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2008: Year of the fighters, review!

My favourites were SFIV, STHD & SCIV. Also picked up SBX but haven't put a whole lot of time into it, as nobody plays it.

Next year I'm just hoping that SFIV has good netcode, I can see myself getting stuck into it. Same deal with KoFXII, and I'm hoping I can find people who're into it. BlazBlue appeals to me more than GG, and I can probably get my head around the game a bit better now, but it's the same deal as KoF, just need to be able to find people who'll play it. SFIV has the potential to crush the others imo.
 
BlazBlue is very good. I need to learn how to handle arakune though, cause damn.
MkvsDC is solid...offline. Came out much better than I expected.
SF4 is the shit. If you have an arcade near you and it has this, get there and study up before console release.
Brawl is fun, but the online is the worst....
 
Brawl and SC IV are the only fighters I bought this year... and both were kind of letdowns for me.

Brawl is an amazing game and I still play it from time to time, but I played Melee a LOT more. Maybe I overhyped it.

SC IV: it was ok, looks amazing and everything, but since my favorite character was Link in SC II, not having it was just weird. And Darth Vader felt totally out of place.
 
Virtua Fighter 5 - A+ still the true fighting fans game of choice.

Brawl - C I seem to play each one less and less. I played the original N64 game way more than Melee and Brawl.

Soulcalibur 4 - B- Don't know what it is about Soulcalibur. It hasn't QUITE captured what I loved about the Dreamcast version. Problem is, I'm not even sure what that is. I still love using the Apprentice though.

Street Fighter 2 HD - A Fucking the shit. Love it. But I'm a SF fanatic and have like dozens of versions across like 15 consoles.

MK vs DC - B+ Fuck the reviews. This is actually a genuinely good game. Seems to have recaptured the feeling from UMK3. With just a touch of MK4. I like it. Fun.
 
I think Brawl is actually going to have quite a slow burn when it comes down to it; from a long term competitive standpoint the balance is shockingly present, so I see year 1 being only the beginning for Brawl. The online garbage IS a disaster, but if you have got Smash nuts locally (as fighting games are meant to be played, of course) it's a really good time.

HDR is good but buggy, and TVC is just all kinds of marvelous.
 
A Twisty Fluken said:
I think Brawl is actually going to have quite a slow burn when it comes down to it; from a long term competitive standpoint the balance is shockingly present, so I see year 1 being only the beginning for Brawl. The online garbage IS a disaster, but if you have got Smash nuts locally (as fighting games are meant to be played, of course) it's a really good time.

HDR is good but buggy, and TVC is just all kinds of marvelous.
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Meta Knight
 
TvC is all that exists. Seriously, best fighting game in a shit long time.

Recognize
tvsc.jpg

Tatsunoko%20vs%20Capcom%2021.jpg
 
It's funny how if anyone was required to explain the short phrases in this thread, we'd have to write a huge fucking book.
 
Super Smash Bros Brawl - Great sequel to a game I played tons of but it's more of the same so I won't be playing that much of it again. There is so much packed in that I will always go back for more, sometimes I just turn it on and end up spending 30 minutes on music test. Pretty much what I wanted really, more of the same.

Soul Calibur IV - Again more of the same but since I love the series I'm okay with it. It's a good solid SoulCalibur game but it's not exactly pushing the series forward or anything. After SoulCalibur III all I wanted was just for the series to get back on track and I feel IV has.
I'm still amazed at how many people don't have a clue how to play SoulCalibur and just act as if it's a button basher. If you keep losing to Kilik spammers online then your rubbish, sorry.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix - It's a good update on a classic game, online play is the best I've seen in a fighter so far. What is there to say, it's Street Fighter II. Sagat is still way too powerful.

Mortal Kombat VS DC - Played it for a while at a friend's house, mindless fun is how I would describe it. The DC license does nothing for the series, instead because of it we lose the violence, blood and fatalities. Worst of all the DC characters feel nothing like DC fighters would, they play like created characters from the previous game. Namco did a better job with the 3 Star Wars characters than Midway did with this entire VS game.
 
Fighters I've played this year; just some comments.

SSBB
For best results, take with friends. I loved this, but you have to understand that I can't stand the people that insist on 3stock/no items/final destination. Smash deserves no less than 3 players, tourneys be damned.

SC4
Not as good as my favorite (SC2), but still solid. I still don't understand the hate people have for the inclusion of the Star Wars characters. If you're going to get pissed off about anything on this game, you should be angry at the ridiculous DLC. Still one of the best Create-a-character features around, but I have to ask - does anyone else think that the CAS was too much? With some of the technicolor garbage costumes that people were putting out, I desperately wanted a way to force standard character models for random matches.

HDRemix
Liquid sex. I could write a small novel of praise there's no reason to. You've all heard it before.

Tatsunoko vs Capcom
I'll let you know after I engage in battle with UPS who have failed to deliver my game. Bastards.

I did want to mention one small surprise, Street Fighter Alpha on PSN. I've put a surprising amount of time into this game over the year. I mean yeah, it's certainly not the best version of Alpha to play. The roster is kind of slim and even though it's playing from the PS3 hard drive, the loading screens feel like a chore - but I've had a lot of fun just loading it up whenever I have a spare 15-20 minutes to kill and just running through arcade mode. I wonder if I could get that announcer shouting out "Streeeeeeeet fighta.... Aaaaaalpha" as a ringtone. Hmm.

Pretty damn good year, actually.
 
MarkMan said:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=238129

NEVER FORGET!

I played the following this year:

Everything


Loved every minute of it.
Click to expand...

man, i kinda wished i had the money and time to play all those, its certainly delicious when i look at a list like that...

oh, totally forgot about HD Remix, i been looking to get that in my belly but keep forgetting about it...

wish i played Melty Blood AA, hope it comes out on PS2 soon :S
 
SSBB - Nothing comes close to how awesome this game is. I threw Melee out my window the day I bought this. Sunk a good 1000 hours or so into this. A++++

MKvsDC - broken uppercut. mildly enjoyable. unplayable online.

Naruto CONR2 - 2nd best for me. never get tired of crazy combos. love the gesture additions.

SC4 - got boring after a week. Online mode is crap. no competition whatsover, just one button moves and cheap attacks.

I have a feeling SF4 is gonna under deliver for me. Not looking forward to it being disappointing.

Probably gonna have to import TvC,it looks amazing.
 
Brawl: Better than Melee in every possible way. Except for tripping. And even that has comedic value.
 
Haven't played many

SCIV - Didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Felt too similar to SC II. C+

SF 2 HD - Probably one of my favorite remakes ever. The game did take a while to come out but it was worth the wait. A

SSBB - My most hyped game for 2008 and I really felt disappointed with it. I mean I did have fun with it, but they dumbed down my main (falco) and I had trouble playing without him. On the other hand I did main Mr. Game & Watch. B

Naruto Shippuden Ex 3 - Haven't played Naruto since GNT4. Pretty fun multiplayer for the continuing series. A lot of new fighters. GNT4 is still superior in gameplay though. B -

Tatsunoko vs Capcom - Sex...A

Edit: Forgot one game

SF IV - Played it at the arcade and thought it was amazing. I'm actually glad Capcom went with the art style they chose. I really can't wait to play the console version and I think I'm going to get an arcade stick because of this game.
 
UC1 said:
No offense, but this is a button masher's complaint. SC2 didn't even have stun combos.
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Hmm None taken. Well it's probably because I only used Voldo and Link in the II. I'm not too into SC anyways.
 
Linkhero1 said:
Haven't played many

SCIV - Didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Felt too similar to SC II. C+

SF 2 HD - Probably one of my favorite remakes ever. The game did take a while to come out but it was worth the wait. A

SSBB - My most hyped game for 2008 and I really felt disappointed with it. I mean I did have fun with it, but they dumbed down my main (falco) and I had trouble playing without him. On the other hand I did main Mr. Game & Watch. B

Naruto Shippuden Ex 3 - Haven't played Naruto since GNT4. Pretty fun multiplayer for the continuing series. A lot of new fighters. GNT4 is still superior in gameplay though. B -

Tatsunoko vs Capcom - Sex...A
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Umm isnt Falco still one of the best characters in the game?
 
HK-47 said:
Umm isnt Falco still one of the best characters in the game?
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I still main him, but I feel that he got weaker. I took advantage of his spike in Melee. It's not as powerful as it is in this game. I do like that he's faster but him losing that spike got to me. :(
 
I find that this year, I played more fighters than usual. Usually, I just kinda ignore the genre.

Arcana Heart- Bought this on a whim and I really did enjoy it. The combos are fun to pull off (especially for a fighting noob like me), and the weird loli overload didnt bother me too much. Sadly, it did bother my friends, so I had no one to play with :(

Smash Bros Brawl- My favorite in the series. Almost every moment in between classes was spent with this one. I mained Sonic and never looked back. Low tier FTW. Still, it was a little overhyped though. And though Im not really into online, even Ill admit that shit needed to be fixed.

Soul Calibur IV- Found this one kinda boring to be honest.

HD Remix- Sooo good. It took awhile, but man was it worth it. And Im not even a huge Street Fighter guy.

Will probably wait till next year for TvC. Money's a little tight right now.
 
SC4: C+
Arcana Heart: B
SSBB: C+ as a party game. D- as a fighting game.
SF4 arcade: A+
Tekken 6 arcade: A
VF5: B

edit: oops, forgot about MKvDCU. It's so forgettable it slipped my mind. D- the only decent thing about it is the story mode.
 
Linkhero1 said:
I haven't tried VF5 yet. Is it really good? Is it better than most 3D fighters this year?
Click to expand...

Very easily, but you only get what you put into it.

As for Tatsunoko, I know there's one infinite in the game already, so it's staying true to its Marvel-ish roots.
 
SoulCalibur 4 : playing this one competitively and I'm loving it. I like how the backdash nerf, among other things, forces you to have a proper defense that doesn't just involve running away. Seems to be the most balanced SC game overall, plus I love what they did to my main (Raphael).

Brawl : Would have played it more if I knew more people who were into it and serious about it. A shame, because the game seems balanced.

SSF2T HDR : Awesome in every way, and not only because I main Gief. :lol
Once again, balance is not an issue.

I don't take online/single player into account when judging fighting games, to me it's all about offline VS by tourney standards even if I don't actually take part in all of them (ie I'll just ignore banned characters/stages/whatever). A good training mode helps a lot though.
 
I've played MKDC a ton. It's bad but still the best MK since 96. I like the idea of 3D mechanics and rules with strong 2Desque specials. Too bad the MKDA engine is awful but I got used to the clunkiness. The online play is a mess with all kinds of hit detection glitches but it always feels smooth. I'd rather play this stupid game online than one I'm seriously invested in with bad lag too like T5DR.

Midway lucked out with the balance. It's all kinds of broke but it's spread out amongst the cast. Flash is ridiculous but Lantern and Kahn have combos off a breaker, Raiden has a 6 frame teleport, Superman has the infinite. So at least there's a handful of super broke characters instead of just Flash alone at the top. Most of the cast is pretty good too with only a couple like Catwoman being complete garbage. There's a fun trainwreck quality too, it's entertaining seeing the latest ridiculous rage juggle.
 
LiquidMetal14 said:
KoFXII is on the top of my list over any fighter next year.
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I like how you think.
Kof XII is my most wanted 2009 title. (yeah even more than Uncharted 2 and Killzone 2 @_@ )
 
Blu_LED said:
Thats has got be impossible. 1,700 hours??!!!

Brawl was my favorite fighter this year, as well as ever. I don't think even SFIV will top it.
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Agreed. Brawl blew away Melee, and pretty much totally redefined what makes a quality fighter, in my book.

SSE was friggin' rad, too. I'd have paid $50 for it alone.
 
Capcom vs Tatsunoko: very good!! 8/10

Super Smash Bros Brawl: DAMN GOOD GOOD GOOD 9/10

Super Street Fighter 2 HD Remix: Perfection: 10/10

Soul Calibur 4: they've lost the way somehow 6/10

Mortal Kombat vs DC: at first I was impressed but it became a chore to play after a while 5/10

Battle Fantasia: I expected better 5/10
 
Htown said:
Brawl: Better than Melee in every possible way. Except for tripping. And even that has comedic value.
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A while ago I was playing my friend and he was about to FS me w/Ike as I was running in w/Falco. I tripped and landed millimeters away from the sword's collision box so he whiffed.

5 minutes of laughter.
 
arstal said:
Very easily, but you only get what you put into it.

As for Tatsunoko, I know there's one infinite in the game already, so it's staying true to its Marvel-ish roots.
Click to expand...
It's pretty cheap now, so I'll give it a try. Thanks
 
Brawl- incredible, some of the most fun I've had all year. Party game of the year next to Rock Band.

Nartuo 2 Wii- 3rd in this series I've bought and good fun. Nothing terribly different thought.

Sengoku Basara X- Underrated imo. Favorite Arc Sys game after Guilty Gear.

Battle Fantasia- Worst game I bought this year. Bare bones gameplay.

Soul Cal 4- really good, losts of stuff to do but hasn't kept me like the first 2.

Arcana Heart- second worst game I bought. Compared to Melty Blood is comes nowhere near it.

Naruto PS3- enjoyed the demo, barely played the main game because you have to unlock most of the characters through boring story mode:/

MKvsDC- definetly better than the previous games. Still MK, though.

HDremix- love the new balance, dig the music but iffy on the art as a whole. Still a great version of one of the best fighters ever.

TvCapcom- LOVING this game. The fighting system, the characters, everything about it is smooth and fun

Can't wait for KOF12, BlazBlue, VF5:R (please!), Tekken 6, and more than anything: STREET FIGHTER 4!
 
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