From the demo I played, Mortal Kombat played decently, but looked like an uneven game. The characters looked amazing, yet they didn’t seem to fit those backgrounds well. Plus, it’s Mortal Kombat – when was the last time I ever played an Mortal Kombat game that actually had a well thought out fighting engine? Mortal Kombat Armageddon had the building blocks to a decent fighting game engine, but still felt a bit too limiting.

When I got my own retail copy however, I was completely floored by everything presented. The graphics seemed to mesh a lot better than the demo, the characters all felt diverse enough, the combat engine felt like a legitimate fighting engine and not one a monkey slapped together, and the number of bonuses throughout was staggering. Dozens of hours could be spent on just the story mode and the tower mode, with versus and online multiplayer lengthening the experience considerably.  Balance is always in the minds of the developers, as patches and balancing is performed frequently enough. On top of all that, four downloadable characters have been released, from the water based combatant Rain, to the horror icon himself, Freddy Krueger (though he’s based on the hideous remake version and not the Robert Engulnd character.)

Between Mortal Kombat, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online, only Mortal Kombat offers an overall experience that will last well past 2011. Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition is being upgraded rather soon, Marvel vs Capcom 3 will see an unnecessary “upgrade” nine months after its release, and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online has a myriad of on and offline issues that makes it anything but “lag free” and “arcade perfect.” While Mortal Kombat will no doubt have a new release eventually, it’s not in the forecast for quite a while. With all the bonuses and DLC coming through, it remains thatmust play and must own fighting game of 2011, and it completely floored me how I thought I wouldn’t like it at all, yet have enjoyed it as much as I have.

The tournament edition stick will run around $149.99 and be mostly black.

That’s very sexy and I think this will be the last time I buy one. Yes I already have 3 for Xbox (I have one of those beautiful special editions from PAX) and one for PS3.

I am wondering if Mad Catz will screw this up again, I have a feeling that they will because I think the market might start to become over saturated with these. Unless they make them extremely limited edition just like my sweet heart from PAX.

#538

I never was a fan of pad play but these pads are just too good. I could possibly respect pad play if on these bad boys. The Viper pad looks incredible and I would love to play games just using that. They are going to cost about $39.99.

I think I need a girlfriend to spend money on…..

Cammy doesn’t look too bad either.

And here are the rest, they join the already published Ryu,Ken,Chun Li and Blanka controllers.Thanks to Jgonzo from Capcom-unity.

Gief

Dictator(Bison)/Vega

Guile

Sagat

For those of you who are not happy with your current Street Fighter 4 experience, capcom ask that you be patient for there is a possible salvation in wait for you. What does that mean, you ask? Well i will tell you.

According to various sources, interviews, conferences, etc, capcom is a short breath away from confirming their involvement with what can only be called Street Fighter 4 Dash ( Dash is the Japanese title for what we call Championship Edition in case you were wondering).

Various sources state that the Japanese Development staff has previously talked about an update for SF4 very heavily two times. A third discussion from the JDstaff talk about possibilities for the update. Many believe that such heavy discussions at this rate is a sure sign for a future update.  As they haven’t fully announced anything to be true, we can only take this information as a hopeful sign that they will indeed grace us with an update.

Now i know what some of you are asking. “What could this possible new update bring us?”

i can only go by from i have read at multiple sites but i will tell you what is believed to be included.
* Shiowaza says she realizes Karin is very popular but she would like Ibuki to be added. Cody is also mentioned as a possibility. [Authors note ~ This particular information made me EXTREMELY happy. For those of you who know me, you know why. for those of you who don't, it just so happens that i am an EXTREMELY AVID ibuki supporter and fan. you can do the math and can see how happy i am that her name is even mentioned]~~~~~[I also forgot to mention that Cody is also a possible addition to the cast]

* Bonus stages (smashing the car, etc.) will probably be added in the next iteration.

* Capcom says that in Trial Mode they wanted to add a function where it would demonstrate how the combo should be done. They will add that next time. [AN ~ i think this should help a few noobs out. now if only someone could teach them about strategy...]

* There are no plans for stage background music DLC right now.

* Capcom is paying attention to all the suggestions/requests posted in the blog and the internet in general.

* There is no way to do blind character picks in the PC version. Shiowaza says consoles don’t have this either. Championship mode has this right?

Rumor has it that the game will be officially revealed to players at this year’s Super Battle Opera (Tougeki), which takes place from August 14 – 16.

There you have it!!! I will personally keep my eyes peeled for any updates and will bring you whatever i find! If anybody knows anything don’t be afraid to share!

This is Krismas heading out. Looking into BB:X so expect another post soon!

There were two new players that showed up. Yay. I am sorry that this is a bit late, I have been busy with getting this site to look prettier. We’re closing in on the winter months so the ranbats might become monthlies(to accommodate other titles, Tekken 6,Blazblue, cough i mean Kof xII). I’ll still keep the CLP system and use that to seed future tournaments.

Anyway, Mariodood showed up late. It cost him because he played Aulord in the finals AND LOST! As I type this, I am being stalked by a giant bug so I’ll just go ahead and post the video plus the top 3:

1)Aulord
2)mariodood
3)Capmaster.

vids:

Aulord vs Capmaster.

Mariodood vs Capmaster

Aulord vs Mariodood

Mariodood
Aulord(see i spelt your name right)
Chemist 4 Hire

Chemist 4 Hire had improved greatly from the last time I’ve seen him play. That leaves me to think he undertook secret training techniques from this man.

The Akuma player Andy came out. He’s pretty good so it was great to see Akuma come out and fuck shit up.
How’d I do? I won my first match, then lost to Aulord (Curse you) and then Adnan(with his ‘Sim). I deserved to lose, I took a break from practicing hard to learning Blazblue. I have to find some balance. I have to be at least some what competent when i go out to Japan next month. Evo is going down, I sent scrubdre lamebert or Andre as some like to call him to vegas to play. I think it would be a good chance for him considering all the drama that went down with the CF tourney. Sorry this is a bit slow. Good luck to all who are going to EVO remember what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Anyway here are the vids.
Mariodood vs Aulord

Andy vs Chemist4hire

Andy vs Aulord

Andy vs Capmaster

Here’s a rundown of top 8 spots.
1 Marn (Rufus,random select. Yes he went question mark)
2 Eric (Gief ,Sagat)
3 Arturo (Seth,Sim)
4Javitz (Boxer)
5 Mario Dood( Dictator) Rico (Abel)
6 Danny C (Boxer) Jeron( ?*)
7 Chrids*(Ryu),Romes(?)
8 Phire (Cam,Viper) ,John(?) , Fernando (?)

(*I probably butchered his name. He preregistered but I didn’t have the list. ? means didn’t catch who they were using.)

Arturo got third? Eric won second?! Wait? What Phire actually did something other than just scrub out!?!! This is madness!! Madness? This is CL !!! *boot* Maybe I’ll start playing more and for serious.

All memes aside this tournament was good in terms of competition as usual. We also got it done fast on 3 set ups .Finished around 6.It’s always a pleasure having you guys hang out with us.

I’m also thinking of starting semi-pro/pro-am circuit for this so some players can hopefully raise their games to that level . Hit me with some feedback if you’re interested.

And doesn’t it look like Viper’s farting fire?

For some reason Correll decided to include piece of what i previously edited onto the next project, yes I suck but you have to admit i got this done fairly quickly. Also there’s a lot of talking in the background by ,UGH, me sometimes and other people hope it isn’t too unbearable. I’ll upload the brackets after I get them scanned in.

Without anymore delay here are the match vids:

Arturo Vs Mariodood

Eric Vs Marn(finals)

Arturo vs Marn

Arturo vs Javitz

Arturo vs Chrids(?)

BACKTHROW! ULTRA!

I don’t really play SF4 anymore, or not like I did when it first came out. More or less just lost interest in it for now, and play it maybe a few minutes a day, if even at all. I think until Dee Jay is released, I’m just going to not really care to play like I used to. I’ve had people on my friends list trying to play me for two weeks and I either just don’t have the desire to play it, or am coincidentally on the way outdoors (like today, poor Artagoth….great Gen player if you’re on XBL) Before I hang it up for the time being, I want to do something involving the game, a camcorder and playing a certain someone in said game. I somewhat made a challenge before….but I’m going to make it official and call you out….

PHIRE! I officially challenge you to a first to five series! (***EDITED 5/21/09 . I meant best of five and we talked about it today ***) 2/3 rounds, in person, at Play N Trade (or somewhere in general). Loser….uh….loser buys me a drink of something, or something. I dunno, just for the fun of it really, but any friendly wagers that don’t involved me shaving my head would be fine with me. I’ve wanted to do a thing like this for a bit, and may as well now before I get totally rusty. We’re both pretty much a lifetime 50/50 against each other, with times you own me, and vice versa, so it’d be a pretty tight series.

Do you accept the challenge, Mr. Chocolate Phire?! Gouken is begging you for some Ultra parrying love!

This image serves two purposes -- 1. We both play Chun Li in some manner (though I'll easily admit I play her better than she did). 2. Jesus H is she hot.

Well played chaps, well played. Dreams of replays and tourney lobbies will continue to haunt my sleep and make me restless.

I don’t like your latency based input lag anyway. So there.

So with my dreams dashed, I almost reluctantly went into the training mode with my (unfortunate?) main Abel and worked on some moves. Jump-ins, cross ups, a bit of mixup, still trying to get my brain around the EX cancelling with required-forward-dash that WON’T make me eat a DP or throw…my brain knows what it wants to do, my hands kind of get the message, but the controller I have in my hands doesn’t quite get the message. Surprisingly enough, it’s not a 360 controller that’s the source of my problems. Nor…is it a Dualshock 3. With both immediate assumptions out of the way, we have no choice to settle upon…my arcade stick.

..and there goes my street cred. Sorry guys.

Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against them. As long as I’ve been playing….well, anything, I’ve always run into an arcade stick of sorts, it’s inescapable. Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter (and its thousands of iterations), KOF, Metal Slug, the VS series, each and every one of them were indulged in my youth through the grasp of an arcade stick, and times were good. Even now, I’ll prefer a stick over a pad for shooters and the like, it’s just in me. For fighters though, something is wrong.

I know exactly where it started too. See, I may have been playing all these fighting games with sticks when I was younger, but I wasn’t exactly very GOOD at them. Back then, a dragon punch in my brain was mashing QCF until it popped up, hadoukens were standard issue, and horrifically telegraphed charge characters were the order of the day. Then my friend told me something during a match of Capcom vs SNK on the Dreamcast that changed my entire perception, and it was that a DP was actually “tapping forward, then doing a hadouken motion”. Suddenly my world was flipped. It was a literal Z on the control pad.

I could do 623s on command, without accidentally pulling out supers. Suddenly, I started experimenting with ALL 6 buttons on the control pad, instead of just the fierce buttons.

Problem was, I wasn’t doing it in an arcade, it was being done on a DC pad. And as I became more and more proficient at home, I could no longer use a stick, and I felt it. Motions like QCF+HCB that came so easy to me on a directional turned into a jumping mess when quarters were on the line. As the games became more complex, and I started delving into GGX2 and SF3 at length, I stopped caring. Arcades were slipping away anyhow.

…and here I am now. Cursing the man who invented it as my attempt at a command throw turns into a standing medium, and failed mixups lead to an extended loss of health.

I’m trying my hardest to use one of these things to no avail, and I find myself asking the real questions. Is this really worth it? What are the advantages, besides all the buttons on face? Years of playing on pads has me able to do throws, focus, taunts, even all three buttons for a teleport or ultra (WITHOUT the use of a Punch/Kick x3 button) with ease. Am I really at a huge disadvantage, and is this worth learning again? I genuinely feel like I’m behind the curve, and at the same time, I feel like I’m only drilling away at this control style because all of the people much better than I are using it.

How does everyone reading feel? Pad or Stick?

I have a feeling I already know the answer..have at me!

-E.P.

How’d yours truly do? Not so good, I need a few more hours in the lab. How’d Jago do ?He placed 3rd, go figure.

This is going to be a tough post because i’ll constantly be editing this post with matches. To hold you over till I’m done you can check out these two + the top

Also add us to myspace / facebook.

Who loves ya baby?

-phire <3

So this tourney was def last minute and with such hardcore fans of sf4, we had 47 people in such a short notice. I am very happy to see NYC grow and I hope everyone comes out to support more of the Play N Trade tourney. Thank you to Joe for letting us use his venue!!!

Street Fighter 4 (Singles)
1st – Arturo (SIM)
2nd – Rahsaan (Sim, C.Viper)
3rd – Andre (Dictator)
4th – Liston (Sagat)
5th – OJ(Fuerte) NerdJosh(Sagat)
7th – Lincoln (Sagat) Erik (Sagat, Gief)
9th – KDZ (Rufus) Javits (Boxer, Cammy) Tinshi (Honda, Blanka) Mariodood (Dictator)

Come out to the next one everyone, this was a crazy tourney!!!!

http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=182619

Remember everyone,Chocolate + Lemon = Good tourneys

-Jwong

Mike G vs Juno in losers.

Chaz vs erik

chaz vs erik 2

carlos vs rahsaan

greg vs jonathan D

greg vs static

greg vs jd

chaz vs arturo

chaz vs arturo 2

liston vs rahsaan

liston vs rahsaan2

liston vs rahsaan3

liston vs oj

liston vs oj2

loser finals. liston vs andre semis.

losers’ final- rahsaan vs andre

andre vs rahsaan2

Finals

Round 1 Prize = Golden SF4 Headband + Red headband
Round 2 Prize = Street Fighter 4 FIGHT PAD + Green headband
Round 3 Prize = Street Fighter 4 Tournament Edition Stick + Brown headband

Soo I had no problem qualifying each round.  I had to play on the sad xbox 360 pad. That kinda sucks, but I been practicing on pad like alot.  Now I am happy that I made it to round 4 where I can officially fight for the Nation’s best in the best game ever created since slice bread, Street Fighter 4.  The finals consist of 16 players from different regions.  The Final prize is the Street Fighter Arcade Cabinet which is valued up to $15,000. And also if you are the 16 finalists, you get an seed at the Evolution Tournament held in July in Las Vegas. OMG!!!! At least the finals we are able to use actual joysticks, which is a plus.

Now the winner of this tournament will then represent the US in the world tournament. The world tournament will consist of 4 players.  One from the US, Iyo who is the Japanese Champion, Poonkyo who is the Korean Champion and the Euro Champion has not been announced.  I hope I am the one to represent the Land of the Free. (That was corny.)

Wish me luck everyone!!!!

For more information, check out www.shoryuken.com