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Top Ten Fighting Games of All Time

Fighting games used to be the premier genre in the U.S but now they’ve seen a small drought in popularity due to the death of the arcade scene and rise of console gaming which allowed us to play games at home. Unfortunately, this meant no longer being able to constantly find competition. As avid fans of the old school genre we’ve decided to make this list explaining the top 10 fighting games of all time.

Games were placed by a combination of fanbase and depth.

10) Samurai Shodown

The Samurai Shodown series makes its way onto this list for being the original weapons based fighting game. With an excellent mix of character designs and weapon choices it’s no wonder it was able to go head to head with the almighty Street Fighter 2 back in the day. What makes Samurai Shodown unique is that the pace of matches back when it first came out made each match feel like real samurai fights by focusing less on flashy combos and instead combining both an overall strategy and being able to quickly adapt to your opponent to make slight alterations in said overall strategy to win games.

9) Virtua Fighter

Virtua Fighter comes with each iteration expanding on the last and adding new material. Gameplay elements added never tone down the time or effort needed to master the game, nor are they ever random. Every addition to the game feels fresh and welcomed, rather than unused and meaningless. Virtua Fighter has always been and still is one of the most difficult games to master even though it requires only three buttons to fight with. Every attack is categorized making you truly think about what moves to throw out to counter the moves your opponent throws out. Even if you choose to side step you have to know if you’re opponent will throw a move that attacks in a circular or semi-circular direction. The game really forces the player to examine the opposing character and have a full knowledge of all characters while fully mastering the character they’ve chosen.

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Vice Weekly 006 - E3 Recap

Tags: 360, dreamcast, fanboys, gears of war 2, online gaming, podcast, ps3

Eternal Sonata US release for the ps3 confirmed

Eternal Sonata Ps3 - Story #4 from Mel Francis on Vimeo.

After some speculation and weeks of suspense, Namco-Bandai has announced that Eternal Sonata will make its way to the US this fall on the Ps3. At first it was said that the game wouldn’t be released here for the Ps3, leaving those who don’t have an Xbox 360 out in the cold. The story follows renowned composer Chopin, who on his death bed begins to blur the lines between life and death by having dreams. One dream in particular is where a girl is in some type of danger and a young boy who has to save her. This is where the game picks and the player begins to experience his dream first hand.

The game debuted last September for the 360, and seemed to be under the radar because it launched around the same time as Halo 3 did. Fortunately, with the re-release on the Ps3, anyone looking forward to the game can rest assured the not only are they going to get the same experience that 360 owners had, but also the pleasure of some added features such as new quests, multiple endings & added characters.

One thing I really enjoyed about the game from playing the 360 version was the battle system. It was a mixture of turn based and real time battle. What the game did well was take these two systems and combine them into one interesting experience. As with most RPGs, you had to wait for your characters turn before they could go, but when it comes time to battle you have a five second timer that came up which allowed you to attack your enemy with button specific moves. This helped keep the game unique because it allowed you to do more than press a button then watch a move, you were actually able to fight the enemy yourself which kept the game engaging.

Eternal Sonata Ps3 - Battle Gameplay #1 from Mel Francis on Vimeo.

The game also seems to feature some form of online co-op, so that you’re able to get into the game with friends and enjoy the game together. Based off of how the 360 version was, it would seem that you’ll be able to play the entire game with two other friends, which will add to the replayability of the game. I’m looking forward to the game, as I wasn’t able to get my hands on the 360 version.

Check out our screenshots of the game, as well as some videos of the game below the cut.
Continue reading Eternal Sonata US release for the ps3 confirmed

Tags: Eternal Sonata, ps3, rpg

Break is over

I’m sure some of you were wondering why we hadn’t updated the site with more thought provoking articles in the last day, so I figured I would give you an answer. We took a rest day yesterday to relax so we could regroup and come back strong tomorrow to start the week off.

We have many things planned for the next week that I’m fairly sure you will enjoy. Tomorrow, expect an all new jam packed Vice Weekly for your listening pleasure, as well as a few articles to whet your appetites.

Also if you’ve noticed, we’ve had a more prominent link at the top of the site so you can all access the Vice Forums without hassle. Go sign up and start a few discussions, as we’re always looking for something new to talk about.

So until tomorrow, I leave you with this question:

What game do you think had the best showing at E3?

Wii Want More

When the Nintendo Revolution was announced, I remember the hype of Nintendo fans everywhere. Some time later it was announced that “Revolution” was not its name, rather this new console was to be the Nintendo Wii. At first it was hated, but then we saw what the Wii was all about with its motion controls and the hate was silenced. The Wii became the truth to Nintendo fans everywhere and despite the doubters when it was released it was sold out everywhere for months, the Wii had become a success. Fast forward to today and Wiis still sell at a record pace, however, I’m no longer impressed.

I realized that the Wii had become doomed to the same fate as the Gamecube, minus a few third party hits. The only quality titles were sequels of first party Nintendo titles. Now I’m sure Nintendo fans are content with this, but as a fan I am not. I have a Wii and own a single game, which conveinently is a Nintendo title. I have no interest in any of the third party titles as they receive no advertising, so I know nothing about them. Quite frankly even if I did, they all just seem gimmicky and that my friends is what the Wii has become so far; a big gimmick.

It doesn’t have to be this way, however, if Nintendo could score some worthwhile third party support and some original first party titles there could be a huge turn around. The Wii needs games that live up to its original name, something to make us realize that the Wii is the revolution in gaming. I also think that Nintendo should have been supporting the shift into HD. I don’t need good graphics for a game to be good, but Nintendo stated that they wished to draw in more casual crowds and I believe good graphics can do that. Nintendo is letting us down by promising us a revolution that only they back, and as anyone who has studied history knows without strong supporters behind you a revolution does not succeed.

E3 showed just how stuck in their ways Nintendo is by not bringing anything new to the table. Now I’m as big of a Nintendo fan as the next guy, but seriously the most exciting thing they were able to bring was Animal Crossing, with a microphone? The DS has had a mic since it came out and there’s nothing new about that at all.  There’s a serious problem with that people, not a single new thing at one of the biggest gaming events of the year. Nintendo really needs to step it up because that won’t cut it, especially with Sony boasting 256 players online with MAG and Microsoft pulling out stunts like gaining Final Fantasy XIII onto the 360.

Bottom line, Nintendo is known for their innovations in gaming but they’re innovating to the point where it is just a gimmick. Unfortunately, they are gimmicks that only Nintendo knows how to develop for and that doesn’t make a console great.

Tags: innovation, Nintendo, Wii

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Location Testing

Capcom’s newest “Vs.” title, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes is undergoing the location test phase in Japan, which is pretty much an arcade beta test. Videos have gone up on youtube and from what we can see the game seems to play like a combination of Guilty Gear and Marvel vs. Capcom.

The rest of the videos are below the cut.
Continue reading Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Location Testing

Tags: Capcom, Fighting, Tatsunoko, video

Metal Gear Online: Expansion Pack OUT!

Today, July 17th, marks the day for the release of the expansion for Metal Gear Online. New content include a new gameplay mode (survival mode), new selectable players, three new maps, and a reward shop for all your needs in survival mode.

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH announces Metal Gear Online World Championship 2008!

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced the first details of its Metal Gear Online World Championship 2008 tournament, which will embark on regional heats in the summer globally with the grand final taking place at October’s Tokyo Game Show event.

The competition is open to the best Metal Gear Online players from Europe, the US, Japan, and Greater Asia, with the individual territories to host regional championships where the wining teams will receive all-expenses-paid trips to Japan. The first championship will take place in the US at ComiCon in San Diego, with full details of the European heats to be announced via www.konami-mgo.com in the coming weeks.

Metal Gear Online is a dedicated online title included in Metal Gear Solid® 4: Guns of the Patriots, an exclusive title for PLAYSTATION®3, which took the market by storm on its release in June. Featuring unique characters, a wide range of weaponry as well as many levels taken from and inspired by the Metal Gear Solid Series, Metal Gear Online is the ultimate team based online tactical shooter which allows up to 16 people to play simultaneously. Retaining the highly renowned stealth combat gameplay of the Metal Gear series, players can immerse themselves in this whole new multiplayer online experience as they are dropped into a series of war zones where a host challenges await them.

[Via Press release & Kotaku]

Tags: metal gear online, mgo, News, ps3