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Archive for the ‘Fighting’ Category
Well, what more can we say? We’ve confirmed with local distributor e-Xpress Interactive a couple of days back that Soulcalibur IV will indeed not make it to Indian shores, thanks to the fact that it’s an Ubisoft game. Since Ubisoft doesn’t believe in offering any sort of sales concession when it comes to Indian markets, and e-Xpress, like anyone else, wouldn’t want non-existent profit margins, Indian gamers eager for Soulcalibur IV will now have to look at Play-Asia (as usual) for their imports.
Speaking to us about the situation, e-Xpress has clarified that rather than haggle with Ubi and import the games for “an obscenely high price”, they’ve elected to not import the game in all likelihood. But the real terrifying part of the conversation came when Fallout 3 came into the picture. In a press release issued last month, Ubisoft had claimed that it would be distributing Fallout 3 in some PAL territory countries in Europe including Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Which indirectly means that if India’s import were to happen via Ubi, there’s no chance of Fallout 3 ever being officially released for the consoles here.
For me, fighting games continue to be a part of my everyday fundamental, button-mashing diet. It only seems like yesterday when I was able to execute my first Hadoken in Street Fighter II. The first time I managed a Fatality off Mortal Kombat’s Johnny Cage, ripping his pretty little head off in supreme satisfaction. The first time experiencing Kasumi’s bouncy-breasty radiance in her Rabbit swimsuit from Dead or Alive Xtreme Volleyball… Oh wait, that last one didn’t have any fighting it in, did it? Ok, more or less, it still had the bouncy-breasty radiance that DOA games are still known for. Upon further reflecting on perpetual conundrums, even cruddy fighting games still had a memorable gimmick or two, like how Primal Fury was essentially Mortal Kombat but with prehistoric animals. Or how Kakuto Chojin so hilariously ripped off Fight Club’s plot. Ah, how one mingles in the memories of the inconsequential!
Getting back to the point, there are still game companies which have stayed long with the fighting genre and continue to support it, despite knowing that the days of coin-op arcades have long passed (Japan notwithstanding). Newer entries continue to be pumped – and thanks to the advent of better net infrastructure, more and more franchises are taking the leap to online matchmaking. No longer content to just playing your homies from the hood or the local game cafe, you’ll now be given the opportunity to fool around with players from all sorts of regions. You haven’t played a real game of Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves until some random 15-year-old Asian munchkin promptly hands over your carcass in less than a minute.
Thusly, I solemnly declare that a brief rundown on potential, forthcoming Beat em’ Ups shall be in effective order. Heaven or Hell, let’s fight!
Firstly, the good news. Soulcalibur IV has a release date pinned, albeit just for the US as of now. Expect to see the dazzling installment burn into souls on the 29th of July, that too with your choice of cuddly Jedi master Yoda (Xbox 360) or bodacious Sith-Daddy Darth Vader (Playstation 3). Oh, and this time you’ll get to play online. Two jugs are better than one.
Now for the bad news. Ubisoft will be distributing SCIV within PAL territories, which means that the chances of seeing this carried over to Indian retailers are within the vicinity of slim. Not a possibility I’d like to admit, but that’s only going to be one more obstacle to overcome in my vast pursuit of knowledge for digital Tee and Ay. Man, if only Ubisoft acquired some mobile game development studio based in, oh I don’t know, Pune or whatever. Actually, I’m not sure how much good that’ll do, but not all candy-coated dreams should have to be imported from Play-Asia, ya know. Unless you don’t want your parents catching you during an intense session of Puchi Evangelion. Hang on, I better lock the door.
I can tell what you’re pondering. No, I know what you’re pondering. Here you are, setting idly in your chair and skimming through random game message boards. The howls and cries of the current console generation are anywhere and everywhere, whether its about how balls-to-the-wall it is too see how much Nathan Drake can get his shirt-wet in gorgeous wide-screen high-definition or the municipal assertion that the waggle generation is here to stay, just so long no one has to endure Nintendo’s smutty online service for too long. Yeah, you’ve been there. But not too long back, you were rubbing your thumbs red over a console that reserved a special place in your heart for more than 7 years. Good times! Wonderful times! And now they’ve departed.
“If only there were still some new games to play,” you think to yourself.
Splendidly, it so happens that this April will be seeing several titles released on the PS2, and if you find yourself curious (and you should be), you’ll want to thank – who else – but Japan (or at least the company Atlus for publishing certain titles)! After all, it’s the only country in the world that still has an extensive backlog of games that most people haven’t even heard about.
“Wait, wouldn’t mean they were too crappy for public ingestion or…”
Quiet, you! Now hit the jump like a good munchkin.
Back when Computer Gaming World (now collectively known as the official Games For Windows magazine) was still available in India, I remember coming across an article compiled by the staff on what type of games they’d like to see in the future. Most of them sounded like the stuff you’d expect in a B-Grade movie, but that’s never really stopped developers from implementing such “concepts” in today’s games, now has it? Which is why when I saw Italian-based Molleindustria and their recent religion-poking Flash game, Faith Fighter… well, take a look at the screenie above. Yes, that is supposed to be Muhammad.
Okay, so it’s not terribly deep. Nor does it even warrant any real replay value, save for wanting to see how much of a bar-brawler Jesus really was. Not to mention it is a Flash game. But look! It’s Ganesha! Attacking gigantic deities while riding on a mouse! That must hold a tad of potent value. Still, some people may just prefer Bible Fight when it comes to these sort of things. That Eve chick sure was feisty. Or so they say.
The only bad thing about living in India, besides the shitty internet speeds of course has to be the time differences. So when the third trailer for much awaited Grand Theft Auto 4 (GAT4) was announced, it gave us sleepless nights, quite literally. Thanks to the difference in time-zones, we had to stay awake through a good half last night to catch a glimpse of the next GTA4 trailer. Having endured long waits with the previous trailers, we were well prepared for a long wait this time around as well. Thankfully, the wait was all worth it. Before we delve any further, here is the trailer, courtesy, Gametrailers
Ever since Team Ninja’s Tomonobu Itagaki decided to resurrect the Ninja Gaiden franchise, Ryu Hayabusa has risen to fame as the greatest action hero in gaming. Making the transition from the calm seas of 2-D to the vicious 3-D waters was never going to be easy, but Itagaki’s sunglass powered foresight made it happen. It is still a mystery why Itagaki-san bet his chips on Ninja Gaiden instead of making some sort of X-Men game…he is the Japanese cyclops after all (never wondered what was behind those glasses?)
Two remakes later (Black and Sigma), we will finally witness a new chapter in Ryu’s saga until Ninja Gaiden 2 hits the Xbox 360 sometime next year. And who would have thought that the graphically intense, action-heavy, extremely mature Ninja Gaiden will see its next chapter unfold on the Nintendo DS? Doubts fogged my mind as a Ninja Gaiden on the DS seemed almost next to impossible (unless it was another cheap 2-D rendition, that’s what all the other devs do, don’t they…the lazy bastards). But here I am, with an early build of Ninja Gaiden DS tucked neatly in my DSLite. So lets take this Ninja Dog out for a stroll and find out if it only barks or bites as well?