Is The Look More Important Than The Feel?!: Comparing Gameplay To Aesthetics

The King Of Fighters series has most definitely had its ups and downs. As a fan of the series, I'm not at all ashamed to say that I chose to stay away from certain games in the series specifically the ones that got away from the traditional 2D art style that I was accustomed to.

During The King Of Fighters XIII's most celebrated time period here in the U.S., you could almost imagine that it would be enjoying many more years to come but as time moved on things became clear that players would do the same as well.

There are plenty of reasons I could give that attribute to SNK Playmore's official buy out but I'd rather focus on the present concerns at hand,The King Of Fighters XIV.  Like many fans, I was vehement about there being a KOFXIV stating that having a next game in the series would be much better than having nothing. It would seem like many would get their wish, just not quite the way they may have hoped for.

It was expected that the series would forgo its 2D roots in an effort to cut production time and create more assets then the previous offering. After all, the pain stalking process of "Dot Art", while greatly appreciated by fans, hurt them in the long run when they first introduced it in KOFXII a game that was highly criticized for its lack of features among other trivial complaints. 

When the announcement for the latest game in the series hit my radar, there was no doubt excitement but only a few minutes later, that excitement would turn to utter disappointment. Having a background in computer animation made this an even harder pill to swallow. I've never had a reason to critique the release of a game title, none the less a fighting game one and I just couldn't stop picking at all of its faults.

With each trailer that popped up, it was apparent that KOFXIV was not going to be on par with what the current gen has to offer and to me that is what hurts the most. While my feelings towards this title have been nothing but negative, others fight to defend the next entry by providing evidence of minor improvements and footage comparisons to the previous offering.

While I'm still at odds with the game aesthetics, my feelings about the game play are neutral. The comparisons with KOFXIII have definitely helped my view of the game as it seems to stay within the same pacing. It lets me know that while KOFXIV may not have the stylish look that I enjoyed previously it will still retain the feeling which may transfer over to the game play as well. 

Next week, as players get a chance to go hands on with the title at Playstation Experience, we will know some what where this game stands. As we are still clueless as to the exact release date which happens to be coming next year, there is still hope that strides can be made but in my mind their not enough to satiate the new players being introduced to the series. 

There is no doubt that some games can look quite awesome and make you contemplate the end of your existence...during game play at least. It could be that KOFXIV will successfully maintain what ultimately makes this series distinguishable from the rest but the questions remains at what cost. 

They Just Don't Seem To Care

The 2015 Games Award Show has left many perplexed as to how they exactly decided to determine the fighting game nominations. One of the games chosen for this year happens to be on its way out next month and another is still in Beta.

It would be one thing if you could argue that there aren't enough titles to construct a solid list of nominations ,but that is far from the truth. There were at least three solid titles that I personally would've considered choice candidates:

1. Under Night In-Birth EXE:Late
2. Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax
3. Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden

Now given they fall under the "anime" category of fighting games, you may argue its sole representative Guilty Gear Xrd: -Sign- should be adequate since it does share similar aesthetics that fall under that style of fighting game but here is the problem, they are not the same!!


The evidence seems clear as day that the people running this show, the ones who brand the mark of "gamer" so proudly on their chest, are very very out of touch. The shows creator Geoff Keighley also happens to be the creator of Game Trailers.

Taking a quick look at the coverage of said games on the GT's website pushes further the notion that they took no time to play these games and that is truly unfortunate because had they done so maybe, just maybe at least two of the games would have received a much deserved nomination.

Now, this would be a single atrocity had I not delved further into their nominations for E-sports and found that there was absolutely no representation for fighting game players!! It is apparent that they just don't seem to care.

Geoff like many of us came from an era of the Arcade. If you come from that era, then you know the resurgence that fighting games created around this time. There is no denying that these days keeping up with the influx of games seems to have become more of a chore then a fun past time but as an entity that is dedicated to covering a wide assortment of video game related media, I can't help but think they are seriously missing the mark.

There may be some strange politics happening at this so called award show. When things get to this level, there always seem to be so it doesn't surprise me much just disappoints. The only thing that we can do as not just a fighting game community but a game community at large is point out the inconsistencies and hope they make changes.

It is sad to say this given the appreciation of what this show means to many of us game fans but if there isn't equal representation across the board then I will no longer see the need to support this further and urge others to do the same.

Holding Characters Hostage!!

After a fair amount of leaks have surfaced from Street Fighter V, I'm starting to think something is afoot! It doesn't take sharp sleuthing skills to figure out what developers are doing just a keen eye on the behavior especially when it comes to releasing characters.

Let's back track a bit to where I believe this all started, Killer Instinct. The first current-gen fighting game came out of the gate initially offering 8 characters to choose from. Now, one can gather that this game was far from complete yet and still the publishers decided it best to bring the game out as it was and to their chagrin, it worked out.

If two years ago you told me that Street Fighter V would be getting released in 2016, I would have said impossible given Capcom's current situation at the time. I could have never imagined Sony taking such a huge roll in the development of Street Fighter V which is ultimately why we will be seeing it sooner than later.

It's obvious to me that game development in this current generation is far more challenging and so when it was announced that Street Fighter V would be launching with 16 characters adding only 6 more within the year, it wasn't surprising but it was certainly a little disappointing.

While their are a great deal of characters some of which I'm glad to see returning, it is apparent that a great deal of my favorites are not their. So.... Capcom is holding my characters hostage!!!

Okay,okay maybe I'm flying off the handle just a little bit but it is very telling. 16 initial characters compared to the 25 that were released for Street Fighter IV. For the second time in Street Fighter history, Sagat will not be among the initial roster and that little ball of electricity Blanka also won't be present either...the Street Fighter gods must be crazy!!

I talked about having character crisis previously and as things are now there will be a few Street Fighter veterans plagued by this current epidemic until the next round of characters make an appearance.

Would it have been behoove of Capcom to possibly wait until they had a roster fitting of a royal banquet? Probably. But given their latest commitment to giving you free extra content from the initial purchase, well, you can't not at least be content in knowing a character you wanted to see very badly at launch won't require you to shell out some extra cash.

It seems like just yesterday the initial Killer Instinct roster was something to vehemently scoff at. Now, it's a complete game promising to bring more characters next year to add to its very diverse roster.

Game development now a days has taking on a very different model one that continues to change as you continue to play and communicate your experiences. It's probably to soon to bring out the free "insert favorite character" t-shirts so I'm going to start shouting it now from the roof tops of this blog post.

"Free Sagat"

"Free Fei-Long"

"Fre...you get the picture Capcom don't have me waiting to long and I'll do my best to enjoy the characters that you have to offer in the mean while!