups before he makes such outlandish claims. Very few brawlers were meant to be played over and over, much less to be examples of great interactive media. People have to keep in mind that a lot of these games were designed first and foremost to get a coin drop from us. Fun and innovation were lures to get us to spend money. Now despite that somewhat nasty barrier, there were still a couple companies that could both make fun games and satisfy the arcade era’s somewhat cutthroat requirements for success. It is hard to be successful AND have artistic integrity. Konami found a way to satisfy both by having fun, fast paced 4-player beat-em ups accentuated with pattern memorization. This satisfied the drop rate, @ 4 credits a pop (you and 3 friends because TMNT is not TMNT if you are not playing 4 players) and of course the 4 player brawling nature of the game coupled with assist attacks made the game innovative and fun. (although Bucky O’Hare/Simpsons was also four players, Bucky was not as widely available and Simpsons was easier to play. That double wide X-Men game was 6 players and that was hot shit.) Limited item placement, enemy types, and unit grouping coupled with boss pattern memorization made it so that skilled players could in fact 1cc this fucker. Turtles in Time was both a great arcade game and a great beat’em up for it’s time. We can look at any selection of brawlers and aside from Technos/Sega/Capcom/SNK/ and some Data East stuff, nobody really did it better. See Alon, Brawlers can be fun! (If you don’t like beat em ups, that is fine, you simply don’t like fun.)

At one point, Alon had mentioned that puzzle games are really the only genre of games he thought would stand the test of time. Really, besides Tetris, Puy-puyo and Puzzle de Pon what other puzzle games are you still playing? Almost nobody plays competitive or marathon Dr. Mario, at least nowhere near the amount of folks who play Tetris. Bust a Move? I’ll be the first to admit BAM2 rocked my lame ass and continues to rock my ass to this day, but I can’t find a single person to play that with me. Twinkle Star Sprites? The game was awesome, but where’s the love? Not only that, how often do you go back and play Tengen Tetris or the original NES Tetris? I can tell you as an actual puzzle game player, playing old Tetris games as opposed to the newer, more balanced, faster Tetris stuff… (Arika Yes that Arika does the best Tetris at this point in my humble opinion) it is a little hard to swallow. Is it bad? Absolutely not, it’s still good. Newer versions of classic stuff are welcome as long as they add something that makes them better. This goes for all newer versions of puzzle games: Puzzle De Pon, Pokemon Puzzle League, Planet Puzzle League, (although this one is certainly arguable.) Puyo-Puyo, Kirbys Avalanche, Puyo Pop Fever etc… They got better but the original games, and even though they’re somewhat sluggish they are still quite good.

Annnnd on to fighting games. Fighting games are another example of really old games that stand the test of time. Companies like Capcom, SNK, Namco, Sega, and to some degree Tecmo and Data East, did well for themselves in the arcade industry while also making good games. Stuff like SSF2T, KOF98, and SF3:3rd Strike are now well over ten years old and are still being played quite a bit because they are intensely deep and well designed games. ST is still played competitively for over a decade after its release. New things are still discovered, there are more ST players now than there were in recent years BECAUSE of a “nostalgic re-release”. HD Remix is a PERFECT example of how sometimes, SOMETIMES old games just do it better, and to assume this only happens with Street Fighter or Zelda or Mario or Final Fantasy or any other strong franchise is just silly.

Ultimately, games are for entertainment, and trying to tell people what should and shouldn’t entertain them makes you sound like a prick. Especially when you don’t have any idea what you are talking about.

I for one will say there are lots of great older games out there to play. they were good back then, and they are still good now. If you enjoy interactive media, you should go back and give them a shot. You might find something you like.

At last, Garou: Mark of the Wolves is up, SNK Fans Rejoice! I SAID REJOICE!

XBOX Live Arcade
Garou Mark of the Wolves

Genre: VS. Fighting
Developer: SNK Playmore
Past Releases: King of Fighters XII, Metal Slug 7,  Etc.
Published by: SNK Playmore
Price: 800 Microsoft Points XBLA Game Site
Size: 148 MB

Announced last week for Xbox Live Arcade in Japan, Garou: Mark of the Wolves had fighting game fans and old school arcade enthusiasts excited for a US release. Well after a surprisingly short wait, we are now privileged to be able to play this gem on our 360’s (ideally with that sweet ass SFIV Madcatz TE stick you got. You did get one right? RIGHT?!) Toss in local multiplayer (vs. mode) play, online ranking and match play, Arcade mode, and a swell Training mode, slap an 800 MSP tag on her and you have one happy monkey.

Mark of the Wolves, the last title in the Garou Densetsu series of fighting games by SNK, (known as Fatal Fury in the US) is considered by many to be the best entry to the series, and arguably one of the most polished and enthralling 2D fighters to come out of SNK’s huge stable of fighting games. Mark of the Wolves was originally released in 1999 on the SNK MVS (Multi Video System) arcade hardware weighing in at a whopping 688 MB (huge at the time considering the hardware). Mark of the Wolves was the 8th official entry to the franchise which was known for changing game play and art styles between games, and was looked at as the SNK counter to Capcom’s Street Fighter 3 series.

I really can’t say enough great things about Mark of the Wolves. First of all the game is beautiful. It is old school sprite work at its finest. 14 characters, (13 new, 1 returning) all hand drawn over gorgeous 2D backgrounds, Mark of the wolves was one of, if not the finest looking game to come out on the MVS hardware and hosts easily some of the best sprites ever made by SNK’s army of pixel pushing Picasso’s. The game is impressive looking even now, and animated very, very well.

Aside from the game looking so damn sexy, it plays great too. Fast paced 1 on 1 fighting with tons of mind games and layers upon layers of strategy. Mark of the Wolves introduced a slew of new fighting engine changes, moving away from the multi-plane shifting of the older games and playing like a more straight-up traditional fighting game (IE: Capcom’s Street Fighter series and SNK’s own King of Fighters series).
SNK added a “parry” style defensive move called “Just Defend”, fake special moves (to confuse opponents and construct combos), and a “T.O.P. (Tactical Offensive Positioning)” system that allowed you to select when you could use special TOP attack moves during a match. Mark of the wolves is quick, very competitive, easy to get into, and hard to put down.

Mark of the Wolves was released in the US originally on the Sega Dreamcast (I still love you!) as Fatal Fury Mark of the Wolves, close the DC’s death. Suffering from some minor port issues, it was somewhat tough to find and criminally underplayed. The Japanese PS2 saw Mark of the wolves released 4 times, once as the arcade port, twice as under the “Neogeo Online Collection” label (the second as a “limited edition”) then once more under the “SNK Best” collection. The Xbox 360 version seems to be a port of the AES (SNK’s Neogeo home console) version with a PS2 practice mode. The game plays in its original ¾ aspect ratio with original SNK art from the game as borders.

Mark of the Wolves sports a quaint little online mode that is really a mixed bag. There is certainly lag free games but overall the net-coding is not nearly as impressive as Super Street Fighter II: HD Remix, but definitely playable. For those who have been enjoying online multiplayer on PC via GGPO, there is definitely some getting use to, as the net coding is not nearly as well implemented as GGPO. That said, there is some very good matches to be had but as with any good fighting game, ALL serious matches should be handled face to face, on arcade sticks. (Man up you bunch of sissies, stay away from the d-pads.)

So there you have it, one of the best 2D fighters made on one of my favorite pieces of arcade hardware, packed with online play, practice mode and a nice “impulse buy” price point.
4 words…

RUSH THAT SHIT DOWN.