Tag Archives: Capcom

GOTY 2016 Ricardo’s Top 5

2016 has passed us by like a hurricane filled with rusted knives, abrasive sand, and stinky poop. What a stinky year, indeed.

Except for video games!

Yeah, a lot of good games came out this year. So many that, again, with an “adult peoples” schedule, I found it a little hard to keep up. Therefore, as might be evidenced by the title of this thing, these are just the five most affecting games to ME this year. There were some I wanted to include, sure, but dammit I’m sticking to this Top 5 constraint.

I’m a man, and that’s what men do. So let’s get down to business to defeat the Huns.

5. Street Fighter V

Street Fighter V was and continues to be a damn mess. This game launched with hardly enough features and content to justify its $60 price tag (most would say it didn’t). And between “baked in” frame delay, spotty online and some questionable decisions concerning DLC, Street Fighter V is easily a contender for most disappointing game this year.

So why is it here, then? Well because Street Fighter is still that game franchise that makes me feel all tingly in my pleasure centers; take that however you wish. From EVO in July to here in December in my new apartment, my affection for this game and this franchise does not waver. Through all the mess is still an amazing fighting engine with great new ideas and some of the most beautifully realized character design– from a graphical standpoint at least. I love Street Fighter, and although V is flawed, I couldn’t help but have it consume much of my gaming time this year.

4. Let it Die

Where the hell did this game come from? Suda 51’s Grasshopper Games studio pumped out the free-to-play Let it Die for the PS4 this year and it gave me almost everything I was looking for in Dark Souls 3: Tense, stakes driven gameplay, weird and often obtuse multiplayer online components, crazy world and character design, it’s all here. That’s not to say that Dark Souls 3 wasn’t a great game, but the neon, surreal, dadaism of Let it Die grabbed me in a way Miyazaki’s dark medieval fantasy didn’t.

Plus, Uncle Death may just be my new favorite character in any game. Wild, senpai.

3. Firewatch

When you want to talk about affecting gameplay, few games have gotten under my skin like Firewatch. That’s because I don’t think Firewatch is so much about its narrative as it is about presenting you with the human condition and with the idea that all people are flawed. The adult mind is inclined to make terrible decisions and to run from responsibility, and Firewatch feels like taking a syringe full of that crippling humanity and injecting it right into your central nervous system. To say I had a few questions about what kind of person I was and what kind of life I was living after playing this game would be an understatement. That won’t be everyone’s journey with Firewatch, but it was with me.

2. Monster Hunter Generations

Another year, another Monster Hunter. It’s easy to say that Generations is a half-step; a refinement of the formula rather than a full-fledged new installment. And although that’s not entirely incorrect, goodness gracious does Generations bring a lot to the crowded Monster Hunter table. Hunting styles are a fantastic way to refine one’s playstyle, Palicoes add a fun and useful dynamic to the MH grind, and the “Fated 4” monsters are not only some of the coolest ever designed, but provide a great goal for even a beginner to strive for.

MHG was also the first game I ever played multiplayer and holy hell do I see what I’ve been missing. The monotony of gathering becomes exponentially more fun with a friend, and the dynamics of a hunt are on a whole different level with another person involved. While I’m not certain it reaches the full package potential that 4 Ultimate did, Generations is a fantastic game and the easiest point yet for new players to get intro’d to this awesome franchise.

1. Overwatch

This isn’t a surprise. You know how good this game is, so really what can I say about Blizzard’s multiplayer team shooter that hasn’t already been said? Overwatch hits so many pleasure centers, hits so many landmarks of what makes a great piece of MEDIA that it’s hard to deny it as anything short of a masterclass. Certainly time will tell where Overwatch eventually lands on the list of all-time great games, but even should the game falter in prevailing years, the litany of amazing characters and memories created here will live on.

Beyond anything, that’s a future we can all fight for. After all, the world could always use more heroes.

The (fickle) heart of battle: Street Fighter V’s biggest gamble

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Street Fighter V is coming. As a fighting game fan and lifelong fan of the series, my initial reaction was excitement followed by an exclamatory, “It’s too soon!”

Despite Street Fighter IV releasing way back in 2008, it FEELS as if the game was definitively finished this year with the release of Ultra SFIV. Jokes of Capcom releasing the same game on five separate occasions aside (which they have), this isn’t a series or a genre accustomed to swiftly moving on to the next numbered sequel.

On one hand, it’s heartening to know SF’s following is the strongest it’s been since Street Fighter II and the days of Raul Julia’s M. Bison. On another, it seems obvious the series is changing.

The most noteworthy aspect of SFV’s unveiling was NOT its impressive new graphical presentation.

I speak primarily of the announcement that Street Fighter V will be exclusively for Playstation 4 and PC upon its release in 2015 and will feature cross-platform play. To be honest, I’m not shocked by this move. The console gap is closing, and it’s going to come down to exclusives (alongside other tangibles) for Sony and Microsoft to distinguish their machines. With Microsoft already touting its own exclusive fighting franchise with the new Killer Instinct, it only makes sense Sony would attempt to one-up.

Let’s be honest: With all respect to the awesome modern interpretation on Killer Instinct, there’s no question which series will drive more traffic.

But all the same let’s not get crazy. Though Street Fighter is a big “get”, it is not on par with the likes of other major franchises like Call of Duty or Assassin’s Creed in terms of market share. This is a fighting game, and comes with a certain barrier for entry that game sales have proven many won’t cross. Hence why the cross-platform support will be crucial for SFV’s success.

Long has the issue of audience segmentation plagued fighting games. If net code holds up and this PC/PS4 cross-platform support works, then Sony and Capcom will look like geniuses. They’ll have finally unified two sections of the audience into one, and that might be justification enough to have completely killed off a third section.

That third sector, however, is likely not to go quietly. Xbox LIVE was consistently a better performer for online fighting games during the SFIV era, yet now LIVE players have been left in the lurch. Whether a backlash will be enough to change console availability for the series’ future remains to be seen.

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Capcom’s move may bring a fighting game community closer, or irreparably damage it.

Ultimately, Sony’s Playstation Experience keynote shook one growing misconception about console gaming; that exclusives were going away. They’re not, and that’s going to spell big things for PS4.

It’s also going to mean something big for the future of Street Fighter, for better or worse.

Sound the Hunting Horn! It’s (finally) time to hunt.

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Nobody said it was easy to slay titans.

Through multiple console and handheld generations, through many installments, the Monster Hunter series has been a franchise that we Western gamers have had a hard time wrapping our heads around. After so long, it seems the series will just never truly take off as a mainstream hit.

And yet it seems like it should be! The basic concept of Monster Hunter (a very attractive one, by the way) is explained in its title; you play as a hunter of monsters, taking bounties on beasts and hunting said beasts through multi-staged levels. Upon victory, you’ll harvest the monsters’ parts and use them to create better weapons and armor for your hunter so you can take down even bigger monsters.

That’s it. Lather, rinse, repeat. No big sweeping story. No hearty motivation. There is only the hunt.

But much like an eager novice hunter going after their first Rathian with a 5.7×28 ammo, most players seem to be enthusiastic enough to take a crack at the series. However, after underestimating the task ahead of them and taking their first flailing swings at the monstrosity (resulting in disaster), most abandon the Monster Hunter life.

In fact, even I previously tried to break into this Capcom stalwart. Back when I still had a PSP, I picked up Monster Hunter Freedom Unite when it was released. After only a few hours of fumbling with concepts like gathering and combining materials to make the most basic items and getting my ass handed to me by rampaging wyverns, I threw in the towel.

Monster Hunter broke me, and it was another four years before I ventured back into the wilds.

That was before Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. That was then and this is now.

Now, there is no need for me, or you, to hunt alone. The path to victory has been paved with the blood and sweat of the hunters before us. Their noble sacrifice is our gain, and Monster Hunter is no longer the insurmountable leviathan it once was. The time for all to join the hunt is nigh.

That doesn’t mean you should go in empty-handed, though and while I won’t make this a traditional review, I’ll say you should definitely play Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate if you’re willing to swallow some pride and do the following.

Here’s what you’ll need:

A guide- most people will probably balk at this first requirement, but having someone (or something) guide you through the preliminary awkward phase of learning Monster Hunter. Ultimate does a better job than most past installments of teaching you core concepts and putting you in a good position to learn the game, but you’re going to need a lot more help than the game’s willing to give up to actually start off on the right foot. Get a strategy book, find a credible YouTuber or find a friend to get you through your first big hunts and you’ll be a happier hunter for it.

Patience- another forgotten piece of gaming behavior, this is tied to the first requirement. Monster Hunter’s mechanics often seek to put you in the role of the titular profession, and this includes all the somewhat menial things as well. Yes you will shove your Great Sword into the faces of 50-foot goliaths, but you’ll also need to empty out that pack after every hunt so you can have room to carry more loot. Yes you will track flying battleships across rivers and mountains while staving off hunger, but you’ll also need to make sure those steaks you packed for the journey are perfectly cooked or watch your stamina plummet. It certainly helps the role-playing elements of the game and the challenge, but dang it if it isn’t infuriating the first time you improperly manage you forge a set of armor you can’t use because of false information or fail to create an item on random chance, it’s a bit infuriating.

A sense of wonder- this one’s a bit more abstract than the others, but Monster Hunter really thrives on a childish thirst for adventure. Like other games centered around big boss fights, half the fun is just seeing what you’re going to be fighting next. Here, that giddiness is exponentially increased because you won’t just be FIGHTING these bosses, you’ll be wearing them! That sounds… kinda bad, but trust me that the more you’re willing to give into the ridiculous, the absurd and often just plain silly themes of Monster Hunter, the more you’ll enjoy it.

Through this, I’ve come to the conclusion that Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is a fantastically underappreciated game and one that seems to be opening many’s eyes (including my own) to what a fun and rewarding series this can be.

I think you will too. Hence, let this be a call to action and a word of warning at the same time. This franchise deserves attention and is finally getting it, but I can’t recommend it with just a number. Those looking to undertake the challenge of Monster Hunter need to realize it is going to be just that; a challenge.

Nobody said it was easy to slay titans, but if you take the necessary precautions, it can be done. More than that, it can be a whole lot of fun.

Pixel Legends

Fun, entertaining, and all about games.