Author: Ian "iantothemax" Walker

It’s been a long road for Leo Whitefang since making his first appearance in a trailer earlier this year, but the beastly fighter is now playable in Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-. But, unlike fellow newcomers Sin Kiske and Elphelt Valentine, players will need to drop some cash to add him to their game–¥800 (~$7 USD), to be exact.

As one of the three kings of Guilty Gear’s Allied Kingdom of Illyria and an old friend of Ky Kiske, Leo plays an important role in Xrd’s storyline. This prestige is reflected in his gameplay, wherein the monarch employs a variety of bombastic and heavy-hitting moves with his dual greatswords. Leo also utilizes a unique stance that grants him additional attacks and movement options, all while his back is turned to the opponent.

Famitsu recently released a couple of videos that provide a brief glimpse of Leo’s capabilities, which you’ll find below.

Leo will be available in North America on December 23.

Sources: PlayStation Network, Famitsu

Although it’s only 20% complete at this point in time, some more details recently came to light about Street Fighter V’s development. According to information released by Epic Games this morning, Capcom has licensed the studio’s latest iteration of their popular Unreal Engine to help bring the upcoming title to life.

“Our goal with the next generation of Street Fighter is to take our beloved fighting game franchise and bring it to our fans in the best way possible,” Capcom producer Bochan Kim explained in Epic’s announcement. “In order to fully deliver on that promise, we know we have to incorporate the latest and greatest technology available, which is why we partnered with Epic Games to power Street Fighter V using Unreal Engine 4.”

Taka Kawaski of Epic Game Japan reiterated this point, also mentioning that they are providing dedicated support to Capcom during the game’s creation.

The franchise’s previous entry, Street Fighter IV, was developed with a custom engine engineered by Dimps.

Street Fighter V isn’t the first fighting to utilize this technology, however. Bandai Namco Games’ Tekken 7 is also being built upon Unreal Engine 4’s foundation, a decision that has arguably paid dividends in improving the 3D fighter’s visual quality. Additionally, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- and next year’s Mortal Kombat X employ Unreal Engine 3.

Street Fighter V will land on PlayStation 4 and PC at launch, though no concrete release date has been set.

Sources: Epic Games via Polygon and NeoGAF, Gamasutra

This week’s issue of Famitsu announced that Arc System Works will be dropping an updated version of BlazBlue: Chronophantasma on consoles early next year. This release will include Celica A. Mercury and Lambda-11 as playable characters, recent gameplay adjustments made in arcades, and a brand new EXTEND episode that adds to the story told in the original title.

One of the scenarios covered in this expanded story will focus on Bullet, the mercenary who debuted in the first iteration alongside fellow newcomers Amane Nishiki and Azrael. The plot will detail the fighter’s history before the events of Chronophantasma.

We can only assume that other cast members that made their first appearances in Chronophantasma will also be given their very own storylines, but that remains to be seen.

BlazBlue: Chronophantasma EXTEND is scheduled to release in Japan for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and Xbox One on April 23.

Source: Famitsu via Gematsu

Love it or hate it, Street Fighter V is coming, but there’s definitely some room for your opinion to change between now and the game’s release, according to some new details released in this week’s issue of Famitsu.

During the magazine’s interview with Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono, it was relayed that the upcoming title is currently only 20% of the way through development. While not all that surprising (especially with the Work in progress gameplay footage attached to the bottom of the gameplay trailers), it does give a good point of reference for fans to keep in mind during discussions of early footage.

A concrete release date has yet to be confirmed, but a recent Amazon listing possibly revealed Street Fighter V as an early 2016 title.

We are in the process of translating Famitsu’s full talk with Ono, so stay tuned for more details.

Source: Famitsu via Kurushii

As of this morning, Killer Instinct has been updated to ver.2.2, bringing with it a brand new character, a host of balance changes for the existing cast, new alternate outfits, and more.

With this patch, Riptor is now playable, joining the growing stable of veteran fighters to bring her ferocious gameplay to a new generation of Killer Instinct players.

Riptor comes equipped with a variety of mechanics, such as her unique stance and dedicated buttons, that give her a very versatile playstyle.

Much like past updates, ver.2.2 is rolling out in waves, so if your game has yet to be patched, sit tight.

Source: Ultra-Combo

I know you all love announcements of announcements, so here’s a great one: a Mortal Kombat X character reveal is apparently heading our way next month.

This news comes courtesy of the United Kingdom’s GamesMaster magazine, who recently revealed that they’ve been provided some exclusive information on the title that will be revealed in an upcoming edition.

Who this mysterious fighter may be, however, is anyone’s guess. NetherRealm Studios executive producer Shaun Himmerick mentioned in a recent interview that Quan Chi’s appearance in Mortal Kombat X allows them to do some interesting things with the story thanks to his ability to resurrect the dead, which definitely opens the possibilities up a bit.

The issue in question will hit newsstands on January 2, so stay tuned for more information as we near that date.

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

Source: GamesMaster via MKServer

After their mutual parting of ways with Super Arcade earlier this year, Level|Up Series has stepped back from putting on regular tournaments to refocus their attention on larger events like SoCal Regionals. Fortunately, it appears as if they are looking to jump back into weekly events, though the platform may be a bit different than expected.

During a special broadcast this evening, Level|Up president and longtime community member Alex Valle opened up about their next venture. While still under the Wednesday Night Fights banner they made famous over the past few years, these new events will instead focus on netplay competition instead of offline meetings.

Wednesday Night Fights Online Edition came about as a way for Level|Up Series to continue their tradition of consistent tournament action without fragmenting the strong Southern California scene. By moving online, players across the country will be allowed to take part, improve their game, and possibly get their names out there in preparation for the huge rewards available at next year’s Capcom Cup.

Much in the way the original Wednesday Night Fights brought a piece of the old arcade days to present-day competition, Valle is hoping to show that online play is a valuable resource for the community as a whole.

Valle wasn’t able to provide too many details apart from what’s described above, but he did drop one teasing tagline before signing off: “Wednesday Night Fights Online Edition is coming to a home near you.”

We’re sure to be given more information in the near future but, until then, feel free to let us know what you think of this shift in Level|Up’s focus in the comments below.

Source: Level|Up Live