Author: Ian "iantothemax" Walker

In a group as diverse as fighters, Skullgirls Encore occupies an even more unique corner of the genre. An indie title that has seen multiple revisions thanks to a highly-successful crowdfunding campaign and survived a handful of very unfortunate circumstances, Skullgirls continues to see some of the most involved developer support in video games today.

If you’ve yet to pick this game up and missed out on the huge markdown it saw over the holidays, you’re in luck, because Skullgirls Encore recently dipped down to once again meet the lowest price its ever been on Steam. The base title is currently available for $3.74, a 75% drop from its normal price of $14.99. A similar has also been extended to the two- and four-packs.

But that’s not at all! Both of the currently available bonus characters and an extra pack of color palettes can also be purchased at this same discount. This puts each at $1.24, or $3.72 when bundled together.

Add to that Eliza, who can be downloaded free of charge until tomorrow, and you have quite the fighting game collection without needing to dole out a ton of money–less than $8, in fact.

This sale will be available until 10 AM PST this Wednesday, January 14, so jump on it as soon as possible.

Source: Steam

It’s no secret that the Apex tournament series is a big deal in the Smash community. Competitors across multiple games regularly push the event to the upper echelons of attendance, with Super Smash Bros. Melee in particular raising the stakes since its resurgence.

This year, however, Apex can proudly call themselves the largest Melee tournament of all time thanks to some early registration numbers.

According to statistics gathered earlier this morning by Robin “Juggleguy” Harn, Apex 2015 will see 971 unique competitors playing the classic title, one more than Evo 2014’s record-breaking participation. The series most recent release, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, will also receive tremendous backing from the community, with 670 planning to show up and test their skills in the new game.

In response to this support, the Apex organizers have extended the registration deadline for one more day, which means you will have until 11:59 EST (UTC-5) tonight to throw your lot in for this year’s event. Be sure to visit their official website for more details should you wish to attend. They are currently experiencing some server issues due to the increased viewership, so it may take you a few tries to get through.

While Smash is the obvious focus here (one that was definitely increased by their partnership with Nintendo), nearly $11,000 in pot bonuses will be spread among the games in Apex 2015’s lineup.

Apex 2015 is scheduled for January 30 – February 1 in Seacaucus, New Jersey.

Source: Robin Harn

Image courtesy of Robert Paul

Ever since breaking into the larger fighting game community’s consciousness with a fifth-place Street Fighter IV finish at Evo 2009, Eduardo “PR Balrog” Pérez has become one of the strongest competitors in the scene today.

While he once went by the handle Scrub, Pérez proved himself as anything but by going on to win events like Final Round XIV (in a now legendary grand finals performance against Mad Catz’ Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi) and Winter Brawl 7. He would later add to his winnings by branching off into games like Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (earning the silver at Evo 2011), Mortal Kombat, Injustice: Gods Among Us, and Killer Instinct.

That’s why, when Pérez took to Twitter earlier this morning to announce his impending retirement, it came as quite a shock. Fresh off a strong showing at Canada Cup’s The Masters Series this past weekend, which saw him qualify for the Ultra Street Fighter IV invitational during an intense last-chance tournament before going on to place fourth overall, Pérez looked more than ready to jump into the 2015 tournament season both with his eponymous main character and recent pick-up Evil Ryu.

Fortunately, we haven’t seen the last of this Puerto Rican competitor yet. We recently had the opportunity to talk to Pérez about his decision, which he says has been on his mind since the conclusion of Evo 2014.

“I once said that I would stop playing if I felt that I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing and that’s how I feel right now. I feel that when I play I just do it because I have to and not because I want to,” Pérez explained to Shoryuken through email. “I don’t practice anymore before going to events because I don’t have the drive that I had four years ago and would like to start creating memories of my life outside of my competitive career, which I haven’t been able to do. Don’t get me wrong I love tournaments and I love the competitive scene and I do love fighting games but I think for me its time to close the ropes.”

Pérez has publicly stated that he still plans on participating at Evo 2015 and, while he didn’t share specifics, he told us that he will be traveling to multiple events throughout the year before his retirement in an effort to qualify for Capcom Cup.

“I have to thank Evil Geniuses for sponsoring me and making a dream that seemed impossible come true,” Pérez said in parting. “I also want to thank everyone that has supported me throughout my career and especially I have to thank my parents and my girlfriend for always being there for me in the good and bad moments.”

His final words to the community? “Always remember everyone, never give up, and no one is unbeatable no matter how good they are.”

While this morning’s news of their partnership with Nintendo is plenty exciting, the folks behind Apex 2015 are far from finished when it comes to hype-building.

According to a recent announcement, Apex 2015 will see a grand total of $10,900 added to its prize pool courtesy of Twitch, split across the nine games that constitute the official lineup. The full breakdown of how this sizable pile of money will be distributed is as follows:

In addition to the fighting games, Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire will also be given an extra $200.

Apex 2015 is scheduled for January 30 – February 1 in Seacaucus, New Jersey. Tournament registration ends this Sunday, January 11, so be sure to visit the official website for more details.

Source: Apex

While we’ve known for some time that Kung Lao will be making a grand reappearance in Mortal Kombat X, our only glimpses of him in-game have been through poor magazine scans. Now, however, we have one great screenshot to go off thanks to NetherRealm Studios’ own Ed Boon.

Seriously, look at this glorious mug.

Because Kung Lao was killed in Mortal Kombat (don’t whine about spoilers, that game is over three years old!) many are interested why he’s returned. Some theories, backed up by statements from the developers, point towards Quan Chi’s nefarious powers of necromancy at work, but we’ll have to wait for more details on that front.

In any case, this series veteran will bring his trademark blade hat to battle in Mortal Kombat X, modified by the three variations players will have at their disposal. These unique versions will give Kung Lao the opportunity to use his cap as a whirling shield, control it after being thrown, and more.

Mortal Kombat X is scheduled to release for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC on April 14.

Source: Ed Boon

This morning, the folks behind Apex, a tournament series widely regarded as one of the largest and most important annual Smash majors, revealed the worst-kept secret of all time: they will be entering an official partnership with Nintendo for Apex 2015.

Unfortunately, Apex and Nintendo holding hands is about all we got from the announcement. While people involved with the tournament and other prominent members of the community stepped forward with vague promises of big things on the horizon, absolutely nothing in the way of specifics were provided.

This is generally par for the course with news like this, so the lack of follow-up in itself isn’t a major issue. But, when looking at the context of the entire situation, it becomes clear that more details may have been the smarter step here.

Back in November, the Apex organizers announced the official lineup for this year’s event, which includes four generations of official Smash titles. We say “official” because one title, Project M, was left out in the cold.

For those of you out of the loop, Project M is a modification of Super Smash Bros. Brawl that was created in an effort to make the game as competitive as its hugely popular older sibling, Super Smash Bros. Melee. As such, it operates as a very interesting addition to the scene, one that gets play at smaller tournaments but is effectively starting to be phased out at larger events.

Ever since the lineup announcement, voices within and without the Smash community quickly came to the conclusion that Project M was given the boot due to some sort of official involvement by Nintendo. While historically averse to giving competitive Smash attention, the company has made some major strides with the release of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS to make connections with fans outside the core, casual demographic. Thus, the idea that they would rather not give an unofficial modification of one of their titles the spotlight made complete sense.

Now, I’m not going to get into a debate about the decision to not include Project M at Apex 2015; the inferred reasoning behind it is sound. That being said, any further news about the event, the game, or Nintendo’s involvement in the community will instantly be saddled with that previous discussion. While I have no doubt that this partnership will have a net positive effect on the Smash scene, at the moment the only tangible change is a negative one: the loss of a prominent, competitive title.

I’m of the mind that letting others fill in the blanks you’ve left for them will, for the most part, bite you in the ass. Hopefully Apex and Nintendo has the opportunity to show what this partnership brings to the table soon to quell this rather Mad Libs-type situation.

Apex 2015 is scheduled for January 30 – February 1 in Seacaucus, New Jersey. More details and registration information can be found through their official website.

Source: Apex