Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

What it is: From EA and 38 Studios comes a brand new, single-player RPG set in the vast fantasy world of Amalur. The adventure begins as the hero awakens from death courtesy of the Soul Well. Events force the former corpse to find its way through a truly expansive world to find the truth about the war and why they’re even alive in the first place. War, intrigue, betrayal, and fate all come together in this adventure.

Why we’re excited: With Ken Rolston, R.A. Salvatore, and Todd McFarlane at the helm, 38 studios is reminiscent of a rock and roll super-group. That much talent in one place is enough to pique our curiosity.   Add to that the interesting marketing of Curt Schilling and some great demo and preorder incentives, and our attention is certainly drawn. Skyrim had left many of us wondering just how anything could follow up on such an epic, but Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning promises a world just as deep and action-oriented gameplay perhaps even more engaging. We will find out soon if they can deliver on those promises.

 Projected release: This week (February 7th)

Twisted Metal

What it is: The revival of the cult classic gaming franchise makes its PlayStation 3 debut in February and is being helmed by David Jaffe and Eat Sleep Play, the brilliant minds behind the God of War series.

Why we’re excited: Twisted Metal may be the perfect forum for Jaffe and the developers at Eat Sleep Play to showcase more of their expert craft with mesmerizing brutality. Fans from the PS1 era will recognize some franchise fixtures, such as Sweet Tooth and Mr. Grimm. They’ll also be introduced to some new ones, like a Sweet Tooth transformer.

Projected release: Valentine’s Day

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

What it is: SCE Bend Studios is behind this next chapter in the Uncharted series. The story is set before the events of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, so this will be the first prequel in the series, as well as the first Uncharted game to be released on a handheld, the PlayStation Vita.

Why we’re excited: When Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was released for the PlayStation 3 in 2007, it quickly became the benchmark to which other games must be compared with regard to the PS3′s capabilities. It is only natural then that Golden Abyss play a similar role for the PlayStation Vita. How well will the touch screen mechanics of the Vita be integrated into a quick, kinetic game like Uncharted? We can’t wait to find out.

Projected release: Next week (February 15th)

Mass Effect 3

What it is: The invasion has begun and the only hope for the universe is to unite as one and fight back. This time, there’s no denying the threat the Reapers pose and all that’s left to do is fight. With Earth already lost, players must assume the mantle of Commander Sheperd once again and fight for the survival of every living thing in the galaxy.

Why we’re excited: This game marks the culmination of a five-year journey into a universe no one could have imagined. As we learned in the first two games, every action has a consequence and it’s time to see how those decisions play out. Rabid fans are already checking their old save files and even playing again just  to prepare themselves for what should be one hell of a ride.

Projected release: March 6th

Street Fighter X Tekken

What it is: When an object named “Pandora” falls from the sky, the natural reaction of the people is to fight over it. When it’s discovered that Pandora actually grants excess power to those fighting near it, it brings out the very best. The fighters from both the Street Fighter and Tekken franchises come together to fight over just who should control this power.

Why we’re excited: Two of the most famous fighting universes join forces in Street Fighter X Tekken. Combining the characters of both games, Capcom brings us a new mash-up fighter that looks every bit as fun as its predecessors.  Set in the 2D style of Street Fighter, this entry is spearheaded by Capcom with characters licensed from Namco’s Tekken. It will be the first of two crossovers, with Tekken X Street Fighter coming some time down the line. Fans of the two fighting games have quite a bit to look forward to.

Projected release: March 6th

Xenoblade Chronicles

What it is: In a world built upon the bones of ancient warring races, Shulk and his companions fight the evil Mechon. Wielding the epic blade, Monado, Shulk must battle his way through countless enemies to gain vengeance against those who harmed his friends and to save the world from an even greater threat.

Why we’re excited: Fans of JRPGs have had little success over the years in attempts to encourage the release of games outside of Japan, but Xenoblade Chronicles proves that their voices can be heard. It took petitions, letter campaigns, and no small amount of begging to convince Nintendo to bring this game to the West. With a massive and beautiful world to explore, an interesting crafting system, a killer battle system, and some of the highest critical acclaim of the past few years, this is one to dust off the Wii for.

Projected release: April 2nd

Max Payne 3

What it is: The next chapter in the Max Payne series finds Max on the down and out. He’s reeling from the loss of his family and running from his past into the private security business for a Sao Paulo family.  It doesn’t take long for Max’s bad luck to find him and wrap him up in a plot of intrigue and betrayal.

Why we’re excited: Pioneering the use of bullet time in video games, the Max Payne series has been absent since the second game, released in 2003. From the look of the videos released thus far, they’ve taken the physics and shooting to a whole new level. Each bullet is rendered in real time as it’s fired, with the kill cam able to follow each shot as it fells the enemy. Rockstar has had a winning track record the last few years and this looks to be no exception. We can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

Projected release: May 15th

Journey

What it is: Journey is the work of fl0w and Flower developer, thatgamecompany, and follows similar minimalist, existential design philosophies. Players embark as a simple, androgynous, robed figure on a journey through a seemingly endless desert, given little to no instruction and knowing only that their ultimate goal is a mountaintop bathed in light. Along the way, mystery about the game world is unveiled, and players will interact with other, anonymous players at intervals throughout their travels.

Why we’re excited: Journey is an altogether different experience than the vast majority of games on the market today, with a deeper focus on exploration, discovery, restoration, and the moment-to-moment experience of being in the game world. It is about the journey, so to speak. With smooth platforming controls, including jumping, flying, gliding, and… harmonizing, along with the game’s unique multiplayer aspect, this is an intriguing world in which we definitely want to spend many, many hours.

Projected release: Spring

Diablo III

What it is: Twenty years have passed since the nameless heroes who saved Sanctuary went mad from their ordeals. Now, a new generation of heroes answer the call to fight Azmodan and Belial and turn back the armies of hell.

Why we’re excited: The Diablo series is simply in the blood of many gamers. Even gamers who scoff at the notion of RPGs still remember Diablo with fondness. After being teased with the third installment for the past three years, it’s almost time to point and click our way through ever-changing dungeons and spend our hard-earned money in the new auction houses.

Projected release: First half of 2012

Tomb Raider

What it is: A 21-year-old Lara Croft embarks on her very first expedition, soon finding herself shipwrecked and held captive on an inhospitable island. The young Lara will endure various types and degrees of pain and torture that will shape her character and build physical, mental, and emotional fortitude on her quest to escape the island alive.

Why we’re excited:  This promises to be a very different experience than previous Tomb Raider titles, and will present Lara as far more human character than ever before. Already, we feel a connection to the girl and empathize with her struggles. Play looks to be more personal, with environmental puzzles and more consequential combat that will draw the audience deep into the game. Incredible graphics and frantic action sequences never hurt, either.

Projected release: Autumn

BioShock Infinite

What it is: A prequel to the previous BioShock games, BioShock Infinite takes place not underwater, but high above in the flying city of Columbia. Players take control of Booker DeWitt, caught in the middle of the conflict raging in the fantastical city. Sent by the Pinkerton Agency, Booker must find and rescue Elizabeth, a young girl with mysterious powers. Together, they must escape the turmoil and figure out just what role Elizabeth plays.

Why we’re excited: After a tepid reception for BioShock 2, it will be interesting to see how this new game will play with Ken Levine back at the helm. Exploring a wide-open, aerial city rather than an enclosed underwater colony will change how the characters interact with the environment and give players much more freedom than ever before. One of the biggest curiosities lies in just how the game will play with the main character being given a voice rather than being the mute protagonist we’ve all come to expect.

Projected release: 2012

The Last Guardian

What it is: The next chapter in the mystically weaved world of Team Ico. Like its predecessors Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, theLast Guardian’s trailer presents another unusual relationship while alluding to something darker. Judging by Team Ico’s track record, one can also expect the potential for heartbreak.

Why we’re excited: With Fumito Ueda departing from Sony followed shortly by GameStop cancelling preorders of the game (then apologizing and correcting their mistake), the Last Guardian’s future is somewhat muddy. However, even with controversy surrounding the game, we are still thirsting for it. Team Ico has yet to disappoint (Shadow of the Colossus was our game of thedecade, after all), and we can’t wait to see how this story of a boy and his monster expands upon truly original mythos.

Projected release: 2012… or ’13… or never

Contributions by Ben West, Greg Galiffa, Eddie Inzauto

“EA’s annual Super Bowl predictions are the best bet in town. No one can beat these odds. And that got us thinking, what the hell else could we predict?”

The following day it was announced that EA would be using its library of games to simulate plenty of other real-life scenarios.

Using Rock Band’s advanced musical AI, EA will attempt to predict Lincoln High School’s annual Battle of the Bands one week before the actual event. Bands competing in the Battle of the Bands include third grade teacher Mr. Withers, a teenage quartet who call themselves “Your Mom,” and Dave Grohl’s new two-piece rock outfit “58008 (upside down calculator boobs)” with his fifth grade nephew. Jack Black and Tony Danza will host the event, although they will not be implemented in the Rock Band simulation.

Hasbro’s Family Game Night is also on the docket to be simulated. The Johnson family’s weekly “Friday Family Night” normally consists of Mrs. Johnson kicking everyone’s ass at Scrabble, Uncle Eddie giggling every time someone says “Bop It!” and Little Suzie crying when Timmy knocks her game piece back to Start.  In a recent interview, this is what Suzie had to say:

“The name of the game is Sorry! But Timmy never says that, he just flicks my piece under the couch.”

EA is confident that Hasbro’s Family Game Night will quickly become a weekly staple in the simulation lineup. Gibeau claims that if enough of a buzz is built, they might even pimp the Johnsons’ house out as a mini board-game colosseum.

EA is equally confident that  it can predict the trajectory of someone’s entire life.  EA will use The Sims to simulate Jay-Z and Beyonce’s brand new baby girl. Blue Ivy was born on Janurary 7, 2012 and has already signed a record deal with Tower Records for a May 24, 2025 release date. EA will begin the simulation of The Sims on Blue Ivy’s one month birthday, having to first set up Jay-Z and Beyonce’s romance through constant phone calling and missing work.  EA is hopeful that they should have Blue Ivy’s entire life tracked by the time she is ten years old, and now the only question they face is whether to bother downloading the “University Life Collection.”

Finally, Gibeau stated that until humans make contact with an alien race, EA will only be using Mass Effect to predict what Matthew Fox might say or do when pitted against The Collectors one thousand years from now. Gibeau commented, “We here at EA look forward to the day that an interplanetary war breaks loose. But, until that day we’ll just keep sending out radio signals of Bill Murray’s filmography, hoping this pisses someone… or something off.”

                                    Difficulty

• Easy
• Normal
• Hard
• God Mode (Defeat Normal or Hard)

Which would you pick? It’s a challenging decision, as it will affect every move you make for the rest of your life. By picking Easy you might not feel satisfied when completing all the quests and side missions. You also heard that there’s some content not available on Easy mode. But, hard is gonna be… hard. There’s a distinct possibility things might not turn out how you wanted and you’ll be shit out of luck. Now normal, that sounds tempting. You’ll feel you’ve earned your keep without having to subject yourself to the frustration and annoyance of a demanding lifestyle. You stare at the menu, contemplating this reality-altering decision for a moment longer.

Flash forward to 20 years later. Sitting in front of your TV, you are faced with the same decision.  This is a challenging decision, as it will affect every move you make for the rest of the video game you’re about to start.

By picking Easy, you know that you’ll be able to blow through those levels without a second thought. You won’t have to waste time grinding because the next dungeon is a touch too challenging. You will always know where to go next, never having to scour the map for your next quest. Knowing that one shotgun round to the head will obliterate that enemy is a feeling of comfort to you. And it’s not like you have all the free time in the world. You have to work 60 hours a week to support your little sister after your parents died in that awful accident two years ago. You just want to come home and pown some n00bs before bed. Don’t forget, you’ve got your third date with the new person from accounting on Friday. They’re really great and your sister loves them. Plus, with your painting career finally taking off you don’t have anything to prove to anyone who sees your Gamerscore.

But hard is gonna be… hard. You’re going to replay that boss battle five or six times just to figure out how to not die, let alone how to beat him. It’s going to take one hit from even the lowliest foe to ruin your afternoon. Completing the game 100% is going to be an uphill battle when you’re not even sure if what you’re doing is even affecting your progress. And this is the challenge you’ve been looking for. Ever since your high school All-American football days you’ve wanted an outlet for your competitiveness. You don’t make a lot of money so the longer you can stretch out that minimum wage budget with a game you can’t beat in one sitting the better. Growing up you were told that everything was handed to you on a silver platter but this is your chance to prove that you work hard and earn your keep.

Now normal, that sounds tempting. Defeating enemies will be tough but not impossible. Completing missions may be difficult but getting an occasional hint will help in times of desperate need. This sounds like the perfect gaming experience. You’re a pretty normal person. Some amazing things have happened in your life, some good and some bad. No one is ever going to write a book about you, but you’ve got a healthy amount of people following your blog. Some things come naturally to you and plenty of other things will always keep you bewildered.

You smile as the thought of being able to set a difficulty on life comes to mind. That’d be pretty cool, but which would you pick? You begin to get this weird feeling in your gut, like someone is trying to tell you something. It’s almost like some long lost memory is pushing you toward one of the choices on your screen. But, which one? You might not know which option is best until you’re halfway through…

Wait, that’s perfect. This game, this twenty hours of escape is your way to finally pick your difficulty. It’s your chance to evaluate what you’re looking for and actually choose which path you’ll go down. And when you hit those roadblocks you know you can overcome them. This is a game; these obstacles are made to be hurdled. It’s just a matter of figuring out how to hurdle those barriers. And if you can’t hurdle them you change the difficulty, or pick up a strategy guide.

Suddenly the choice seems so simple. It was right in front of you all along. Your entire life has been leading up to this moment. This is your re-do. So, you pick up the controller and hit A. If it’s too easy, then you’ll make it harder.  If it’s too hard, you’ll cruise the Internet for tips and tricks. And if it’s just right, then maybe you’ll come closer to figuring out what kind of person you are.

As the opening cinematic plays, you look around your apartment, taking it all in. Things could be a lot better, but damn could they be worse.  For a moment, everything feels just right.

Donning the first-person perspective in games has come to mean there’s no possible way that a gamer could ever see outside the vision of the character he or she inhabits (I’m discounting Fallout 3‘s VATS system as a temporary lapse).  This defeats the purpose of being in first-person, right?  In God of War 3, when the player as Kratos is bashing Poseidon’s face with a rock, did it defeat the purpose to switch to first-person when it’s a third-person perspective game?

Third-person games use first-person perspective as a tool for situations that will be enhanced by that perspective.  Why can’t first-person games use third-person when it will enhance the experience?  This would open up new creative avenues for developers, making for some pretty badass moments.  Imagine playing Bioshock 2 and occasionally seeing Subject Delta drill through a nitro splicer as a fly on the digital wall.  Wouldn’t that be more engrossing than just seeing half of the drill in the bottom right corner? And imagine the cinematic potential of watching from below a drainage grate as the splicer’s contaminated blood cascades into the refuse and seawater flowing under Rapture.

I love plowing through levels, playing for hours to sneak up on a cinematic cutscene.  That little bit of story you’ve been driving towards that makes it all worth it.  Remember the bridge exploding in Final Fantasy XIII?  I got a little teary-eyed and the action was awesome!  Uncharted 3 had some insane moments during its stomach-churning, interactive cutscenes.  In my experience with the first-person perspective, these kinds of cutscenes just don’t exist.  Actually, the opposite happens.

I can remember a scene during Skyrim in which I hid in a coffin where a Jester was pouring out his soul.  So, for about four minutes I stared at the inside of a black box while some motionless guy rambled on and on.  If the first-person perspective was “allowed” to cut away and take on a cinematic scope, this scene could have been epic.  To watch as an armor-clad Dovakiin jumps out of that coffin and owns the Jester would have dialed up the tension and the dramatic release, both of which create satisfaction in media consumers.  Amazing.  Instead, I watched the inside of a box then pounced out and stared while the Jester just continued to talk.  How anti-climactic.

I can remember playing Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind back on my Xbox, and less than ten minutes into the game I faced a low-level foe.  I tapped the ATTACK button, and my character’s arms flailed in what seemed like “the closest layer of animation”.  Then, in “the second closest layer,” the foe fell backward, while a blood splatter graphic popped onto the screen.  While recently playing Skyrim, I noted that not much has changed.  With all the technology at its disposal, Bethesda hasn’t even taken the time to make the world into one cohesive, interactive screen.  Personally, this takes me completely out of the gaming experience.  In Skyrim, I’m immersed in an amazing, realistic-looking world on the most innovative gaming platform to ever exist but the second I decide to swing a broadsword I feel like I’ve been time-machined back to 2002.  It’s a hindrance that exists only because of the first-person perspective.

My entire life I’ve had a thing against the deceptive, effective first-person perspective.  From my first encounter (Zero Tolerance for SEGA) all the way to Battlefield 3, there’s always been something that just doesn’t sit right.  But, I keep trying.  I’m attempting to find that first-person perspective game that changes my mind and shows me that this view can help a game.  I’ve yet to find that game.  Chalk it up to personal preference, but I think there is a large amount of room for improvement in the world’s most favorite genre of gaming.

It took a lot of deliberation, some of which you can listen to at the bottom of the page in VS Node 21: Games of the Year, a podcast discussing the GotY nominees and two honorable mentions at greater length. We allowed six nominees this time instead of the usual five because of how many great games there were to choose from, but in the end, we did manage to narrow it down to a single winner.

Listen and read on to find out who took home the title of 2011 GamerNode Game of the Year, and of course feel free to chime in via our comments section here on the site, on Facebook, and on Twitter using the #NodieAwards hashtag. We always love to hear from you and to talk games together.

Game of The Year

The nominees are:

Batman: Arkham City

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Portal 2

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

And The Winner Is…

For 2011, we ‘ll be bestowing a grand total of 35 awards, and will be splitting the virtual ceremony into two separate sections: “Special Honors” and “Best Of 2011.” The latter of the two includes the coveted honor of GamerNode Game of the Year. Each individual award will highlight the five nominees the GN staff felt were most worthy of recognition, and then reveal our esteemed winner and runner-up.

Additionally, keep on the lookout for a special VS Node Podcast in which some of the GN staff will discuss our top games of the year in even greater depth, as a companion show to the 2011 Nodies.

Please feel free to chime in via our comments section here on the site, on Facebook, and on Twitter using the #NodieAwards hashtag. We always love to hear from you and to talk games together.

Best of 2011

Continuing where we left off on Tuesday, today we’re bringing you the best of the best: the best in genre, the best on specific platforms, and of course the granddaddy of them all, GN’s 2011 Game of the–

Wait! We’re saving that particularly special Nodie for early next week when our VS Node Games of the Year podcast will go live for your listening pleasure. For now, enjoy 15 games (well, one’s actually a publisher) that have been crowned kings of their respective hills, out-manning, -matching, -running, and -gunning all of the competition.

Amid the discussions about the following categories were some of the toughest decisions for the GamerNode staff during this year’s Nodies deliberation, frequently coming down to tie-breaking votes and eloquent appeals for consideration. In the end, though, these are the Best of 2011.

Stay tuned for the GamerNode Game of the Year Nodie Award and Games of the Year podcast in the days to come.

The Categories:

• Best Action/Adventure Game
• Best Shooting Game
• Best Platforming Game
• Best Role-Playing Game
• Best Fighting Game
• Best Racing Game
• Best Puzzle Game
• Best Sports Game
• Best Game Add-On
• Best Downloadable Game
• Best Handheld Game
• Best Platform Exclusive
• Best Multi-Platform Game
• 2011 Publisher of the Year
• Most Anticipated Game of 2012

For 2011, we ‘ll be bestowing a grand total of 35 awards, and will be splitting the virtual ceremony into two separate sections: “Special Honors” and “Best Of 2011.” The latter of the two includes the coveted honor of GamerNode Game of the Year. Each individual award will highlight the five nominees the GN staff felt were most worthy of recognition, and then reveal our esteemed winner and runner-up.

Additionally, keep on the lookout for a special VS Node Podcast in which some of the GN staff will discuss our top games of the year in even greater depth, as a companion show to the 2011 Nodies.

Please feel free to chime in via our comments section here on the site, on Facebook, and on Twitter using the #NodieAwards hashtag. We always love to hear from you and to talk games together.

Special Honors

To begin our ceremony, we have a mountain of awards for special achievements in game development. These productions are standouts for things like audio, visuals, writing, and other elements of their design.

Acting on the old proverb, “give credit where credit is due,” we’ve done anything but hold back in this department, and aim to highlight exactly what makes these games, and gaming in general, so great. Every game survives on its individual strengths, and hopefully, this industry can offer something for everyone.

We know we’ve enjoyed it all this year (except maybe our “Most Disappointing” titles), so now it’s time to tell you why. Read on, dear friends…

The Categories:

• Best Technical Visuals
• Best Aesthetic Style
• Best Soundtrack
• Best Sound Design
• Best Voice Work
• Best Male Performance
• Best Female Performance
• Best Story
• Best Game World
• Most Innovative/Original
• Best New IP
• Best Remake
• Best Multiplayer
• Best Boss Fights
• Best Use of Motion Control
• Best New Technology
• Most Pleasant Surprise
• Most Disappointing
• Most Divisive

The misrepresentation is two-fold. As narrative is conveyed in and out of the overarching plot, any game’s attitude can be altered based on what happens around the player: setting, action, audio, level design, mechanics, surrounding characters, NPCs, and more. The atmospheric elements combine to create an ambiance that is crucial to capturing a true sense of life-and-death combat.

More often than not, modern military shooters capture “Iron Man” instead of “Restrepo”. In Modern Warfare 3, soldiers remain cool as members of their squad, their friends, are mowed down by jeep turret fire in the heart of New York City. There are no cries for the names of the soldiers; that would make the game too grounded. Their bodies all land face down, sparing you the vicarious heart-wrenching found in earlier first-person shooters – and in the same series, nonetheless.

Charging through a small portion of a village, having come from the cliffs that lead to the beaches of Normandy, my fellow Army Rangers and I had just witnessed our fellow soldiers burned alive in their transports and falling fatally to their deaths on the way up the cliffs. We come to the rear of a house that leads to a crucial road with access to guns firing on the beaches. As we get halfway through the yard, a German outfit ambushes our position. We take cover behind three-feet stone walls crumbling from the terrifying hail of bullets. My combat comrade stands to my right, shoulder to shoulder, as we lay into our enemies.

A grenade lands in front of the wall. I see it in time and lie prone, suffering minor shell shock. When I come to, I look right to see if my buddy has arisen to reengage the Germans. I’m met by his dead eyes, frozen in the terror of his final moment of life.

He didn’t duck the potato masher in time. It gives me time to reflect on how in World War II, this sort of thing happened regularly, especially at Normandy. I wondered, “How many of those actual soldiers had families: mothers, fathers, wives, daughters, sons.” It was a rare moment in gaming, a teaching moment. It reminded me that no matter how well-prepared a soldier was, death was always right around the corner. For all those who survived, there were many, many more that hadn’t.

I haven’t experienced that kind of emotional punch in a Call of Duty title since Modern Warfare. I felt it in the beginning of Battlefield 3; that sense faded by mid-campaign and soon became just like its rival franchise. Even in a poignant moment where, and let this be a spoiler warning right now for those who have not played the game, a pair of my character’s good friends and squad mates are torn up by a fighter jet’s missile, it failed.

In the real world, any jet killing a human being would leave quite the mangled bodies behind: missing limbs, large blood stains in the uniform, etc. But in this scene all that is seen are a few light blood streaks on the pavement. It felt staged and unrealistic. Not a truly graphic portrayal of what I should have witnessed and for that, the emotion of the scene suffered.

As Steven Spielberg said in an interview regarding his inclusion of graphic violence in “Saving Private Ryan”:

“It’s graphic because it’s what really happened. It’s a very, very honest recreation of the landing on 6 June 1944. I could have made ‘Saving Private Ryan’ a very safe picture; I could have done all the violence off-camera and I could have had people dying in slo-mo, like in the movies we go and see every summer. But my intention was to resensitise the audience.”

A major fault of Battlefield 3, every friendly death save one in the game occurs either off-screen or in slow motion. As Spielberg suggests, it is a means to glorify and desensitize the violence in order to make it feel more epic, sensational, which ultimately acts as a betrayal to reality. But even if the gore had been appropriately applied, the scene had already detracted all focus from the soldiers, the fear, and the humanity.

It’s the same situation in recent Call of Duty titles. With the plot being so over-the-top – elite squads of killing machines left as the only saviors to stop a nuclear crisis or end World War III – time and focus is taken off of what is the truly important tale: everyman soldiers put into extraordinary situations who just want to survive the mission or war with their sanity and friends intact.

Ask any survivor of war combat and you will undoubtedly discover that the biggest battles they ever faced weren’t physical but psychological. The struggle may have been caused by the external, but they wreaked havoc on the minds and mental well-being of soldiers. Imagine the toll one’s sanity takes watching helplessly as friends die around you for months, seeing the replacements die even faster, taking unmerciful shelling for days at a time, facing sudden attacks, heading into a battlefield where returning soldiers claim it cannot be won, and more.

Military shooter developers should take note of realistic depictions of modern combat scenarios. These can create scenes that grip the player and refuse to let go. Those can translate to character- and theme-building moments where soldiers contemplate the significance of God, agonize over a failure to keep the promises of deceased comrades, discuss the futility of their situation, or show a young man so filled with shock and terror that he is digging a foxhole with his bare hands (see: “Band of Brothers”). Done before or in-between battle segments, these can set the tone for a true-to-life and sobering experience.

But these aren’t the only emotions soldiers feel in the midst of war, as members of squads, companies, and units truly define the meaning of the phrase “brothers in arms.” Their experiences, both in and out of combat, bond them together like a family. It’s why when someone dies, their loss is felt so heavily by everyone. This is true for the elite and regular, old and modern. From Easy Company’s campaign in World War II (see: “We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company”) to Battle Company’s year-long deployment to the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan (see: “Restrepo”), veterans all share similar sentiments on battle and the comradery that develops from it.

These bonds need to be implemented and developed better in military shooters, and it isn’t an impossible feat. If games like Heavy Rain, Catherine, and L.A. Noire have shown anything, it’s that intelligent and thoughtful design can turn the mature, important, low-action moments of character- and plot-advancement into surprisingly engaging and interactive experiences that draw the player in. Placing and implementing this successfully into downtime at bases, during briefings, and during lulls in battle could deliver a massive shot in the arm to the genre’s narrative.

Film and television aren’t the only mediums that can create a truly authentic war story. If game designers and the people who play them want to claim that videogames can stand as an example of excellent storytelling, entertainment, and artistic creation, they should push to have the industry’s most lucrative titles strive to better themselves. Putting the focus back on those who sacrifice the most, the soldiers, would do just that. These games can do better. They should do better.

The long road ahead has been divided into four parts: The Foundation, The Golden Years, The Decline, and the Resurgence. Whether you like fighting games or not, you’ll be amazed at just how far fighters have come.

FIGHT!

ROUND 1: THE FOUNDATION (1985-1987)

Yie Ar Kung Fu (1985): Way back in the mid-80s (before I was born, for what it’s worth), Konami developed an arcade game that pitted one hero, Oolong, against a gauntlet of eleven formidable fighters in a ladder format. That game was Yie Ar Kung Fu, and it was the first 2D fighting game ever. Oolong’s opponents fit many of the prototypes we see today: a sumo wrestler (Buchu), a Bruce Lee-esque martial artist with nunchuks (Nuncha), a female warrior who throws steel fans (Fan), and more. Attacks would be performed by moving the joystick in a certain direction and pressing either punch or kick. Once the opponent’s life was drained, he or she was defeated and Oolong can move on. Any gamer can read that description and pick out the fighting game standards still used today. Yie Ar Kung Fu had quite a following in the arcades, and it inspired another game developer, Capcom, to make a similar game two years later.

Street Fighter (1987): It could be called “Fighting Street” depending on where you play it, but the original Street Fighter took the formula of Yie Ar Kung Fu and built on it big time. Street Fighter started the industry-standard six-button layout with three punches and three kicks of varying speed and strength, and the first input-command special attacks (quarter-circle forward and a punch, for instance). The one-player “story” mode would have Ryu travel around the world to fight. Players would choose between China, England, Japan, and the USA before heading to Thailand for the final battle. Familiar faces like Ryu, Ken, Sagat, Adon, Eagle, and Birdie were all here, but little did we know just how familiar they would become. Not only did Street Fighter lay down the groundwork for one of the most successful franchises in gaming, but it also served as a major precedent for gaming’s next quarter-century. Without it, who knows where we’d be?

With The Foundation in place, the era of the fighting game could begin. On to Round 2!

ROUND 2: THE GOLDEN YEARS (1991-2001)

These are the years where fighting games really establish themselves as a game genre. Starting in 1991, fighters become synonymous with gaming culture, especially in the arcades…

1991: Four years in the making, Capcom’s Street Fighter II hits in March and the fighting genre takes off. Balanced characters and tight gameplay solidified SF2’s place in history. Arcades all over the world are filled with the sights and sounds of Ryu, Ken, Guile, Chun-Li and more. That November, SNK releases Fatal Fury, the first real contender to Street Fighter’s throne. Only three playable characters here, but the foreground/background split and the 4-button Neo Geo scheme give players something different that what Street Fighter II offered. Fighting game domination has begun.

1992: SNK releases two more fighting franchises to compete with the Street Fighter II juggernaut: Art of Fighting and World Heroes. Art of Fighting presents only two selectable fighters but introduces “super” moves (enhanced special moves that can only be performed under certain conditions), while World Heroes features historically-based characters and brand-new Death Matches, fights with damaging obstacles strewn about the stage. Meanwhile, Mortal Kombat, the first Western attempt at fighting, employs gratuitous gore to earn a tremendous fan base. Players weren’t used to seeing their fighter’s head ripped from his shoulders after a loss, and the shock value alone made MK a hit. Understandably, MK also marks the beginning of the campaign against violent video games. ’92 is also the first year when sequels start to really pop up, with SNK releasing Fatal Fury 2 and Capcom launching two SFII follow-ups: Champion Edition and Turbo.

1993: Mortal Kombat II, a more violent follow-up, hits arcades like a freight train. While MK was a fresh take, MK2 fuels the Capcom vs Midway rivalry on a whole new level. Data East jumps into the ring with Fighter’s History, which warrants a failed lawsuit attempt from Capcom for infringement on the SFII copyright. Capcom, despite its legal misstep, doesn’t miss a beat and launches Super Street Fighter 2 with four brand new characters. SNK releases a follow-up to World Heroes, but also adds another franchise to its repertoire: Samurai Shodown, a feudal-Japan era game which is the first to implement full-on weapons-based combat. Interplay takes a cheeky approach to fighting with Clay Fighter, a light-hearted parody with a ridiculous story and even more absurd fighters. Sega also joins the party, but they decide to try something new and release Virtua Fighter, the first fighting game to feature full 3D arenas and polygonal characters. The game also adds a new tactical wrinkle in Ring Outs, where a player could lose a round by stepping out of the boundaries of the ring. The new look takes off, giving birth to the 3D fighting game.

1994: Capcom expands Street Fighter yet again with Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, then finally expands their fighting library by launching Darkstalkers and X-Men: Children of the Atom. Both games are a new take on 2D fighting, from Darkstalkers‘ supernatural setting to X-Men‘s super jumps and flashy Super Combos. SNK keeps the sequel trend alive with Art of Fighting 2, Samurai Shodown 2, and World Heroes 2 Jet, but also decides to up the ante, combining some of its fighting franchises to create The King of Fighters ’94. Characters from Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, and more came together to fight 3-on-3 for the first time. Killer Instinct from Rare makes its first appearance, sporting flashy graphics and one of the best announcers in a fighting game (C-C-C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!). Atari (yes, that Atari) takes the genre back to the Stone Age with Primal Rage, allowing players to fight with dinosaurs and giant apes. On the 3D front, Sega releases Virtua Fighter 2, adding two characters and improving the battle system, while Namco enters the 3D realm with Tekken, whose fast, unrelenting combat lays the foundation for a highly successful fighting franchise.

1995: A sequel-dominated year sees a total of nine established franchises get new entries: Capcom’s Night Warriors (Darkstalkers 2) and Marvel Super Heroes (X-Men: CotA 2, technically), SNK’s Fatal Fury 3 and Real Bout Fatal Fury, Midway’s Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Rare’s Killer Instinct 2, Interplay’s Clay Fighter 2: Judgment Clay, and Namco’s Tekken 2. Each one adds characters, stages, and tweaks to the overall package, but it is Tekken 2, Marvel Super Heroes, and Mortal Kombat 3 that see the best reception. Capcom is also busy expanding its biggest name, adding Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter: The Movie. While Alpha becomes another flagship title, SF: The Movie is subpar at best, and downright ugly at worst. Amidst the tidal wave of sequel are some new titles, however, as Sega’s Fighting Vipers and Takara’s Battle Arena Toshinden give 3D fighting fans a pair of strong alternatives.

1996: Tecmo surprises everyone with Dead or Alive, featuring fast-paced 3D fighting and, more importantly, lots of T and A. Takara gives Battle Arena Toshinden a sequel, but Namco unleashes a 3D weapons-based fighter of its own in Soul Edge. Sega releases Virtua Fighter 3 and Fighters Megamix, putting characters from multiple Sega franchises against each other (even the car from Daytona USA was selectable). Midway has an underwhelming showing with two mediocre 3D fighters: Mace the Dark Age and War Gods. SNK is quiet yet efficient, only producing the excellent King of Fighters ’96. Capcom, however, is the busiest of the year, not only putting out a new title in Red Earth, but also keeping Street Fighter alive with three vastly different games. Hardcore fans are given Street Fighter Alpha 2, 3D fighting fans receive their first 3D SF entry in Street Fighter EX, and in a shocking twist, Capcom combines the SF and X-Men franchises to form X-Men vs Street Fighter, showcasing fast-paced gameplay in a new 2-on-2 tag team format.

1997: Capcom unleashes an incredible four-hit combo: Darkstalkers 3, Rival Schools, Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter, and the long-awaited Street Fighter III. SFIII comes with a brand new cast (besides Ryu and Ken) and a new parrying system, becoming an instant hit. Rival Schools, while more of a cult hit, features 2-on-2 fighting in 3D for the first time. Midway builds on the 3D engine of Mace and War Gods and produces Mortal Kombat 4, the first 3D entry in the franchise. Squaresoft wins the creativity award for the year with Bushido Blade, a samurai 3D fighter with no life bars; fights can last one slash or twenty, it’s different every time. Namco releases Tekken 3 while finally bringing their sword fighting franchise home with Soul Blade, an expanded version of Soul Edge for consoles. Interplay’s final entry to its comical franchise, Clay Fighter 63 1/3, launches with more ridiculous clay-based fighting action and brand-new Claytalities. Hudson Soft joins the 3D fighting fun with Bloody Roar, a game of half-man, half-beast warriors. Takara hits us with Battle Arena Toshinden 3, bringing with it over 30 characters, the largest roster the franchise has ever seen. SNK adds another IP to its library with Last Blade, while also producing Real Bout Fatal Fury Special and their annual King of Fighters entry. Perhaps the most interesting fighter of 1997 is LucasArts’ Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi, which implements Soul Blade-esque gameplay in the Star Wars universe. The game does not perform well, as fans are angered with the whole“Lightsaber Doesn’t Chop Someone in Half Instantly” idea.

1998: Sequels dominate 1998, but there are some new IPs that intrigue and impress. SNK only puts out two fighters, the expected-at-this-point King of Fighters ’98 and the Japan-only Last Blade 2. Capcom also gets a case of sequel-itis, launching Street Fighter EX 2 for the 3D crowd, and Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Marvel vs Capcom for the 2D group. Alpha 3 is a who’s who of Street Fighter lore, while MvC expands the VS series beyond Street Fighter, including IPs like Mega Man, Strider, and Captain Commando. It’s not all sequels for Capcom, though, as the team behind Street Fighter III puts out Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, a 2D fighter based on the popular anime series. Namco releases SoulCalibur; the tight combat and balanced fighting quickly makes it one of the most popular 3D fighters ever. Arc System Works partners with Atlus to release Guilty Gear, a new IP with fast-paced fighting and a unique control scheme. Square follows up its interesting samurai franchise with Bushido Blade 2, which adds a revamped story mode and two gun-wielding characters.

1999: SNK, after years of mediocre fighters and annual King of Fighters titles (this year was no different, by the way), finally strikes oil again with Garou: Mark of the Wolves. The gameplay has an almost unmatched balance and a varied roster to boot. Capcom plays a strong hand as well, releasing two brand new IPs and a revision of a popular game. Plasma Sword and Power Stone keep the 3D fans happy, while 2D fans and Street Fighter freaks get the now-standard Street Fighter 3 experience with Third Strike. Along with the expected tweaks to the gameplay, five characters are added to the main roster, including the triumphant return of Chun-Li. Namco puts a new spin on its 3D fighting franchise with Tekken Tag Tournament. Tekken Tag borrows the 2-on-2 tag format of other fighters with some alterations, like winning a round by defeating only one of the two opponents. Nintendo, quiet in the fighting realm for all this time, releases Super Smash Brothers, a 4-player, free-for-all fighting game featuring some of Nintendo’s biggest mascots. The over-the-top gameplay and big time roster (Mario, Link, Pikachu, etc) make SSB an instant hit.

2000: The new millennium brings with it a disturbing trend: an inordinate amount of sequels. Only one game can be considered an original IP, and even then it’s a game built on pre-existing IPs. Capcom partners with one of its biggest competitors and creates Capcom vs SNK, pitting the biggest names from Capcom and SNK’s franchises against each other. Every other game this year is a new installment in an established franchise. Tecmo releases Dead or Alive 2, a strong sequel that became one of the Dreamcast’s big hits. Arc System Works and new publisher Sammy launch Guilty Gear X for the Japan enthusiasts, and Capcom pushes out four total sequels: Power Stone 2, Street Fighter EX 3, Project Justice (sequel to Rival Schools) and a little game called Marvel vs Capcom 2. Marvel vs Capcom 2 rises to worldwide stardom, Project Justice becomes one of the rarest games ever made, and the other two enjoy middling success despite being excellent follow-ups.

2001: While this is a year of all sequels and remakes, the quality of the games cannot be overstated. Capcom vs SNK 2 enhances the fighting system, supersizes the roster, and allows players to create their own custom colors. Capcom also gives portable players their Street Fighter fix with Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo Revival, fitting the entirety of the last SFII entry onto a small Game Boy Advance cartridge. Tecmo chooses to keep its fighting franchise alive on Microsoft’s new Xbox with the launch-title Dead or Alive 3, while Namco and Sega enhance their 3D fighting rivalry with Tekken 4 and Virtua Fighter 4. Perhaps the most successful, though, is Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros Melee, which jettisons the already crazy gameplay to all new levels with more characters, more stages (some of them constantly moving), and more crazy 4-on-4 action.

By 2001, fighting games had enjoyed a ten-year seat at the top of the gaming pantheon, but hard times were about to rock the genre like a Bo Rai Cho fartality…

ROUND 3: THE DECLINE (2002-2007)

The next five years prove to be the low point in fighting game history. Interest in the genre wane in the face of blockbuster series like Halo and Call of Duty. There are a good number of games released, and some of them are truly enjoyable, but for the most part fighters are ignored.

2002: Another year filled with sequels, 2002 starts off with fighters still enjoying success, but the drop in quality is becoming evident. Sammy releases Guilty Gear X2, although it doesn’t add much to the game other than tweaked canceling and air throw techniques. SNK Playmore takes another year off from everything except King of Fighters, only launching KoF 2002. Midway takes 3D Mortal Kombat in a new direction with Deadly Alliance, giving each character multiple fighting styles and upping the gore factor to parts previously unknown. Sega expands on the latest Virtua Fighter offering with Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution, adding two extra characters and a deep arcade-based single-player system. The most successful of the sequels belongs to Namco with SoulCalibur II, which introduces more balanced gameplay and console-exclusive characters: Tekken’s Heihachi (PS2), Spawn (Xbox), and Link from Legend of Zelda (Gamecube).

2003: Capcom’s only fighter in 2002 is a port of Capcom vs SNK 2 to Xbox, adding online support and an easy mode for inexperienced fans. Sammy revises Guilty Gear X2 with #Reload (pronounced Sharp Reload), offering even more tweaks to the cancelling system and completely modifying one of the characters. Bloody Roar 4 marks the end of the franchise, as the allure of the original quickly fades through each installment. Shockingly SNK Playmore offers the most , with three games this year alone. King of Fighters 2003 adds a Leader system, where a player designates one character as the “Leader,” giving him or her access to an exclusive move. SNK vs Capcom: SVC Chaos is SNK’s take on the crossover games, and unfortunately it doesn’t come anywhere near the quality of Capcom’s offerings. Samurai Shodown V boasts the largest roster in the franchise’s history but not much else, considered a competent fighting game.

2004: Capcom brings the crossover genre in-house with Capcom Fighting Evolution, pitting characters from Street Fighter 2/3/Alpha, Darkstalkers, and Red Earth together in one free-for-all. In an interesting twist, each character retains the exact fighting system from the game he or she came from. Capcom doesn’t disappoint the classic fans either, releasing Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. The compilation consists of Hyper Street Fighter II (allowing players to select all iterations of the main 16 characters from SFII to Super Turbo) and Street Fighter III: Third Strike. King of Fighters: Maximum Impact, the first KoF game to not have the year in the title, brings 3D fighting to the series with great results. Mortal Kombat: Deception builds on the Deadly Alliance format and adds a full-length story mode to boot. Namco’s Tekken 5 brings every character from previous installments to battle while adding some new faces, becoming the best Tekken game to date.

2005: Another down year brings a total of five games to the fighting genre, and two of them are remakes for handheld systems. Capcom ports two games to PSP: Darkstalkers: Chaos Tower, a remake of Darkstalkers 3 with an added tower battle mode, and Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, the classic Street Fighter Alpha 3 with four extra characters. Namco adds another entry to its sword-based franchise with Soul Calibur 3, but balance issues kept it from living up to its full potential. SNK Playmore, seemingly inspired by Capcom Fighting Evolution the year before, releases Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, a 2-on-2 2D fighter featuring characters from all across the SNK landscape.

2006: While a brand new franchise emerges for the first time in years, the rest of the fighting landscape is as uneventful and the years previous. Arcana Heart and its all-female cast serve as a breath of fresh air with its Japanese-style presentation and slick control scheme. Tecmo drops Dead or Alive 4 after five years of fan anticipation, staying exclusive to Microsoft and their new Xbox 360. DoA brings back all of the cat-and-mouse counter heavy gameplay of previous installments and even throws in a Halo character to boot. Midway brings out Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, sporting every character from previous Mortal Kombat games as well as a new (and reviled) Kreate-A-Fatality system. Sega’s deep 3D series gets another entry as well, as Virtua Fighter 5 served as DoA’s counterpart as an exclusive on the brand new PlayStation 3.

2007: 2007 might very well be rock bottom for the genre, as the biggest releases are either remakes or collections, and only one original fighter hits shelves. The most successful fighters are the remakes, HD versions of Namco’s Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection and Capcom’s Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo. SNK Playmore sends players on a trip down memory lane with The King of Fighters Collection, sporting all of the KoF games (sans the 3D entries) in one place. Aksys’ Battle Fantasia, which ends up being the only original fighting IP of the entire year, comes and goes without anyone noticing.

These five years were certainly hard times for the fighting faithful, as what was once a prominent genre became a mere afterthought in the eyes of the public. Luckily this would not last, as the next four years prove that there is plenty more fighting to be done.

FINAL ROUND: THE RESURGENCE (2008- 2011)

Fighting games are at their lowest point. However, game developers refuse to let the genre die, bringing it back to its glorious splendor. The days of suffering fighters were over, and a new era of fighting begins.

2008: Out of nowhere, quality fighting games start to surface after a brief absence. Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros Brawl ends a seven-year wait between SSB games, bringing new faces, stages, items, and techniques to the already-solid gameplay. A big addition is the Final Smash attack, a super move activated by attacking and breaking the new Smash Ball item. New characters include Pit from Kid Icarus, the NES robot R.O.B., and two non-Nintendo characters: Konami’s Solid Snake and Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog, making Brawl the first to borrow mascots from non-Nintendo sources. Namco adds SoulCalibur IV to its library, re-establishing the balance that was missing in SC3 while adding Critical Finishes, a fatality-esque finishing move. As with SoulCalibur 2, Namco adds guest characters to the game, this time injecting some sci-fi into the formula: Star Wars characters Yoda (initially a 360 exclusive) and Darth Vader (same for PS3) join the fray, as well as Starkiller from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Over in Japan, Arcana Heart 2 by Examu keeps the moe rumble going, adding six characters, six new Arcana, and multiple new techniques to keep the gameplay fresh. The roster is still made up of all female characters, but that doesn’t seem to bother fans who laud the game’s controls and game speed. Not to be forgotten, Capcom begins its return to the fighting game foray with an updated version of a classic: Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix. The gameplay is spot-on with the original SSF2T, but everything else receives a major graphical facelift. Eye-popping visuals breathe new life into the old sprite-based characters, and the backgrounds are livelier than they ever were before. Warner Brothers Interactive, fresh from their acquisition of Midway, unleashes Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, a mash-up of MK’s best with the heroes and villains of the DC Universe. While the idea of Batman fighting Scorpion seems appealing, the game lacks one MK staple: gore. The violent nature of the Mortal Kombat series is toned down, resulting in the first ever T-rated Mortal Kombat game. Needless to say, fans are not happy, and the game becomes the only disappointing fighter of the year.

2009: This is the year where the fighting genre rises from the ashes, re-establishing itself as the dominant genre it once was. Fittingly, Capcom is one of the major developers responsible, as Street Fighter IV hits shelves for the first time. The story is brand new, the characters are rendered in full 3D splendor, but the gameplay is still authentic Street Fighter. A feeling of nostalgia floods the gaming world, as players feel the same way they did during the arcade heyday. Capcom adds some features, like Focus attacks and four brand new characters, but no one can deny that the classic feel of the game is a big factor in SFIV’s success. Later in the year, Capcom takes us all for another ride with the re-release of Marvel vs Capcom 2 for the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and PlayStation Network. The same fast, frenetic gameplay that wowed players nine year prior is back with full online support, allowing beatdowns to occur across the world. Unfortunately, the balance of the game doesn’t get the same overhaul, which means Magneto, Storm, and Sentinel are still Pringles in 2009. SNK Playmore throw their hats back into the ring, releasing two separate games: The King of Fighters 12 and Samurai Shodown Anthology. King of Fighters 12 (not 2012, number 12) returns players to the 3-on-3 gameplay they know and love, while also adding new, beautiful hand-drawn backgrounds and fight animations. The game is littered with bugs, including in-battle glitches and an almost unplayable online mode. Despite promising previews, King of Fighters 12 can only be viewed as a disappointment. Namco continues to dish out quality fighting games with SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny and Tekken 6. Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny brings the familiar gameplay of the long-standing franchise to the PSP. Not only does this mean 3D fighting on the go, but it also means adding a PSP-exclusive character. Namco leaves the sci-fi alone and opts instead for Kratos from God of War. Tekken 6 sports the largest selectable roster of any previous installment, and the fighting receives enough changes to keep the game feeling fresh and new. Finally Arc System Works, riding the success of its Guilty Gear franchise, creates a brand new fighting game: BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. The game takes everything that fans loved about Guilty Gear and enhances it, while adding a brand new story and a fresh cast of characters.

2010: While this is a light year in quantity, there’s no complaining about the quality of the three fighting games released in 2010. Capcom is responsible for two of them, the enhanced Super Street Fighter IV and Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, marking the return of the VS series. Super Street Fighter IV adds ten characters and re-balanced gameplay to the wildly successful Street Fighter IV. New characters include Street Fighter 3’s Dudley, Ibuki, and Makoto; the Street Fighter Alpha versions of SF1‘s Adon and Final Fight‘s Cody and Guy; Super Street Fighter II’s Dee Jay and T. Hawk (the only two of the original 16 left out of SFIV); and two brand new characters: the oil wrestler Hakan and the Tae Kwon Do expert Juri. Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars brings back the frantic fighting of the VS series, only now the Capcom library faces the legendary anime company Tatsunoko. The roster is well-varied from both libraries; Capcom includes fighters from the first three Street Fighters (Ryu, Chun-Li, Alex), Rival Schools (Batsu), and even Dead Rising (Frank West), while Tatsunoko taps Hurricane Polimar, Karas, and three of the Gatchamen (Ken the Eagle, Jun the Swan, Joe the Condor). While fans don’t know it at the time, TvC serves as a foundation for a much bigger release 13 months later. Arc System Works follows in Capcom’s shoes, offering an update to its newest franchise in BlazBlue: Continuum Shift. The game adds new characters, modes, and tweaks to the popular Blazblue formula.

2011: Here in 2011, fighting games are back where they belong: front and center as one of the strongest genres available. It starts in February, when after eleven years Capcom releases Marvel vs Capcom 3, adding many new tweaks to the 3-on-3 system and introducing new characters to the VS world (Hello, Wesker!). Not ten months later, Capcom then follows it with Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, a re-balanced version of MvC3 with 12 more characters, 8 more stages, and new online modes to keep the competition fresh. It also launches Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, adding four more characters and another round of re-balancing to SFIV. Not to be outdone, Midway also revamps its classic fighting franchise with Mortal Kombat 9. Unlike Armageddon, MK9 keeps the roster simple (26 in all) while adding four more characters through DLC, including Freddy Krueger (showing the true power of Warner Bros buying Netherrealm). The gore bar is raised to unprecedented levels, with realism never seen before in a fighter. Fans cringe at the severed heads, ripped limbs, and visible battle scarring, but they gobble up every second of the new MK experience. While consoles continue to see fighting success, the release of Nintendo’s 3DS gives fighting new life in the portable realm. Capcom’s Super Street Fighter 4 3D, Tecmo’s Dead or Alive: Dimensions, and Arc System Works’ BlazBlue: Continuum Shift 2 all see release on the handheld, allowing three major fighting franchises to be played anytime, anywhere, and against anyone. Namco launches Tekken Hybrid in November, sporting the Tekken movie Blood Vengeance, an HD remake of Tekken Tag Tournament 1, and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue, a demo of the next Tekken Tag game. SNK Playmore, learning from the mistakes of KoF 12, drops King of Fighters 13 at the end of the year. KoF 13 maintains the stellar visuals of the previous game, but adds new characters, new techniques, and a vastly improved online system for fans to enjoy.

THE FUTURE (2012-????)

While fighting fans have been put through their paces over the years, the future of their beloved genre looks brighter than ever. The new partnership between Capcom and Namco is a big part of the excitement, with Street Fighter X Tekken coming March 6th, 2012 and Tekken X Street Fighter releasing not long after. Street Fighter X Tekken will be headed by Capcom and developed in the Street Fighter IV style, while Namco is in charge of the Tekken 6-based Tekken X Street Fighter. Outside of that, Namco’s also returning to a format it hasn’t touched since 1999 with the aforementioned Tekken Tag Tournament 2. The 2-on-2 action of the previous game will return with some added adjustments and the potential for four characters on-screen at once while maintaining 60 frames per second (ABSURDITY). Namco is also bringing SoulCalibur V to 2012, with new Super Combo-style attacks, a story set 17 years after SCIV, and EZIO FREAKIN’ AUDITORE of Assassin’s Creed fame as a guest character. Both companies are also continuing to support the handheld market, bringing Street Fighter X Tekken and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 to the PlayStation Vita and Tekken 3D Prime Edition to the 3DS. Aside from the heavyweights, two new fighting games hope to break the fighting mold: Persona Arena, a brand new fighter featuring characters from Atlus’ Persona series and developed by the makers of Guilty Gear and BlazBlue; and Skullgirls, a brand new 3-on-3 2D fighter with an all-female cast.

There you have it: a look into the journey that fighting games have taken to get where they are today. There are plenty of games that I missed in this list: the Dragon Ball Z series, Pocket Fighter, and Cyberbots being prime examples. There are also a great deal of subpar fighting games that history wouldn’t necessarily miss (Time Killers, anyone?). Of course, by saying that, I’ll catch a lot of flak for what I did include (Clay Fighter?! REALLY?!). Regardless, the roots of the genre go farther back than most realize, with hundred of games to choose from.

The best part? Everything mentioned in The Future is merely what’s known to be in development. Who knows what other surprises lie in wait for fighting game fans? Nintendo’s hinted at a Smash Brothers game for the Wii U, but who’s to say we won’t be Smashing again sooner than we think? Maybe Capcom will answer the fans’ wishes and FINALLY develop DarkStalkers 4. Where will the next great fighting IP come from? What will be the game that fans rave about for years to come, with sequel after sequel whetting the palette like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat have? There are many questions and not a lot of answers, but one thing is for sure:

The fighting game is back, and it’s here to stay.

My friends and I sometimes debate the ending Jedi battle in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. We all agree the movie was as exciting as watching George Lucas pick a flannel shirt, but we have differing views when it comes to Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon fighting Darth Maul. My friends enjoy the fight. They enjoy the John Williams score. They enjoy the action.

Meanwhile, I remain uncharmed. Though there were plenty of spectacles in the scene, I didn’t really care about the characters or the outcome like I did for, say, the climax of Empire Strikes Back. In Episode I, they were just English accents with fancy swordplay fighting a mute double lightsaber. In place of emotional investment, the producers (not giving Lucas credit) crafted an epic battle atop grandiose set pieces. The thrills were cheap and the characters were hollow.

The characters in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, while not hollow, certainly don’t come full circle. The story is far reaching even for Uncharted‘s standards. After recently completing the game, I’ve realized the simple truth that Drake’s Deception was narratively underdeveloped, and, like the producers of Episode I, Naughty Dog substituted a lack of poignant emotional development with a numbing amount of aimless grandiosity and narrow, repetitive gameplay.

Recently, VG24/7 journalist Patrick Garrett tweeted that he had just finished (and loved) Drake’s Deception.  He economically and definitely cited his favorite pieces of the game to be: “Characters, plot, epicness.” These are the aspects I thought were weakest.

Die Another Game

In the months leading up to the game’s launch, Naughty Dog continually harped on how the game would deepen the relationship between Sully and Drake. That it did. However, when there is this much focus on a bond between the protagonist and his surrogate father, there must be some end goal. There must be a reason behind it, or else it’s filler.

I assumed Naughty Dog was delving this far into the relationship because they were planning Sully’s death. In the final act, it seemed likely. Sully is shot in a scene that is underplayed to a fault. My first thought was, “Thank God.” By then I was so bored with the story and sets that killing Sully gave me, as a player, something to care about. This game does a wonderful job illustrating who this mustachioed Paul Newman character is and what he means to Drake. Destroying that relationship would therefore create true turmoil in a game that otherwise paints its heroes as mobile punching bags with unending stamina.

It didn’t. In a “gotcha” moment that tilted toward ambiguity, Sully returned and all was well. I decried this reveal. I was convinced it was ruse and Sully would be Marlowe’s vulture son in disguise. Or that Drake was still tripping from the drugs and mentally disintegrating, unable to deal with this sad but toweringly more evocative scenario. The truth is just more of the same. For a game that continually questioned Drake’s motives, thereby creating a compelling thematic element (only to drop it later with an unceremonious “Huh-rumph!”), Sully’s death would have been the perfect catalyst to sew these ends.

The Numbing of Suspense

Uncharted 3 tests its hero’s mettle, with a subtle nod to Joss Whedon’s work. The difference is that when Whedon does it, you actually feel scared for the characters. When Drake is dangling from the back of a cargo plane and climbing his way past gunfire and a drop to death, something is lost.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves creates an environment weighed down by tension. Drake’s Deception, blinded by one-upsmanship, does not. Half the events in the game become too exaggerated to earn emotional investment. The famous train scene in Among Thieves stays in players’ minds because it’s grounded. It’s realistic, to an extent. The third lacks that gravity.

Or as Zero Punctuation’s Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw puts it:

“No amount of suspension of disbelief can compensate for the fact that far too many events rely on severely unlikely coincidences…There comes a point when you’ve beaten on a guy too long and his continuing survival starts to undermine any sense of genuine threat. You start to think that maybe his whole body is made of solid wood, not just his hair.”

You see this same problem occur in action film sequels and trilogies. Creators are unsure how to make their characters naturally evolve, resulting in fantastical, almost farcical situations. Pirates of the Caribbean is guilty of this. So is Back to the Future.

Comparing Uncharted 3 to films seems appropriate, as some feel it is more of a movie than a game, like New York Times reviewer Seth Schiesel. And just like a popcorn film, Uncharted 3 tries to top each of its own thrills. Naughty Dog wants to give you a reason to pay the admission fee; God knows we aren’t paying for its story.

Much Ado about Nathan Drake

The most unforgivable fault of the game is delivering mere potential for a truly memorable character. I’m talking about the mystery of Nathan Drake himself and the plot hole that followed. In one of the game’s many throwaway cut scenes, Drake is discussing the nature of evil with Helen Miran-wannabe Marlowe. At the conversation’s closing, Marlowe offhandedly infers that Nathan Drake is not our hero’s true name. He, in a singularly jarring moment, shifts uncomfortably and looks away.

…?!

My mind stirred. Drake is not who he said he is? Not the most original twist in the world, but it certainly landed. This loose thread in his fashionably dirtied shirt could have unraveled into something redemptive for Drake and delicious for fans.

“This was a glimpse behind the mask. The first hint that he wasn’t actually some meathead action hero always ready with a hateful quip, but a frightened child in a man’s body, hiding behind the facade of this fantasy persona,” Yahtzee wrote. “Inventing this idea of being descended from Francis Drake to gain importance and purpose in a meaningless existence.”

Unfortunately, like Sully’s feigned death, this was quickly disregarded. We never find out why Marlowe said that or Drake’s true name. It’s like the game realized it made itself imperfect and hastily remedied the situation. It prevented us, as players, from questioning the motivation and mental stability of our hero. That would lead to hysteria. That would create controversy and change. As players, we can only be lead down the path Naughty Dog set for us.

Naughty Dog’s Deception

Kill Screen’s Richard Clark reviewed the game and noted Naughty Dog’s refusal to let players do anything of their own accord. As it was for Sully’s mortality and the uncertainty of Drake’s identity, the gameplay in Drake’s Deception was also victim to indisputability. Even death was not an option. If there was a mistake, it was reset and dismissed, no consequence.

“There are many moments in Uncharted 3 that exist to drive the fiction to a place of resolution, and they are barely played at all. It’s nearly impossible to screw up the key moments in the game by making a wrong turn or messing up the timing,” Clark said. “When things go so badly that Nate ends up dead—that’s all you. The developers are washing their hands of those moments. That never happened on their watch. They understand that you’re doing your best; your best is just not good enough. You finish out the rest of the level, but it’s not the same.”’

The controller may be in your hands, Clark observed, “but Uncharted is directing your every move.”

Like a film keeping the viewers’ eyes where they need to be, our perception is narrowed. The game is caught in the shallow end of the pool, showing players how to swim. Because if we were to swim out into the deep end, we would see that Drake’s Deception has nothing there. No unbridled plot twists, no serious questioning of life and death, no pathway to make the experience wholly your own. There’s just a movie to be played and a viewer to watch the events unfold. Maybe, ultimately, Naughty Dog is nodding to Lucas and his flannel shirts instead of Whedon.