You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance
Although I’ve still been playing State of Decay 2 with my pals, and patiently ambling through the pretty but vacant Agony, along came a new challenger. The Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, in point of fact. I picked up the Switch version for the tournament mode (now all I need is a few other friends with a switch and copy of the game, then the party can really start!), and the fact that unlike the other consoles of this generation, if you have the physical version, then you don’t have to install it. That and the Switch is awesome and I can play it handheld while the wife watches Love Island.
But I digress, this compilation contains every arcade release of Street Fighter from the original to Street Fighter III Third Strike, and everything in between. Not only is it crammed full of the greatest games in the genre, there’s online play and a plethora of art work and trivia, too. While Street Fighter II and the four subsequent versions were all brilliant, Street Fighter III Third Strike is the shining diamond of the collection. With its beautifully animated character sprites, impressive selection of fighters both new and old (for its time), and fast paced fighting style, this version was worth the price alone. Now I’m no pro SF player, and would probably get my arse kicked by anyone I play against, but there’s a real quality to this game that keeps me coming back for more. When I’m not playing it, I wish I was, and when I am playing, time always flies by so quickly. The other versions of Street Fighter III are very good as well, however Third Strike has the bigger roster of characters, and there are more rounds to play through.
A few of the fights I enjoyed and a couple of bonus rounds, too
One of my favourite features is online arcade mode. It starts off as a single player, however every now and then (depending on how you set the frequency) you will be challenged by someone else, just like you were down the arcade, pumping 10p’s into it like there was no tomorrow. This is a fun way of progressing through the game as well as taking on other people. One blight on this otherwise perfect fighting compilation, is that the online mode is more often than not, laggy as hell. Some of the fights I’ve had, have lasted twice as long as they should do, and sometimes the input commands don’t register. I understand Capcom will be releasing an update, and hope this is fixed, as it’s a gem of a game and the first 1v1 fighter that I’ve enjoyed since the PS1 days. I’m utterly terrible at it, but I can’t stop playing. Thanks Capcom, for what is so far my game of the year, and happy anniversary to this incredible series of games, that has captured my imagination since I was a wee lad with too many 10p’s in the caravan park arcade.
ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT EXPO
Yes, it’s that time of year again, where the nerds of the Internet get together to whine about what games they didn’t like or didn’t get announced at this years American video games trade show. There’s been a lot to get excited for once again, with this year’s probably giving us the most to look forward to since Nintendo knocked it out of the park with the debut appearance of the Tree House. Of the many games that were announced or shown for the first time since being announced, there was quite a few to satisfy anyone’s bloodlust, with the likes of Metro Exodus, The Last Of Us 2, and quite possibly the most exciting appearance of the whole show, Capcom’s remake of one the greatest games of the 90’s, Resident Evil 2.
That’s right, after 15 years since the original got the modernisation treatment, the superior second game has finally been updated for the current generation, and it looks incredible. Built using the current Resident Evil engine, the same which 7 was built on, it brings in a new twist on what is arguably the best game in the series. Gone are the static camera angles, replaced with a third person over the shoulder Pov, although speculation has it there are multiple options for the in game camera. Perhaps even a first person mode? Nevertheless, it looks cracking and was my game of the event.
Dino Crisis
My latest cinema trip was the return of the dinosaurs with Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. I’m a big fan of the previous film, and despite the trailers doing nothing for me, I was still looking forward to some more dinosaur action. And for a good part, it delivered. The opening scene and the first act were all great, and pretty fast paced, but once things slowed down, it didn’t really pick up again after that. There’s some new characters introduced, who all have their moments, and are quite entertaining, but this feels like far too much of a retread of The Lost World. Dinosaurs are taken from the island, it goes tits up, it turns out man was wrong to play god. Again. The mansion setting felt very Resident Evil, or I suppose you could say Dino Crisis, and it’s always great to see the dinosaurs on the big screen, but I was willing it to wrap up already not long in to the final act, as I was starting to lose interest. Still, it’s introduced us to some great new actors and characters, and the ending was pretty neat. If you were pining for another Lost World, you’re in for a treat, but otherwise, this may be a bit of a let down.
I also went to see Solo again. How people are writing this off is beyond me. Star Wars through and through. I really hope we get to see what it sets up, come to life. Especially given the recent news that the spin offs are being put on hold.
Next time: ELECTRONIC SPORTS
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