Month: July 2016

Do fighting games have a place on pocket-sized devices? It’s a question that developers have been trying to answer for over a decade now. Earlier this year, Lab Zero Games decided to try their hand at answering that question with the Playstation Vita version of Skullgirls 2nd Encore. However, with the advent of Mobile Gaming, games played on a Smart Phone, developers have begun shifting their attention to such platforms. Core-A-Gaming did a whole video on the feasibility of fighting on a touchscreen, dissecting what existed and what was good as far as enjoying a game on a touchscreen. Well, today, Lab Zero Games offers up yet another way to enjoy a Fighting Game on the go, and they are attempting to redefine what it means to play a fighting game with your Mobile Phone.

No, we aren’t talking about Skullgirls 2: Deadly Airport. Skullgirls is making it’s way to mobile devices sometime this year with the help of developer Hidden Variable Studios. What we’re being shown isn’t exactly the picture we have in mind when thinking of a fighting game. Even still, it sounds like Hidden Variable Studios is attempting to take as much from the genre as possible, while not bogging down the experience with unresponsive controls and impossible complex inputs. This title is said to be very different from Marvel: Contest of Champions and the Injustice: Gods Among Us mobile game, with real time combat. There is blocking and combos that appear to require timing, leading to the possibility of dropping combos, making this a potentially very interesting experience.

Having worked on this game for the past two years, there is quite a bit of content. All assets are taken directly from Skullgirls 2nd Encore, and worked into an expansive collectible deck/team building adventure. The game’s first season is said to take place before the initial events of Skullgirls, and leveling up certain characters appears to unlock attacks that you can use between other versions of that same character. While there are heavy RPG elements in the game, there seems to be actual fighting taking place, with players able to do combos using their actions, with cooldown limits placed on their specials, and with meter for finishing attacks. This game is coming to iOS and Android, and there is going to be a beta for players to sign up early and play, while also getting the chance to give early feedback on the game.

Source: Skullgirls

Longtime gamer and professional photographer, Bartosz Hołoszkiewicz, aka Renton Holmes, has been working on quite a few projects surrounding the Street Fighter community. Over the last year, Holmes has been working with writer and fighting game player Nicholas “Majin Tenshinhan” Taylor to create a story surrounding the FGC.

With Holmes from Poland and Taylor from Sweden, the tag team duo has begun their work in Europe with hopes of reaching Asia and the United States. “We want to cover not only competitions but also more private lives of players,” said Holmes.

Holmes has created two stories already in Japan, one of which was published in 2014 by Technology-based magazine and website, Wired Japan. The second story is waiting to be published. Most recently, Mr. Holmes began a portrait series as a side project while at Capcom Pro Tour Premier, DreamHack Summer 2016. Videogame website Kotaku wrote an article about the photographer and his stellar photos.

We reached out to Holmes to have him describe his experience shooting photographs of the event and the players themselves.

“Even though it was a Premier event, it felt very intimate,” said Holmes. “No huge stage, everyone was sitting together, playing together, with no visible boundary between pros and casuals in the audience.”

Holmes appreciated the atmosphere provided at the tournament and felt it created a strong sense of unity within the community. “You could walk to Phenom, Tokido, well anyone, and ask for a game if they weren’t waiting for their match. I loved it.”

Holmes feels that the fighting game community offers something truly unique in the world of competitive gaming.

“…In my opinion, the fighting game scene is very different when compared to other big eSport games. You get big events but they are still much more open to everyone. Most competitions are open, even the biggest ones, anyone can sign up.”

Holmes attributed his success in creating his portraits to the openness and the welcoming nature of the fighting game community itself. “That’s what I like and want to show. That’s why I was able to do these portraits.” The longtime gamer and professional photographer continues to show his passion for the industry and community through his works.

For more on Mr. Hołoszkiewicz’ works, here’s a link to his professional website.

Click to view slideshow.

Sources: Renton Holmes, WIRED Japan, Kotaku,

If you’re a dedicated console user, the wait for Rivals of Aether is almost over, as it comes to Xbox Game Preview on July 13th. The Xbox version will be exactly the same as the PC edition, complete with all the characters and online features, along with the extensive training mode players can use to lab out combos and test certain situations for DI mixups and so on. Similar to Steam Early Access, buying Rivals of Aether in Game Preview will give you access to all future updates, as well as the full game on launch.

However, unlike Steam Early Access, there will be a short delay on updates for the Xbox version, as updates have to go through certification before they are officially released. At present, the only major thing the Xbox version is missing is Ranked Leaderboards, but they should be added in a future update around mid-August. The current Xbox build that is releasing is at patch 0.1.4.2, same as the PC version so there are no balance differences between the two versions at this time.

The major downside of playing Rivals on the Xbox is that you cannot use a Gamecube controller, which seeing as Rivals is a platform fighter in the same vein as Super Smash Bros., it may deter some players from making the jump. However, most players who would play it on the GCC have it already on PC, so it’s not the biggest of deal breakers. Rivals of Aether is priced at $14.99, which is the same as the PC version so there are no fears of console players getting a raw deal.

Source: Rivals of Aether

Ready to get your Boxer into fighting shape? Just one day after his release Balrog is already looking like a heavy hitter in Street Fighter V, and we’ve got some tech to help you start putting some weight behind those punches.

As usual Desk has provided a dazzling combo video showcasing Balrog’s impressive damage and juggle potential. Videos uploaded by Mickdo8640, show how Balrog can can maximize his damage from crush counters and V-Trigger. We’ve also got some day one meaty setups from D’Nyce, SomeFreshGuys and Digital Demolition to help  keep the pressure on.

More and more tech will be popping up over the weekend, but you can follow this Youtube playlist to see the latest videos as soon as we do.