The decline of the arcade and the rise of the living room warrior

Today was a very, very sad day for me.

Today was the day I discovered that the only machine keeping my fighting game arcade spirit alive, an old MAME cabinet has been removed from the local SEGA park which ran GAROU, Darkstalkers, Vampire Saviour 2, Marvel vs Capcom, X-Men vs Street Fighter and, most importantly to me, Super Street Fighter II Turbo and in it's place.....

A novelty boxing game.

I... I shit you not.

To vent my frustration at SEGA parks love for crappy machines that nobody touches and removing machines that are popular and stand the test of time, I went home and raped the CPU on HDR with Chun-Li. Things I would not be capable of, or indeed stupid enough to normally try flowed out of me like a gushing wound. The anger, the irritation, the frustration..... All coming to one realisation.

The arcade is dead. Long live console, and herald the new regime of online.

All the Best.

Adam/Alfarin

Let's talk Adam playing fighters, and switching between them!

Hey all.

So, as many of you all know, I play a /lot/ of fighters.

.....Okay, who the fuck am I kidding that's pretty much ALL I PLAY.

ANYWAY.

The question I get asked a lot is, "how do you stay within a sensible skill level of so many different fighters?"

To be honest, it isn't that hard. The main thing I do, when picking up or returning to a fighter is to learn a basic combo with my character(s). Since, outside of SSFIVAE and HDR, I rarely play much outside of online multiplayer ranked/player matches, this is an essential tactic to gain a little ground. You'll be surprised at the amount of people who don't know basic combos, instead relying on mashing (ANDREW) to get the job done. Unless this is Tekken and you're the sort of asshole who constantly picks Eddie or Elen-CHRISTIE you're not going to be able to get away with that.

Secondly, pick a character who works well in the games system and suits your playstyle in said system. Again, this happens too damn often on and offline, leaving many people in the dark. And don't think that just because you can rush that shit down in AE with Ryu means you can do it in Third Strike! To give an example, I play Cammy in the SFIV series, and the polar opposite in Urien in Third Strike. From offensive rush down, to a refined technical bastard play.

Third and final, is once in a while play the damn games, even just for fun. Arcade mode has a leaderboard! Go and top it. Training mode exists! Blow some steam off after a shitty day, beat the shit out of the cheapest most irksome character on the roster (YUN) and in the process, find what works for you and fine love for the games you are playing. Without a little love? This genre will eat you alive

All the best

Adam

XBL - Alfarin

A rant

Smartphones.

Androids.

iPhone.

Whatever the fuck you call them.


May I ask a quick question, to those of you who constantly play with the "infinite bubble wrap game" or the "paper triangle flicking" thing?
DID YOU REALLY NEED A FUCKING £200+ PHONE TO DO THAT?! BUBBLE WRAP IS 99P A METER, AND
TRIANGLE BITS OF PAPER CAN BE MADE FOR 2P A FUCKING SHEET


PHONE GAME DEVELOPERS. MAKE SOMETHING FUCKING WORTHWHILE, JESUS MERRY CHRISTMAS!



Hearts, kisses and hugs

Adam <3

An apology

Sorry for being so inactive! I will come up with something to post soon. Promise!

Obsessive compulsive cannon spike FADC cannon spike FADC Ultra I disorder

Welcome... to the world of the perfectionist Street Fighter player. Though, truth be told,I know I am not as bad as other, or that it's limited to just Street Fighter, or just to fighting games for that matter. In every genre, on every platform, players seem to forget somewhere down the line that we are playing a game, take things way to seriously and forget the most important reason as to why we even play games in the first place - To have FUN.


I'm not saying stop going to tournaments, or stop being competitive - competition, after all is part of the fun in gaming today. I'm saying that we need to chill out more, and just sit back and let it all kick out.


Enjoy.

Adam

Creativity, Imagination and Zombies

So, last friday, one of my most anticipated games of 2010, Dead Rising 2, came out here in europe.

Ladies and gentlemen, we may have one of the most creatively minded games of out times.

Yes, the plot is pretty basic. Yes, the gameplay mechanics are simple. Yes, the characters are rather straightforward (But very well acted, I must add).

But then... there is the weapon combination system.

Blue Castle, god bless you, you crazy mother fuckers. Who else would have thought to combine a mallet with an axe to create one of the most satisfying and brutal weapons ever devised?

But... one thing

Just where the hell is Chuck Greene getting all this Duck Tape from?



(Sorry about the lack of posts recently, I hope to get back on to the once-a-week track soonish!)


Till next time folks!

All the best, Adam

XBL - Alfarin

Multiplayer personality Cliche's - Sad but true

Multiplayer gaming has become the backbone force for installing fanbases in this current generation - Whether in Super Street Fighter IV, bodying every Ken that crosses your path or Frag-Tagging Carmines in Gears Of War (BTW - Carmine must die), Multiplayer has become the defining force.

However, like everything, there is a dark side



No, not that Dark Side - Unless we are talking about Soul Calliber IV.

I am of course, referring to the "Scrub", the "Salty player", The whine-filled kid who is A: Usually far too young to be playing the game at hand (If a parent ever reads this, buy games that your children are mature enough for) and B: Bitching and moaning about anybody who kills them, decreeing them "Cheap" or a "noob" of some variety (Gears of War 2 is my favourite for this - There are socalled Chainsaw, Frag-Tag, Spray and (My personal favourite) cover "noobs")

The following is a polite message to all of these people.

Please, shut the fuck up. There are two options here - Grow up, or stop playing videogames. As a Street Fighter player, I know that firsthand the best players find tricks and tips to win. Whining buggars call them cheap.


If something is truly "Broken" (Martyrdom comes to mind here, no arguments anyone here), Then it gets fixed (Again, Martyrdom being the poster-child here: From a perk to a deathstreak drop). In the case of sniper rifles, Shoryuken combos, chainsaws and grenade tagging, kindly shut the fuck up and grow up. We don't need another spoilt little shit clogging up Xbox Live/PSN/NWFC/Steam/Whatever your choice of online service.


Cheers for sticking through this rant that was throw together at the last minute. I promise a more thought out post next week.

All the best

Adam.