The Video Game Thread

[Jocephus]

Picked up the new Mortal Kombat this afternoon.

Fun, fun stuff. The new fatalities are absolutely devious. And some of the x-ray close-up supermoves are hard to watch.

yeah, i've been watching a lot of footage since i've been sick. it does look awesome. don't know if i'll get it though.

[Jocephus]

somehow this is related to MK9

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkLwMvbOW0Y&][/youtube]

[JackofDiamonds]

Mass Effect 2, get out of my braiiinnn.

[Maclowery]

Gotta start a piggybank for upgrading my rig next fall. Battlefield 3 and ElderScrolls 5 are gonna keep me warm all winter, and both look like theyll want a much better video card and probably faster RAM then i have now.

[Jocephus]

so i guess someone(s) hacked into the playstation network and has it completely shut down

[Cronos]

I almost want to take back my endorsement of the new Mortal Kombat.

The final boss is so incredibly cheap, even on an easy difficulty level, that it significantly hampers the entire experience. It literally took me almost 50 times to beat him the first time in story mode, and I only managed to beat him when I was just as cheap as he was.

Significant flaw with the game.

[InvincibleCakeEater]

meh, it's 90% button mashing anyways

[Cronos]

If it were that easy, it would be a lot more enjoyable.

Trust me: it's not.

[Maclowery]

I ain't dissing you, Cronos, at all. But why do people still play 2-d 1v1 fighting games? I mean, the genre was perfected in 1999 or so.

I suppose I am biased for having never liked the genre after age 14 or so. I mean no slight on the genre in general; I know how complicated the player-vs-player competition can get.

To me, this genre is incredibly dinosaur'ed for two reasons:

-The jump from 2D sprite-based animation to fully-realized 3D environments
-The increasing complexity of controller options, from 8-direction D-pads with 6 buttons, to dual-analog sticks with 4 buttons, the D-pad, and 4 pressure-sensitive finger keys

In my opinion, it's exactly like the evolution of adventure/action gaming. In the early 1990s, we had 2D side scrolling shooters. It was awesome. Now, we've figured out how to make supremely realistic looking first-person shooters (look at the gameplay of Battlefield 3, it's just absurd).

Where is the evolution of 1v1 fighting games? Why don't we see some stunningly gorgeous game, with fully adaptable body models reacting with realistic physics, controlled by our very, very ductile controller schemes?

1am rant: Fighter games are 15 years behind, and haven't figured out how to get past it.

1am admission: I still like isometric sprite based games more than 3D new stuff. Fallout 1 >>> Fallout 3. Link to the Past >>> Oblivion. Madden 94 >>> Madden 2012580.

[Cronos]

I ain't dissing you, Cronos, at all. But why do people still play 2-d 1v1 fighting games? I mean, the genre was perfected in 1999 or so.

I suppose I am biased for having never liked the genre after age 14 or so. I mean no slight on the genre in general; I know how complicated the player-vs-player competition can get.

The newest Mortal Kombat (and Street Fighter IV), IMO, is doing a great thing by going back to its roots. 3D made the whole thing too complicated, really. Soul Blade/Caliber did a pretty good job of making the 3D Fighter game work, but when it came to 2D PVP fighting game, Mortal Kombat did it best. Sometimes simpler is better.

Mortal Kombat pretty much invented/perfected the 2D fighting game experience. Besides, they broke the mold in introducing a brand of ultra-violence that literally created the need for the ESRB game-rating system. It's a pillar of gaming history, and this new version of the classic performs very, very well.

As far as why this game exists? I dunno. I'm sure people hate fighting games, just as much as I hate sports games, just as much as someone else hates role-playing games. Diff'rent strokes.