Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on June 12th, 2008
World Heroes. When I was a teenager, one of my favorite games was World Heroes 2 for the Super Nintendo. I remember it distinctly because it was one of the last games I bought brand new for the SNES. I played the game for hours, then days and even into many assorted weeks trying to exploit all the characters from my favorites like Rasputin, Muscle Power, & Kim Dragon to even lesser characters like Johnny Maximum or Erick the Viking. With the exception of Mudman, (I never played Mudman and I'm still annoyed when fighting him to this very day) I beat the game with each and every character. This is one of my prouder achievements when it comes to fighting games, and with the exception of the Tekken series or compilations, the last fighting game I've really played for such a long stretch. One would then imagine my joy when I heard about World Heroes Anthology when it came out for the Playstation 2. I had also played the first World Heroes in my time, but the idea that I would get my favorite World Heroes 2, coupled with the original and 2 games I've never even played before; my mind suddenly became agaze with the possibilities.
Graphics
True to form, the four games that make up the Anthology are not enhanced or brought up to Playstation 2 standards (whatever that might be). Remember the titles as they appeared on the Neo-Geo or their MVS Standups? That is how they look here. Straight to form with all of the cheesiness of their characters. From Muscle Power's No #1 Pose to the lush jungle backgrounds of the Mudman, it's all here. It holds up fairly well in today's hi-def environment and is certainly far from boring with vibrant color and fairly good detail throughout. Naturally, World Heroes Perfect looks the best of the group but no title suffers too much from the graphical outlying of the day they were created in.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on January 9th, 2008
Some of my favorite fighting games include the likes of Marvel vs Capcom 2, X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel vs Street Fighter, etc. The appeal of these games was simple, fun fast arcade gameplay with cool easily-known characters (I did always have a fondness for Gambit). Along those lines, SNK was introduced into the series as a logical step around 1999 in the game series SNK vs Capcom. After SNK filed for bankruptcy in 2000, the company re-formed and was called SNK Playmore. In 2005, SNK Playmore decided to bring out a game that played very much to the old versus games in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum. In the last breath of 2007, NeoGeo Battle Coliseum makes it to the states for the Playstation 2 system. Now in my greedy little hands, I explore the game and see if it stands up as a true fighter.
Graphics
The Vs. games were always strong in graphics, you could recognize most of the characters immediately and know who you wanted to start playing with because of that look. NGBC is unfortunately just average. You could spend a long time looking at the various characters that you have to play with because you can't discern between one male fighter and the next. The characters and action appear very pixilated and this game has not improved since the console versions of the Vs. games already mentioned. In some ways, those seem better now; Marvel vs Capcom 2 for Xbox is a good example. Even Mai Shiranui of Fatal Fury fame isn't as beautiful as I hoped and there are few standouts in the background or animation department. While no progressive scan or widescreen is provided, in the options menu there is a Screen type setting (Type A / Type B) which stretches it out a bit. But it is not a widescreen option.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on May 24th, 2007
Opening
ROUND ONE, FIGHT. I'm something of a Mortal Kombat junkie especially in my younger days. I started playing the original arcade game when I was very young and played 2 (still the best to date), 3, dealt with 4 and even dabbled in Deception. I adored the movies, though for obvious reasons I was poed at some parts of the second movie but still liked it. I even bought one of those silly MK controllers for the Playstation 2 (Scorpion naturally). So when I heard that the...Wii version was coming out; I figured I would go ahead and give a review of the newest Mortal Kombat but for the XBOX. I did that version because it is 360 compatible and I did purchase it within the last month. That way if you are considering the Wii version, you will know for the most part (minus the nearly useless Endurance Mode and a couple of extra characters) what you are in for.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on October 22nd, 2003
K-1 is a nice change from the wrestling and tekken type fighting games. Once you learn the technique and how to pace yourself you will be knocking out opponents in no time, but by that time you really won't want to play this game much longer either.
Along the lines of UfC and Pride there is another promotion, K-1, which is actually quite different then the other two. K-1 has more rules, and is mostly restricted to one fighting style… kick-boxing. Fighters also wear gloves, and there is no grappling, subm...ssions. K-1 Grand Prix let's you take control of any 20 fighters and try and become the Grand-prix champion of the world.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 1st, 2003
During the 1970’s, Kung Fu and martial arts films were the in thing. Bruce Lee and the cheap Hong Kong action film were leading the wave of popularity of the Far Eastern martial arts. Even music of the time reflected America’s love of the Kung Fu culture with a hit song entitled Kung Fu Fighting.
Now Microsoft has brought all of the fun and campy nature of those old 35 mm films to life here on the Xbox. Kung Fu Chaos is a colorful, tongue-in-cheek fighter that is influenced by the Hong ...ong action films of the mid 70’s. Players can choose from eight unique looking fighters and take them on in a trash talking, knock down brawl.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2003
Like a bolt out of the blue, Guilty Gear X2 comes out this month and totally hits a player between the eyes. When one thinks of fighters on the Playstation 2 console, most think of the studios Capcom or Sega--and those titles popular to those particular production houses. Yet, Sammy Studios released a fighting title for the PS2 that is so marvelous, so fun, and so entertaining, that it almost completely redefines 2-D side scrolling fighters.
The game, of course, is Guilty Gear X2 and it must b... seen and played to be believed. Reveling in the old school 2-D fighter genre that many of us grew up on in those dark arcades of past, X2 is a fantastic mix of unique characters, interesting fighting arenas, classic arcade machine rock and roll, and a healthy amount of combos per fighter.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on May 9th, 2003
Rumblin’ time is here for the Xbox videogame console and Tao Feng from Microsoft may have just have you whooping it up with great combos, slick graphics, and interesting game characters. New this month, Tao Feng is Microsoft’s answer to the Tekken series which calls the PS2 home.
Developed by the guys that brought you Mortal Kombat, players can select fighters from one of two factions in the game: the Pale Lotus and the Black Mantis. Each of these sects has strong ...ighters which use several different fighting techniques to get the job done. You, as the player, will spend time discovering new moves and honing the skills you have acquired in battle to smash, break, and tear down all who come before you.
