61 Frames Per Second

Browse by Tags

• Game|Life's Street Fighter Basic Training

  I've never been the biggest fan of traditional one-on-one fighting games, mostly because mastering them seems to be entirely about learning the tedious arcana of the genre. This is why I've only really dabbled in Capcom's Vs. and Nintendo's Smash Bros. series; it's possible to play them like an OCD robot, but the casual fan can still pick up a controller and experience a few minutes of fun, flashy nonsense. The upcoming Street Fighter IV is advertising itself as a back-to-basics approach to the fighting game, which makes me more than happy, since I could never get a good grasp of what the hell was going on in Street Fighter III. However, there's still a lot at work under the hood, and a novice like me could stand to learn a little more strategy aside from "keep punching the other guy in the head." Lucky for me, the bombastic Chris Kohler and the TV's Frank-esque Chris Baker of Wired's Game|Life have put together a little video (with some help from Street Fighter experts) to break amateurs like me into the magical world of street fighting. And, unlike most situations in life, I actually walked away having learned something. Video after the cut. Read More... Posted Feb 11 2009, 05:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: street fighter, capcom, fighting games, bob mackey, wired, street figher iv

• Dragonball: Evolution: The New Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game?

  First of all, I'd like to apologize for the number of colons in the subject of this post; please note that they're completely necessary, both to convey meaning and to win me that world record. That being said, I feel it's important to remind you that the American Dragonball movie is about to come into existence--sure, it's already been made, but it will no longer be safe from the eyes of the general public after April 8th. Before you jump to any conclusions, my general disdain from the film doesn't come from any sort of love for Akira Toriyama's masterwork; my interest in Dragonball didn't really continue past the 17th year of my life. I just find that making a dull, Americanized version of a property roughly 7-9 years after it's peaked is not the soundest business or creative decision. Hell, with the Dragonball movie on the horizon, I wouldn't be surprised if Fox brought out their film adaptation of The Weakest Link this summer. Read More... Posted Jan 20 2009, 12:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: psp, fighting games, dragon ball z, bob mackey, movie games, dragonball: evolution

• It's Official (And Officially Sad): Castlevania Judgement Is Ghoulis

  I guess some tiny corner of my heart was holding on to the hope that Castlevania Judgment might be worth playing--or, at the very least, not in need of a holy water/acid bath. Alas... "So what, exactly, doesn’t work? Like I said, everything. It’s like a daisy-chain of failures. Let’s kick things off with the arena. The arena doesn’t work. It’s too large. So instead of fighting for 90 seconds, you end up chasing each other around for 90 seconds. Which is bad enough, but then, the camera doesn’t work. Because it’s fixed, one player will often end up running at the camera, losing all sight of where it is they’re going." You know what, this might work out after all. I've always had this fantasy about staging a Castlevania-style Benny Hill chase. See, Maria will run around the arena and Richter will chase her. Simon will chase them both and Death will chase after them all-- Then the camera will drift off and I'll promptly forget what I'm supposed to be laughing at. Really, this news heartily sucks. I know nobody expected grand things from Castlevania Judgment; from the very start we treated it like the fat kid in gym class; maybe it wasn't our first choice this holiday season, but deep in our souls we hoped it would surprise us with some hidden potential. Read More... Posted Oct 15 2008, 04:36 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: wii, konami, fighting games, nadia oxford, castelvania, castlevania judgment

• Castlevania Fighting Game Elicits Anguished Moans From the Living

  Looks like the August issue of Nintendo Power is full of thrills and chills. The news about Mega Man 9 being developed in an 8-bit style brings the thrills, whereas a baffling preview of a Castlevania fighting game for the Wii is bringing the chills. Not the good kind of chills that you got when you first played Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, mind you. These are the bad, feverish chills with the pained moaning and cold sweat. Read More... Posted Jul 01 2008, 12:00 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: wii, castlevania, castlevania 3, nintendo power, belmont, takeshi obata, manga, death note, fighting games, ayami kojima, symphony of the night