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Tag: Fighting Games

  • Mortal Kombat X Release Date Announced

    Mortal Kombat X Release Date Announced

    Warner Bros. has officially announced a release date for Mortal Kombat X. The game will be released worldwide on April 14, 2015 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC.

    Additionally, Warner Bros. announced that classic four-armed Mortal Kombat character Goro will be a part of Mortal Kombat X. However, the publisher is holding Goro back as a retail pre-order exclusive character. This means the character will initially be available only for those players who pre-order the game.

    The new announcement also hinted at how the online component of Mortal Kombat X will function. Warner Bros. stated that the game will offer “a new fully-connected experience that launches players into a persistent online contest where every fight matters in a global battle for supremacy.”

    NeatherRealm Studios, the developer of Mortal Kombat X, first showed off the game at this year’s E3. The early preview showed that Mortal Kombat X will have a look and fighting style similar to last year’s Injustice: Gods Among Us, a DC Comics-branded fighting game that was also developed by NeatherRealm.

    At this year’s Gamescom conference NeatherRealm released further details about what players can expect in Mortal Kombat X.

    The game will, of course, feature classic Mortal Kombat characters such as Scorpion, Raiden, Kano, and others. In addition, new characters coming to Mortal Kombat X include Cassie Cage (daughter of Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage), Kotal Kahn, Ferra-Torr, and D’Vorah.

    Each of the game’s fighters will have three different fighting style variations for players to chose from. These variations include different special moves and abilities.

    Mortal Combat X‘s story will take place 25 years after the events seen in 2011’s Mortal Kombat reboot.

    “Mortal Kombat has always been about over-the-top, visceral fighting and with Mortal Kombat X we wanted to utilize the power of new-gen consoles to give players our most intense game yet,” said Ed Boon, creative director for NetherRealm. “The team has worked hard to make sure Mortal Kombat X delivers everything fans expect along with new characters, new game modes, and an all new graphics engine.”

  • PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Still Kicking, Gets Balance Update

    Remember PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale? The Smash Bros.-like brawler featuring Sony’s stable of characters was certainly piqued our interest when it was first unveiled, but interest in the title has since pretty much fizzled out. Well, Sony can’t have that, and has been working on a title update that will hopefully bring players back to the game.

    Sony announced today that a balance update for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is available to download. The patch – called the “Ultimate Balance Update” – promises over 100 balance adjustments to the game. These adjustments affect the overall game as well as individual characters. For example, throw attempts have been standardized to “9 startup frames, 3 active frames, and 18 recovery frames.” The air dodge has also been standardized to “27 invincible frames followed by 9 vulnerable frames (previously 29 invincible plus 7 vulnerable).”

    Alongside all the fixes, the update unlocks the third costume for Zeus and Isaac. Both DLC characters were added in early 2013 and were both promised a third costume that never came. Well, it’s finally here and you can get them with the latest update.

    If all of this still isn’t enough for you, Sony also announced that PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale will be making a return to tournament play this Spring:

    Finally, we’ve partnered with fighting game community powerhouse Level-Up Series for a Spring Tournament at The Runback. This is a 10-week, offline tournament at Super Arcade here in Southern California, and will be live streamed weekly on twitch.tv/leveluplive on the road to the finale. The season grand prize is a PS4, and awesome PlayStation All-Stars community notoriety.

    If you want to see some of the updates in action, here’s a trailer:

    You can grab the ultimate balance update today. Just pop in your copy of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and the download should start automatically.

    Image via PlayStation/YouTube

  • Ultra Street Fighter IV Is Like The Wayback Machine Of Fighting Games

    Fighting games are constantly evolving in the name of balance. One character might be too powerful while others aren’t powerful enough. It’s inevitable then that some players will be unhappy when powerful characters get nerfed in later versions. Capcom is finally giving those players an outlet in the latest incarnation of Street Fighter IV.

    Capcom unveiled this weekend that Ultra Street Fighter IV will have a new option called Edition Select. It will allow players to play as characters from any of the previous incarnations of Street Fighter IV. Want to play as Ryu from Vanilla Street Fighter IV versus Yun from Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition? You can totally do that.

    So, how will this affect tournaments and online play? It won’t. According to the Japanese Capcom blog, Edition Select will not be available for use in online play which is a pretty good indicator that it also won’t be available in official tournament play. On the other hand, casual tournaments will probably welcome the use of past versions of characters.

    Ultra Street Fighter IV will be available later this year for Xbox 360 and PS3. There have been teases that a PS4 version is also in the works, but that’s still just a rumor for now.

    Image via Street Fighter

  • ‘Fighter Within’ Gets a Punchy Launch Trailer

    With only days until the launch of the Xbox One, gamers are now getting their final looks at launch titles for the system. Microsoft earlier today released a brutal launch trailer for Ryse: Son of Rome, and Capcom’s launch trailer for Dead Rising 3 is also heavy on the blood. Now, Ubisoft is previewing its Kinect fighting game, Fighter Within.

    Though Microsoft has bundled its new Kinect in with every new Xbox One console, the company hasn’t gone out of its way to promote Kinect gaming experiences. Microsoft’s marketing has primarily portrayed the peripheral as a voice command box and Microsoft Studios’ own Kinect Sports Rivals won’t launch in full until sometime next year (though a trial will be available). So, it has fallen to Ubisoft to promote the Kinect with Just Dance and Fighter Within.

    Fighter Within‘s launch trailer reveals nearly the same thing Ubisoft has been showing off since the game was announced at Gamescom. Two players will seemingly be able to fight each other via Kinect by mimicking fighting moves with their bodies. Exactly how well this works has yet to be revealed, but one thing is certainly clear: playing Fighter Within while drunk is could easily to lead to real-life fights.

  • Ultra Street Fighter IV Announced, New Characters Revealed

    The Evolution Championship Series was held this weekend, and in addition to some of the largest fighting game tournaments in the world, the event was host to big news for the fighting game genre. One of the biggest announcements of the weekend was that Super Street Fighter IV is getting another big content update.

    Capcom announced this weekend that the update will re-brand the game from Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition to Ultra Street Fighter IV. The update includes five new characters, several new battlegrounds, and “completely” rebalanced gameplay based on fan feedback from the Street Fighter Facebook page. The new characters were, presumably, also influenced by a Capcom poll conducted in February.

    Three of the new characters are easily recognizable from previous Street Fighter titles as well as from Final Fight: Rolento, Poison, and Hugo. Street Fighter III character Elena will also be making her debut in the Ultra update. A fifth “mystery” character that Capcom isn’t yet naming will be included as well.

    The Ultra update will be available in “early 2014” as a digital update for Arcade Edition for $15, or as a stand-alone disc-based version for $40, which includes all current costume DLC.

    Final Fight characters, Elena join Street Fighter IV

  • E3 2013: Killer Instinct is Free-to-Play, Digital-Only

    Microsoft promised games for its big E3 conference, and actually delivered. The presentation was packed with games, a few of them exclusive to Xbox One.

    One of the exclusives shown was a reboot of Rare’s Killer Instinct, the Mortal Kombat-like fighting game Nintendo brought to the Super Nintendo in the mid-90s. While the game only got a short trailer and awkward demonstration during Microsoft’s presentation, it was enough to excite fans who spent precious hours of their childhood memorizing Fulgore’s ultra.

    Now, though, details about the new Killer Instinct are coming out, and it appears the game will not be a full-fledged title. According to an IGN report on the game, Microsoft will be launching the title as a free-to-play digital game. While Killer Instinct will be available at the launch of the Xbox One, only one character – Jago – will come with the download. All other characters will have to be paid for. The price for fighters has not yet been released.

  • Bluthfighter Is The Only Game I Need This Year

    We’re living in age of derivative works when it comes to video games. For every unique experience, you get twenty more first-person shooters or infinite runners. Fortunately, our calls for a truly original game have been answered in this proof of concept video for an Arrested Development fighting game.

    If the above looks familiar, it’s from the same animation studio that brought you the similarly amazing LEGO Breaking Bad The Video Game parody. Both would be welcome additions to E3 this year.

    [h/t: Kotaku]

  • PlayStation All-Stars Zeus, Isaac Trailers Released

    While most of the fighting game news for the past few weeks has involved epic battles between D.C. Comics superheroes in the Injustice: Gods Among Us tournament, Sony would like to remind gamers that their whimsical Smash Bros. clone is only a few months old.

    Sony this week released new videos showcasing the new characters coming to PlayStation All-Stars BAttle Royale. Dead Space protagonist Isaac Clarke will be joining the brawler with his RIG suit and plasma cutter, while Zeus as depicted in the God of War series will be bringing the thunder of Olympus.

    In addition to the new fighters, Sony will be adding a new MediEvil stage that also blends elements of The Unfinished Swan. In the middle of a fight the level background may be wiped and then slowly revealed with ink splotches. Both the fighters and the new stage will be available starting March 19.

    Isaac’s video shows the engineer using his many tools, including the plasma cutter, ripper blades, and kinesis and stasis modules. His level 3 super blows other fighters out an airlock, where Isaac uses them for target practice.

    Zeus will use hard punches, lightning strikes, and teleports while fighting. His level 3 super transports fighters to Mount Olympus, where he submits them to a God of War-style boss fight.

  • Aquaman Defends the Seas in New Injustice: Gods Among Us Trailer

    If the Batman vs. Bane and Wonder Woman vs. Harley Quinn trailers haven’t already convinced you that Injustice: Gods Among Us is a title to keep an eye on, today’s reveal is sure to put the game on your “most anticipated games of April 2013” list.

    IGN today revealed a new trailer for the fighting game that debuts Aquaman as a playable character. For those who aren’t aware, Aquaman is the King of the Seven Seas and Atlantis, as well as a founding member of the Justice League. The character can breathe underwater, swim really fast, and telepathically communicate with fish. In the trailer, though, he mostly just kicks ass with his trident.

    Even if Aquaman doesn’t end up being players’ favorite character, his appearance in the game should redeem him slightly in the eyes of gamers. The Marine Marvel’s last appearance in video games was 2003’s Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis, a title widely considered to be one of the worst video games ever made.

  • Capcom is Polling Fans on Their Favorite Street Fighter Characters

    Capcom is serious about its fighting games. Not a week goes by that minor changes and tweaks aren’t made to its games to make them more (or less, in some cases) balanced. So, when the publisher asks fighter fans for their opinion, it’s not likely to be just a simple Facebook popularity poll.

    Today Capcom began polling fighting game fans on who their favorite Street Fighter characters are. The publisher claims that the results of the poll will influence games, marketing, and licensing opportunities (such as Sanrio plushies, no doubt).

    “Please be honest in your answers,” states Capcom, and the company seems to be pretty serious about getting only opinions from fighting game fans. The poll ends early if the question “Have you purchased any fighting games for consoles, dedicated gaming handhelds or PC in the last five years (2008 – present)?” is answered with a “no.” Those who have bought a fighting game recently get to go on to choose their five favorite Street Fighter characters from the 67 fighters featured throughout the series’ history.

    Future Street Fighter games will certainly feature new characters, and there may not be room for some of the less popular characters in the series. Sure, popular and classic characters such as Ryu, Chun-Li, and Akuma aren’t likely to go anywhere, but if you’re a fan of Rufus you might want to make sure your voice is heard in this poll.

  • Skullgirls Creators Found a New Development Studio, Lab Zero Games

    Though the game wasn’t a sensation, Skullgirls was a solid, well-reviewed indie fighting game that found a home on the PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Arcade. The game itself was an ode to fighting games, created by fans and professionals of the fighting game genre. It featured a unique, twisted art style and eight playable characters who were finely tuned and balanced for competitive fighting. The game even featured an in-depth tutorial that takes players through all of the intricate details of high-end video game fighting that aren’t normally taught to the average gamer.

    Now, the creators of Skullgirls have founded their own game studio, Lab Zero Games. The studio’s website so far only consists of its announcement statement, but Twitter and Facebook pages have also been created. In a statement, the studio promised to continue its work on Skullgirls and “leverage its unique design and artistic sensibilities to develop new games.”

    The studio came about after the entire Skullgirls team was laid off from their jobs at Reverge Labs. The incident has delayed work on the PC version of Skullgirls, and “indefinitely delayed” the first DLC character for the game. From the Lab Zero statement:

    To try to prevent such calamities from befalling us, our games, or our fans again, the Skullgirls team decided to form its own studio.

    Autumn Games, the publisher and owner of the Skullgirls property, is fully behind the new studio and will continue to work with us in the future on all Skullgirls-related endeavors, such as the just-released patch, more merchandise and a few other things we can’t quite announce yet…

    …Not being able to tell anyone about these rather significant developments has almost been as bad as being largely unemployed and unable to continue our work on Skullgirls. We have always strived to be as open and transparent as our business and legal obligations will allow, but we feared news of these events would discourage our fans more than our conspicuous silence would. Being able to finally fill everyone in on everything is a huge relief, and we hope you understand our reasons for keeping quiet until now.

    Lab Zero said that the team hasn’t given up and has promised to resume work on Skullgirls as soon as possible.

  • PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Boss Revealed

    After a few delays and beta tests, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is now only weeks away from its November 20 release date. The game has already had plenty of previews, including a neat live-action trailer and a bizarre European live-action trailer.

    Today, Sony announced that PlayStation All-Stars has “gone gold,” meaning that the game is finally finished, for both the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Vita.

    To mark the occasion, Sony released the opening cinematic for the game as the “Attract” trailer. It features all the characters in the game fighting each other, one after the other. It actually reminds me quite a bit of a YouTube video that did the same thing with famous videogame characters’ one-hit-kill moves. The most exciting thing about the trailer, however, is that it reveals what appears to be the game’s final boss. Spoilers after the video.

    That pointy guy at the end is Polygon Man, a PlayStation mascot from before Sony’s first console ever launched. He starred in pre-launch ads, commenting on PlayStation launch titles. His inclusion as a boss for PlayStation All-Stars is a nice nod to PlayStation hipsters who were into the PlayStation before it even launched.

  • Injustice: Gods Among Us Pits Batman Against Superman In April

    One of the big surprises out of E3 this year was WB’s DC fighter – Injustice: Gods Among Us. The fighter, which is being developed by the Mortal Kombat team at NetherRealm, pits the best DC heroes and villains against each other in a brutal fight to the death. WB and NetherRealm are attending Tokyo Game Show this week and decided to show off another trailer.

    If you recall, the last trailer we saw had Batman running over Harley Quinn in the Batmobile. It was pretty hilarious, but it also set up what to expect from the fighter. These are heroes without their powers in check. They can do whatever they want as long as they don’t rip spines out of each other. Unfortunately, DC Comics is pretty strict over how badly Batman can beat up Superman.

    Such restrictions may seem like a bad thing, but Injustice is amazingly brutal. You’d be surprised how much pain each of these heroes inflict upon each other. Just watch the trailer and try not to cringe when Batman’s neck cracks on the pavement.

    It was announced at the show that Injustice will be launching on the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U in April of next year. For now, the game is already looking pretty amazing. It will hopefully wash out the bad taste left over from Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The Joker might even get to kill somebody this time.

  • Tekken Tag Tournament 2 For Wii U is Nintendo-Inspired Madness [Video]

    It appears that Nintendo’s partnership with Namco has gotten pretty cozy indeed. Back in June, it was announced that Nintendo had handed over responsibility of its Super Smash Bros. games to Namco. While Nintendo’s fighting franchise is likely to get a Tekken-like polish for its fighting mechanics and balance, Tekken now looks to be getting a bit of Nintendo in itself.

    Though Tekken Tag Tournament 2 was known to be a Wii U title, Nintendo confirmed at its big Wii U announcement event in New York today that the game has undergone a transformation for release on the Nintendo console. As shown in the trailer below, a wide variety of mushrooms will be available to turn fighters larger, smaller, poison them, or provide other effects. Nintendo-inspired outfits are now available for fighters as well, including costumes for Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Fox, Zero-Suit Samus, Link, and Zelda.

    Namco has certainly done silly things of this type before. Soul Calibur IV was released to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with Yoda and Darth Vader as console-exclusive playable characters.

    The release date for Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition has not been announced. It has, however, been included in the list of games Nintendo announced for its large “launch window,” which means it will probably roll out before the end of March.

  • Raiden Confirmed For PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

    He’s not the thunder god you may be thinking of, but Raiden has officially joined the cast of Sony’s upcoming PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. The younger special forces agent from the Metal Gear series of games will grace the fighting game with his cybernetic armor and sword.

    The announcement came in a gameplay interview given to Gamespot by Seth Killian, the lead game designer at Sony Santa Monica, and Omar Kendall, game director for PlayStation All-Stars. In the video below they describe Raiden’s play style, moves, and some of the design concepts behind the character.

    Raiden’s character will be an up-close, combo-style fighter . His level three “super” involves stunning the other players inside cardboard boxes. The character’s look appears to be modeled after his upcoming appearance in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – a game set to debut next year, in which Raiden is the main character.

    In other PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale news, the European beta test of the game is set to begin soon. Over on the European PlayStation Blog, Gavin Russell, the Sony Computer Entertainment Europe producer for PlayStation All-Stars, announced that a limited public beta test will take place from September 11 to September 18. Those who wish to participate will need to register at the PlayStation Network Beta website. The game was recently delayed until late November to allow further polishing and beta testing.

  • PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Delayed

    SuperBot, the design studio behind PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, announced today that the game will be delayed almost a month from its original release date. In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Chan Park, president of SuperBot Entertainment, stated that the game will now be released on November 20 in North America and Latin America. From the blog post:

    We also know our fans have high expectations for this title, and to that end, we have decided to move the release date to November 20th, 2012 for North America (including Canada) and Latin America territories. This will let us spend more time polishing and tuning the game, and it will give us a chance to incorporate some of the great feedback we’re receiving from the current limited beta to ensure we are creating the best possible fighting game experience. While it is our greatest desire to put this game into the hands of our fans as soon as possible, we do not want to do so at the sake of quality. The additional time will be well worth the wait, and are excited to know that our fans will have the ultimate brawler in time for the holiday.

    Park also stated in his post that SuperBot has some “big” announcements coming at GamesCom, the gaming trade fair being held in Cologne, Germany starting later this week.

    If there is any game genre that can always use more play-testing and tweaking, it’s fighting games. Fighter fans are exacting and obsessive; if there is a way to exploit the mechanics of the game, they will find it. Also, limited beta testing on PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale recently began. It is possible that the beta has found more flaws than expected, or that the online multiplayer component of the game needs tweaking before launch.

  • Injustice: Gods Among Us Pits DC Heroes Against Each Other

    It’s less than a week now until E3. While some publishers are going to hold their cards until the big show, some are already letting loose with announcements left and right. Warner Bros. Entertainment just dropped a bombshell by announcing a DC Comics fighting game.

    Netherrealm Studios, Ed Boon’s Mortal Kombat studio, is working with DC Comics and Warner Bros. to have another go at a DC fighting game. They previously dabbled in similar waters with the Midway published Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. That game was a disappointment to a lot of fans, however, so it’s up to NetherRealm to make things right this time around. Chances are good since their Mortal Kombat reboot from last year was one of the best fighting games ever made.

    Details are slim in regards to the game’s story or mechanics at this time. All we know is that the game’s main tagline is, “What if our greatest heroes became our greatest threat?” It almost sounds like they might be going for some kind of Bizaaro universe where right is left and up is down. It could also just be a convenient excuse to have Batman beat up Superman.

    The characters confirmed for the game so far include Batman, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn and Solomon Grundy. The existence of Harley Quinn pretty much confirms that The Joker will be in there somewhere, but NetherRealm is remaining tight lipped at the moment. We’ll probably see more at E3.

    “We can’t wait to reveal Injustice: Gods Among Us because it will give our fans and gamers an epic experience as they battle like gods as their favorite DC Comics villains and heroes,” said Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios. “Our team is excited to make a fighting game that is filled with fast-paced action, incredible story-telling and iconic DC Comics characters.”

    Injustice will be out in 2013 for the Xbox 360, PlaysStation 3 and the Wii U. GameSpot got the exclusive announcement trailer for the title. Check it out to see the kind of game that the guys behind Mortal Kombat has in store. I think you’ll be surprised.

    [h/t: Joystiq]

  • Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown Console Release Date, Pricing, and Gameplay Trailer

    Sega announced today that Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown will be launching June 5 for Playstation Network and June 6 for Xbox Live Arcade. Downloading the game will cost $14.99 over the Playstation Network and cost 1,200 Microsoft points over Xbox Live Arcade. Sega today has also released a gameplay trailer for the title, which can be seen below.

    In a bit of a scummy move, character customizations will not be unlockable, or even be included with the game. Instead, downloadable content (DLC) packs for the game will be available immediately upon launch. The DLC character customization for each character, individually, will cost $4.99 on the Playstation Network or 400 Microsoft points on Xbox Live Arcade. Sega did state, though, that each pack will contain 600-950 customization items. Alternatively, two more DLC customization packs will be available at launch, each for $14.99 or 1,200 Microsoft points. These packs will allow players to buy the character customizations in bulk, with one pack having a combined 9 character customization packs and the other having a combined 10 character customization packs.

    The console version of Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown has been anticipated for quite a while. Changes from the arcade version will include a training mode, eight player online room match mode, and a match recording feature that will allow players to save, replay, and upload fights. Oh, and the downloadable customizations, of course. At least the DLC is only aesthetic in nature, though. I can’t imagine the uproar that would ensue in the fighting game community if DLC were released that gave real advantages during a fight.