Ok, so I have had just enough hours in between work and sleep to play some games (which is what I wanted to do for a while), but just enough to taste the tip of the tongue. I managed to play the demo for Shank 2, and Dragon's Dogma. Dragon's Dogma might be the first game of its kind that I get into. That demo was fun enough, and it looks interesting to dive into the storyline. Maximilian has already put some vids on youtube about it, but I want to hold fff on watching it, since I dont want to spoil anything I might like to discover on my own. But Dragon's Dogma is still a while away, so I can give it real thought at a later date. Fighting games are what I really did with this bit of time.
Mainly, SSFIV:AE, and SFXT. To give a brief look on how long its been since I really spent some time and played, I just recently became a B in online ranking with SSFIV. Finally!!! I have been a C/C+ for what seems like forever. I use Chun-Li, and if you don't know...there aren't a lot of Chun players out there. I can't blame them really. Her tactics for winning really depend on how much the opponent has played against her. She isn't as well rounded as Ryu or Ken, and lacks proper anti-air tactics. She relies alot on Focus movements, and her awesome pokes. Frankly, you have to have good spacing to play as Chun, and try and set people up to fall for your Hazanshu overheads.
I also played a bit of SF x T. I gave the game some crap before about the comman input, and I finally understand what's going on. The reason why I couldn't chain things like crouchLP, standingMP, (H) Hyakuretsukyaku (HCF+HK) conventionally, is because they arent supposed to chain conventionally. SF x T has really big value on frame timing. They make sure to tease you with the custom combo of light, medium, hard but that's all you get. Everything else is on very precise buttom pressing on certain frames of the attack to chain the next. This is how two mediums, or juggles are linked. The system is similar to SSFIV, but a bit more in depth if you ask me. In fact, it is more like a subtle blend between standard Street Fighter engines, and crossover engines. SF engines usually dont allow for much juggling. Only certain characters have precise moves that leave the opponent either in an open falling state (Ryu/Seth/Gouken/Juri's jumping MP, Shun/Rufus' air Target Combos, Bison's double jumping MP's), or whose moves are intended to juggle on top of the person just for show (Chun/Seth's Triple air step). SF x T has more options with letting every character have some kind of juggle effect, although the timing is VERY sensitive. Capcom crossover games allow for different yet more flexible juggling prowess, yet still limited. Tekken is the real game that is all about juggles, and this is why I assume every character in SF x T can do it.
In Tekken...any Tekken, you need to have the ability to hit a person into some kind of stun state, whether is be a counter hit or not. This is where launchers come in as the main force. Whomever has the best follow-up after the launcher is usually the one who grasps victory. Also, with Tekken, if you can read the opponents "get up", whether they roll backwards or forwards, you can punish them even still after the juggle, and the hit will be full damage since they are on the ground as opposed to scaled damage when juggling.
I don't work for Capcom, nor Namco, but I can figure mixing the two engines is tricky. SF x T does allow for punishment if you predict the ukemi. It also allows for big damaging hyper combos, as opposed to one-hitter-quitter unblockables. I think they skimped on the dual-attack/scrambler mode, but I'm sure that aspect is there more to appease the fans that have been dying for this game. Pandora mode is not something I have really appreciated, and I think the vast majorit of players feel the same way. As I watch more and more ranked matches, I see less and less scramble mode, and have yet to see a Pandora activation.
Anyway, I gave this game some crap before, and knowing that I havent really gone in depth with it, I knew the game deserved more from me. This is why I dug into it again. But now that I found out how all this works, it has become apparent to me that if I want to make a damn difference, I need a stick. I never used a stick, and everyone I played that did gave me noobish eyes. I used to take pride in being controller only, but this would slow me down in arcades since my heavy hands would overdo commands, making me miss moves and drop combos all the time. I would lose to people I know I can beat, but all I can say is "I need a controller" and subsequently get laughed at. If I can find a cheap one (and maybe more hours in the day), I will consider it. With the stick, I know my timing will be better, as well as my left thumb not getting to numb after practicing what little juggles I know over and over again.
The game is a good game. A VERY good game, and its really made (in my opinion) for the fighter's fighter. The elements of linking through precise framing, juggling, ukemi predictions, and launch tagging are all very welcomed by me. Also, with the addition of practicing online, and having team fights is another great way to enjoy the game. I am slightly disappointed that there is no 1 vs 1, but they made this game for people like me in the first place, so, I guess you cant have your cake and eat it too. I do however, like the moves that they picked for Tekken characters. They seem to pick what I always thought were staple and essential moves that make the character who they are, and make them into QC, HC, dragon punch command moves, and they chose wisely. They also make very good use of the 3 level meter, in order to not abuse things like hyper combos, resets, etc.
As for bad? Well, I'm sure Capcom got ALOT of sh*t about the bad things about this game, but for simple me? I will say the Pandora thing, glitches, and time.
Time is a big issue. The fact that doing hypers/Pandora/scramble, etc does nothing to the clock is pretty new to me. Some hypers take virtually no time from beginning to end, like Ryu, and some take up a good chunk on the clock, like Marduk. I think the idea they were going for is to have this heavily affect your character selection. Thing is, there are times when both characters do nothing but walk back and forth for several seconds not hitting each other. It's not from lack of fighting spirit, but because the distance between you has gapped, and both want to be tactical for theit next approach. That isnt happening in SF x T You would think to just not play with time. That doesn't work to well, either, because time does give you a small sense of urgency to finish the fight, and that kind of tension is what makes fights worth fighting. The clock is pretty fast as is (almost real time), and since it doesnt stop for anything less than a pause or KO, you really have pull out your tricks from the start. No time to fish out what the guy plays like...just beat him the only way you think you know how. If you ask me, Capcom got it right with mostly all of their other fighters in the past. I always assumed the clock was a parameter they never needed to dive into. In this aspect, Capcom committed one of my biggest pet peeves, by fixing what isn't broken.
Glitches WILL be found in any game...any game, so I don't think the prduction team at Capcom are sumbags for the glitches people found. What I will say, is the glitches that were found are...pretty bad for a fighting game. Kazuya's infinite, Jin's axe-kick spin glitch, Kuro's MP infinite, and MegaMan's flying glitch are big ones right off the bat. The infinite dont bother me personally too much, but for high level players, I'm sure that makes them tear their heair out. Jin's glitch is bad to where suspending the opponent in the air is not only leaving space for a infinite, if left alone, there is nothing you can do about it. We already know the clock is bad news, so be spinning on the air for ten seconds of it is even worse. While you're in the air, Jin and sit there and troll on you several times before he axe-kicks you again to start it over. Not cool, bro. MegaMan's is a problem since it changes the mechanics of the game. Once you go up, that's the end of the match. Whatever health you are at stays, and even when the clock runs out, the match does not end until BOTH parties are in a neutral state...which wont happen when MegaMan is somewhere in the Stratosphere.
Pandora. Ah, Pandora. To make a long story short, the risk is too great. you get 8 seconds of it. Sure, you're hyper strong, but if the combo you di is blocked, its over. Pandora's biggest payoff, is that the hyper combos you do in this state is mega powerful, but if you dont kill with it, once the 8 seconds are up, you lose. Kinda bullsh*t is that? I would appreciate it more if you were given a sliver of life, no meter, and decreased stats or something. Even Blazblue has reprocutions for using the barrier burst. Pandora's reprocutions are ultimate. In that sense, its a kamikaze (which I'm sure is the point) for no reason. becoming a super-duper man is awesome...until the guy blocks everything, or runs away from you.
I'm going to spend a bit more time learning the game better. I think this game might actually get me to play as Vega for the first time, so kudos there. Also, I'm waiting for the new characters to be realeased. I can;t wait to play as Bryan. Dude was always my favorite.
With other news, the Masterpiece comparisons are still coming. It's just that I like to take the pics all in one fell swoop, and I dont have the ample hours in one setting to devote to it. After that, I'm probably gonna take a stab at that sexy Armor Plus Sage of the Halo I received, and maybe that Dragon Quest Legendary Loto/Roto Armor thing too. Also, I have a Coleection DX account, so If you want to see updated pics of the collection that I havent posted here, check it out @ http://www.collectiondx.com/gallery/v/Collections/Therion+Xion/
I might post some of my reviews there as well...still not sure about it. Stay tuned for more goodness!
Mainly, SSFIV:AE, and SFXT. To give a brief look on how long its been since I really spent some time and played, I just recently became a B in online ranking with SSFIV. Finally!!! I have been a C/C+ for what seems like forever. I use Chun-Li, and if you don't know...there aren't a lot of Chun players out there. I can't blame them really. Her tactics for winning really depend on how much the opponent has played against her. She isn't as well rounded as Ryu or Ken, and lacks proper anti-air tactics. She relies alot on Focus movements, and her awesome pokes. Frankly, you have to have good spacing to play as Chun, and try and set people up to fall for your Hazanshu overheads.
I also played a bit of SF x T. I gave the game some crap before about the comman input, and I finally understand what's going on. The reason why I couldn't chain things like crouchLP, standingMP, (H) Hyakuretsukyaku (HCF+HK) conventionally, is because they arent supposed to chain conventionally. SF x T has really big value on frame timing. They make sure to tease you with the custom combo of light, medium, hard but that's all you get. Everything else is on very precise buttom pressing on certain frames of the attack to chain the next. This is how two mediums, or juggles are linked. The system is similar to SSFIV, but a bit more in depth if you ask me. In fact, it is more like a subtle blend between standard Street Fighter engines, and crossover engines. SF engines usually dont allow for much juggling. Only certain characters have precise moves that leave the opponent either in an open falling state (Ryu/Seth/Gouken/Juri's jumping MP, Shun/Rufus' air Target Combos, Bison's double jumping MP's), or whose moves are intended to juggle on top of the person just for show (Chun/Seth's Triple air step). SF x T has more options with letting every character have some kind of juggle effect, although the timing is VERY sensitive. Capcom crossover games allow for different yet more flexible juggling prowess, yet still limited. Tekken is the real game that is all about juggles, and this is why I assume every character in SF x T can do it.
In Tekken...any Tekken, you need to have the ability to hit a person into some kind of stun state, whether is be a counter hit or not. This is where launchers come in as the main force. Whomever has the best follow-up after the launcher is usually the one who grasps victory. Also, with Tekken, if you can read the opponents "get up", whether they roll backwards or forwards, you can punish them even still after the juggle, and the hit will be full damage since they are on the ground as opposed to scaled damage when juggling.
I don't work for Capcom, nor Namco, but I can figure mixing the two engines is tricky. SF x T does allow for punishment if you predict the ukemi. It also allows for big damaging hyper combos, as opposed to one-hitter-quitter unblockables. I think they skimped on the dual-attack/scrambler mode, but I'm sure that aspect is there more to appease the fans that have been dying for this game. Pandora mode is not something I have really appreciated, and I think the vast majorit of players feel the same way. As I watch more and more ranked matches, I see less and less scramble mode, and have yet to see a Pandora activation.
Anyway, I gave this game some crap before, and knowing that I havent really gone in depth with it, I knew the game deserved more from me. This is why I dug into it again. But now that I found out how all this works, it has become apparent to me that if I want to make a damn difference, I need a stick. I never used a stick, and everyone I played that did gave me noobish eyes. I used to take pride in being controller only, but this would slow me down in arcades since my heavy hands would overdo commands, making me miss moves and drop combos all the time. I would lose to people I know I can beat, but all I can say is "I need a controller" and subsequently get laughed at. If I can find a cheap one (and maybe more hours in the day), I will consider it. With the stick, I know my timing will be better, as well as my left thumb not getting to numb after practicing what little juggles I know over and over again.
The game is a good game. A VERY good game, and its really made (in my opinion) for the fighter's fighter. The elements of linking through precise framing, juggling, ukemi predictions, and launch tagging are all very welcomed by me. Also, with the addition of practicing online, and having team fights is another great way to enjoy the game. I am slightly disappointed that there is no 1 vs 1, but they made this game for people like me in the first place, so, I guess you cant have your cake and eat it too. I do however, like the moves that they picked for Tekken characters. They seem to pick what I always thought were staple and essential moves that make the character who they are, and make them into QC, HC, dragon punch command moves, and they chose wisely. They also make very good use of the 3 level meter, in order to not abuse things like hyper combos, resets, etc.
As for bad? Well, I'm sure Capcom got ALOT of sh*t about the bad things about this game, but for simple me? I will say the Pandora thing, glitches, and time.
Time is a big issue. The fact that doing hypers/Pandora/scramble, etc does nothing to the clock is pretty new to me. Some hypers take virtually no time from beginning to end, like Ryu, and some take up a good chunk on the clock, like Marduk. I think the idea they were going for is to have this heavily affect your character selection. Thing is, there are times when both characters do nothing but walk back and forth for several seconds not hitting each other. It's not from lack of fighting spirit, but because the distance between you has gapped, and both want to be tactical for theit next approach. That isnt happening in SF x T You would think to just not play with time. That doesn't work to well, either, because time does give you a small sense of urgency to finish the fight, and that kind of tension is what makes fights worth fighting. The clock is pretty fast as is (almost real time), and since it doesnt stop for anything less than a pause or KO, you really have pull out your tricks from the start. No time to fish out what the guy plays like...just beat him the only way you think you know how. If you ask me, Capcom got it right with mostly all of their other fighters in the past. I always assumed the clock was a parameter they never needed to dive into. In this aspect, Capcom committed one of my biggest pet peeves, by fixing what isn't broken.
Glitches WILL be found in any game...any game, so I don't think the prduction team at Capcom are sumbags for the glitches people found. What I will say, is the glitches that were found are...pretty bad for a fighting game. Kazuya's infinite, Jin's axe-kick spin glitch, Kuro's MP infinite, and MegaMan's flying glitch are big ones right off the bat. The infinite dont bother me personally too much, but for high level players, I'm sure that makes them tear their heair out. Jin's glitch is bad to where suspending the opponent in the air is not only leaving space for a infinite, if left alone, there is nothing you can do about it. We already know the clock is bad news, so be spinning on the air for ten seconds of it is even worse. While you're in the air, Jin and sit there and troll on you several times before he axe-kicks you again to start it over. Not cool, bro. MegaMan's is a problem since it changes the mechanics of the game. Once you go up, that's the end of the match. Whatever health you are at stays, and even when the clock runs out, the match does not end until BOTH parties are in a neutral state...which wont happen when MegaMan is somewhere in the Stratosphere.
Pandora. Ah, Pandora. To make a long story short, the risk is too great. you get 8 seconds of it. Sure, you're hyper strong, but if the combo you di is blocked, its over. Pandora's biggest payoff, is that the hyper combos you do in this state is mega powerful, but if you dont kill with it, once the 8 seconds are up, you lose. Kinda bullsh*t is that? I would appreciate it more if you were given a sliver of life, no meter, and decreased stats or something. Even Blazblue has reprocutions for using the barrier burst. Pandora's reprocutions are ultimate. In that sense, its a kamikaze (which I'm sure is the point) for no reason. becoming a super-duper man is awesome...until the guy blocks everything, or runs away from you.
I'm going to spend a bit more time learning the game better. I think this game might actually get me to play as Vega for the first time, so kudos there. Also, I'm waiting for the new characters to be realeased. I can;t wait to play as Bryan. Dude was always my favorite.
With other news, the Masterpiece comparisons are still coming. It's just that I like to take the pics all in one fell swoop, and I dont have the ample hours in one setting to devote to it. After that, I'm probably gonna take a stab at that sexy Armor Plus Sage of the Halo I received, and maybe that Dragon Quest Legendary Loto/Roto Armor thing too. Also, I have a Coleection DX account, so If you want to see updated pics of the collection that I havent posted here, check it out @ http://www.collectiondx.com/gallery/v/Collections/Therion+Xion/
I might post some of my reviews there as well...still not sure about it. Stay tuned for more goodness!
Happy Hobbying, everyone!
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