Ethics and Anarchy -- How We Play, Enjoy and See Games

Maybe life is best with a little imbalance?

Consider this an incredibly delayed reaction to J.P. Grant’s article on fair play, which was an incredible response to Jenn Frank’s article.

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Persona 4 - The Ultimate In Mayonaka Arena Combo Sampler

Many thanks to Jourdal's video coverage of a game most fighting game sites are keeping quiet about.

Though I have yet to finish a Persona game [even in game format, I hate doing homework], I don't think it will be a prerequisite to play the game. Looks fairly standard for an Arc System title. Can't wait to see what comes of this. 

[*crosses fingers hoping there is an animation of high school kids shooting themselves in the head]

The Canada Cup Stream -- What Went Wrong?

It's hard to complain about something being provided to you for free. Even harder to post criticisms of a major event when you didn't attend. I'll start this little diatribe with praise. I think Canada Cup pulled off, what could only be described as, the fighting game community equivalent of the Olympics. The tournament that took place this past weekend had talent from Singapore, Japan, Korea, Europe and North America. This doesn't include the talent required to organize and structure said event to begin with. Canada Cup Gaming, keep up the good work and please take my words as they are: from someone who witnessed your event from a computer screen -- from someone who just wants to help.

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Preview: Skullgirls -- Technology Versus Tits Edition

Mind you this is just an alpha build, but Skullgirls has a lot going for it. Very forward thinking for a genre that still trips over it's own fundamentals. Now if we could just get rid of all the T & A.

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Season's Beatings: Velocity -- Oct. 14th - Oct. 16th

Just thought I'd make my obligatory, annual post about the best damn fighting game tournament on Earth. Well, at least in my eyes, and I wear glasses, so that's like four! This weekend in Columbus, Ohio the sixth installment of the Season's Beatings fighting game tournament will be held at MoMo's. I will be holding a MadCatz stick in one hand and a DSLR in the other. If you can weed through the 700 hundred-plus, attendees, say "Hi!" I promise I'll greet in return.

*Disclaimer: I owe a great deal of credit to Godlike Entertainment and the Season's Beatings events, because it made me realize where I wanted to go with my writing. It made me value the fighting game community. So that's why this is especially important to me.

[After the break: Weekend Schedule, Live Stream link, and Photos]

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Commercial Break: Happy "Knockout Kick To The Face" Day

I've been writing a great deal as of late, and I thought I'd slide this little gem in to break up my word vomit. I gotta say, given these guys aren't wearing gloves in an obvious Muay Thai fight, I saw this match going a different way. That is until I seen the beady eyes of Muay Thai champ...Saenchai. 

If the movie "Kickpunch" from the television show Community is ever made into a real movie, it should star this guy. His kicks are like punches to faces.

EVO 2011 -- What Does It Feels Like To Throw A Fireball For $10,000

As of me typing this little entry, we are about a week out from the events that transpired at this year's EVO. A great deal of joy and surprise was had by all that were interested. For those who filled up my Twitter feed with, "What's an EVO?" Go here for the full history.

There seems to be something strange happening in the fighting game community. The level of recognition and genuine interest has been hard-fought over the past decade. Within that time, fighting game makers: Namco, Capcom, Aksys, have helped and hurt the culture. There was an obvious feeling of rushed games or just too many to play at one time. Games around the turn of the millennium were having a renaissance genre-wide. During the era of Third Strike, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Guilty Gear, there were so many iterations of fighting games, it was almost like, Guitar Hero.

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Personal Note: It's Been That Kind Of Week

video via rickymachinima

I try and keep the Brog PG-13, but sometimes a healthy f**k is good to squeeze out of the body every now and again. Don't worry, it won't become commonplace, but boy has the gaming world shown it's ugly side this week [again]. I probably haven't contributed to the healing process [pay no attention to my twitter feed]. I'd like to think at least writing this stuff down is a good piece of therapy. It's just unfortunate that when I do bitch about the pitfalls of this culture I'm met with "you know this is par for the course, right?"

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Does Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Require "High Level" Skill?

Above is a video recorded by Bullet Proof, of Neo Empire, after Zade (Zoro) won Ultimate Clash 6's Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament. Add this to the collection of 'fire-side chats' I've been collecting, in regards to the year's biggest fighting game release. 

What I find most interesting in the video above is that Zade proclaims that he, "Isn't a Marvel player." Even though he just won a tournament, competing against some pretty high-level talent. I'm wondering how popular this notion, or this situation could be in the future of the Marvel series? If new players of the series begin to consistently win, will this cheapen the credibility of the game?

After watching several streams of popular U.S. events [Final Round, Winter Brawl, Wednesday Night Fights] I'm slightly confused with the stance of Dieminion and Zade. Top players will ultimately perform better than the average scrub. To a certain degree I'd like to assume this is belly aching.

The game hasn't been out for that long and people are still discovering things they like, but also things that they don't. The damage is high. The combos are fairly simple by comparison to most fighting games played at tournaments. X-factor, Sentinel, Phoenix and Wolverine are all characters that seem to keep coming up in these debates.

Maybe this could be a good thing for the community? Each tournament I've watched has had new faces and young players enter, but contrary to what Dieminion and Zade are saying, the veterans and familiar faces of fighting games typically advance farther. Is there a need to fix the damage and the [seemingly] over powered characters or will player-execution play a more vital role in future tournaments?

Things that make ya go, Hmm.

Commercial Break: Sanford Kelly & Yipes On Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

Updated on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 9:38PM by Isaiah T. Taylor

Earlier tonight I posted a blog on 1up about the legendary [IFC] Yipes views, thus far, on Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Well, I'll be posting that video below and let you guys absorb all the info and formulate your own opinions about where you think the fighting game scene is going and on a smaller scale how you think this game is going to mature in the fighting game community.

Aside: Sorry for all the video as of late. I've been really busy, actually working on art and stuff for the site. [Damn, actually feels good to say that.] It also doesn't help that I'm a huge fighting game fan and am enjoying my own personal Christmas ... what with all the fighting games being released in this generation.

More curly mustaches after the jump...

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