March 2016 – Page 114

Survival-style modes, if implemented correctly, can offer a fun distraction from proper matches when nothing seems to be working out, or even a break from training mode when one more hour grinding could result in mental collapse.

The first time I played through (part of) Street Fighter V’s take on this classic mode, however, I was immediately put off by the ratio of time spent fighting to time spent doing everything else: loading, having to skip intro videos, having to tell the post-match menu which helpful item I’d like to burn some points on for the next match, or telling that same menu that, yes, I was totally sure I’d rather hang on to my points to spend later. In our review of the game, I noted that survival mode, on a first pass, felt more like a test of a player’s will to wade through menus than anything else, and I still stand by that statement–most of the time.

But man, there are other times in my color unlocking crusade when the game shifts to the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s no longer about annoying me with menus–no, not when the AI gets a taste for my digital blood–then it’s serious. Then it’s about making sure, above all else, that I’ll never be anything but regular old blue duds Chun-Li. In times like these, the AI shifts from threatening with buttons consistent only in their perpetually erratic nature to some of the most immaculate limb placement I’ve seen so far in the game; it’s not even the same mode anymore.

But how smart is the AI? How good are those robotic reactions? In his newest video, Desk sought these and other answers.

As you’re about to see–and, let’s face it, you’ve likely seen it in your own runs–the survival mode AI, when it so chooses, can react with razor-sharp precision, produce perfect combos for any situation, and break out setups so dirty they’ll make even the most seasoned setplay veteran blush. Desk even displays footage featuring an eleventh stage Cammy perfectly reacting to a fireball not just with a jump-in, but with a jump-in into a combo involving four forward walking frames. On the eleventh stage.

With this in mind, my eventual wardrobe completion–hey, a guy can dream–will come with the knowledge that the bits ticking behind my brightly-colored battle garb could have stopped my quest short at any point through perfect play, or perhaps through offering an abundance of low health recovery power ups.

Check out Desk’s video below, and be sure to give us your own survival horror stories in the comments.