Category: Fighting Games

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SoCal Regionals 2015 Now Set for October, Prelude Events Coming in June and August

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After being forced to delay their dates due to venue issues, the folks behind SoCal Regionals have announced just this morning that the possible June dates they revealed a couple of months back have also been adjusted.

This time around, fortunately, it’s not all bad news.

While still in the planning stages, SoCal Regionals 2015 is now targeting the weekend of October 9 for its festivities, giving the organizers enough time to secure a spot at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, California.

But in an effort to give Southern California competitors a way to test their skills in a handful of titles before the holidays, two special Prelude events are being scheduled for June 6 and an as of yet undecided August date. Both will take place at the University of California Irvine’s student center, which has played host to various SoCal Regionals installments of the past.

With bracket caps of 128 players for Ultra Street Fighter IV, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, and Mortal Kombat X, these Prelude events will be a far cry from the majors competitors are used to, but should still fill in nicely as we wait for the main event later this year.

Further behind-the-scenes details on the timeline that got us to this point can be found in Level|Up Series’ official announcement.

Source: Level|Up Series

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Mortal Kombat X’s Jason Voorhees Banned at Combo Breaker

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Today saw the release of Mortal Kombat X’s very first downloadable character, Jason Voorhees, but those looking for the Friday the 13th star to make an appearance at a major tournament will have to wait a bit longer.

In a recent tweet, Combo Breaker organizer Rick Thiher has confirmed that the horror icon will not be allowed for use at the event later this month. “I’d like to see the barely 1-month-old cast shine,” he said of the decision.

That said, Mortal Kombat X will still be running with the latest patches and updates in place.

The choice of whether or not to allow post-launch characters is always a tough call for any tournament organizer. In the end, they have to decide which route will help best represent the game at their event. And with a $10,000 pot bonus coming from the developers themselves, Thiher certainly has an even greater responsibility to provide the best competitive experience.

Combo Breaker is scheduled for May 22-24 in Chicago, Illinois. More details can be found through their official website.

Source: Rick Thiher

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Transcendental Orchestra -Sou- Melty Blood Japanese National Tournament Streaming Live from Saitama, Japan

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The Golden Week tournament extravaganza in Japan still has a little bit of juice left. Things will be getting melty today with the second movement of the Transcendental Orchestra Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code national tournament, hosted at the PLAY SPOT BIG-ONE 2nd game center in Saitama.

The main event will start off with the finals league. The 16 teams will be broken down into 4 blocks of 4, with the top team from each block proceeding to the finals tournament.

As a national event, this is one of the best opportunities to check out some high-level Melty Blood play. If you want to catch the action, check out the streams on Niconico Live. Play is set to start at 3:00 PM JST (2:00 AM EDT, 11:00 PM PDT), with finals play beginning 30 minutes after. The finals tournament is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM JST (6:00 AM EDT, 3:00 AM PDT).

Finals League

Finals Tournament

Finals League Teams

A Block

  • Shakai-teki Chii – Gakusei (Kohaku), NEET (Kouma), Shakaijin (Miyako)
  • PCS Quality – Akahoshi (Satsuki), Raku-chan (Len), Chen (Aoko)
  • Java Shie wa Chikoku Shita – Moai (Satsuki), Java Shige (Neco & Mech), Iwashi (Warachia)
  • 3-nenme no Honki – Kata (Akiha Vermillion), Shinya (Seifuku Akiha), Masa (Red Arcueid)

B Block

  • Mondaiji – Chikoku no Kou (Seifuku Akiha), Breo no Eve (Archetype: Earth), Shachiku no GO1 (Akiha)
  • Arigatou Ohsu Sky – Tatsuya (Ciel), Maccha (Ciel), Oozora (Riesbyfe)
  • KPYD – Dash Inu@HK (Kouma), Yasai (Ciel), Peach (Red Arcueid)
  • Omise wa Kamisama, Kyaku wa Kuzu – Hegochin (Hisui), NewRin (Kohaku), Nanjoru-nyan (Kouma)

C Block

  • Bermuda Triangle – Waka (Hisui), Kouki (Arcueid), Hare (Satsuki)
  • Nani ga Yariyou ja! – Takashi (Arcueid), Sumochi (Len), Tsa (Kohaku)
  • Domuun Fan Club
  • Fukkatsu no D

D Block

  • Sokuseki – Suu-chan (Powerd Ciel), Hiko-nyan (Koha & Mech), Maruyan (Mech-Hisui)
  • Sekai Level – Italian Style (Aoko), World Is Mine (Hisui), SUHADA Style (Kouma)
  • San-kan Shin – Akai Melon (Roa), Hirohiro (White Len), Futsuka Yoi (Aoko)
  • Athena kara no Shikaku – sola (Seifuku Akiha), Ragu (Roa), Yuu (Sion)
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The Super Best Friends Battle for Earth in Two Lesser-Known Marvel Fighting Games

Chances are everyone who plays fighting games nowadays has at least some history with a Marvel-themed fighting title. Whether you spent childhood Saturdays clunking quarters into the local Children of the Atom machine, dedicated a decade or more to Marvel vs. Capcom 2, or only recently got into Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, you’ve probably slammed out a berserker barrage or two against friends at some point or another.

There’s a certain degree of hype that always comes paired with Marvel fighting games; they’re fast, they’re loaded with great characters, the combos are flashy and exciting, the list goes on. But these are the Marvel fighting games that Capcom had a hand in creating. Sadly, not every title was so lucky.

In their most recent video, the Super Best Friends sit down with with two lesser-known Marvel fighting titles–both dedicated to The Avengers, neither created by Capcom–and do their best to slog through some matches. The first, Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth hit Xbox 360 and Wii U just a few short years ago, but the fact that it pairs motion controls with some of the worst camera angles in one-on-one gaming proves that Ubisoft has no business trying to make a fighting game.

They only spend half an hour with that before moving on to Data East’s Avengers in Galactic Storm, which only ever saw an arcade release. Luckily, Pat has access to an “arcade cabinet,” so they can give it a shot. It’s much more traditional as far as fighting games go, but that likely has more to do with its 1995 release date than anything else.

The game features a whole crew of characters that only the most hardcore comic fans have heard of (aside from Cap, Ronin, and Hank Pym), and actually has a rudimentary assist system. Of course, the damage output of every character is through the roof, as was the style at the time, but these matches appear much more playable than those in the first half hour.

Be sure to check out the video below if you want to see a humorous take on these eclectic titles.

Source: TheSw1tcher via Super Best Friends Play

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RnK|Lucius Highlights Ultra Street Fighter IV’s C. Viper, Decapre, and Seth for Olympic Gaming

Typically, Olympic Gaming’s player spotlight videos are dedicated to a player and their main character. We don’t often get to see the highlighted player hopping around the roster, but that isn’t the case for RnK|Lucius, as they display a mastery of not one, but three characters in this highlight reel.

One thing that all of these characters–C. Viper, Decapre and Seth–have in common is the absolutely explosive level of momentum that they’re capable of generating once they get in. And Lucius has no trouble getting in.

As always, this video features the highlighted player facing off against top-ranked online warriors, and in this case, even a special inner-team battle between Lucius and RnK|MeKtOuB’s Guy. If you like seeing high-level rushdown and incredible mix-ups, you won’t want to miss this week’s video.

Source: Olympic Gaming

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Learn to Dominate the Battle with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U’s Newest Fighter, Mewtwo

Mewtwo defines the term glass cannon thanks to its damage potential and ability to reliably combo at all percents coupled with the fact that it has a hurtbox the size of a truck and weighs about as much as Jigglypuff. At any moment, the true power of the psychic Pokémon can overwhelm its opponents and shut out a stock, or it can find itself on the receiving end of a similar beat down.

My Smash Corner has been bringing us Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tutorials since the game launched late last year and their newest delivers the same level of quality that we’ve come to expect. Given the nature of the character, the video spends most of its runtime discussing Mewtwo’s combos, but it also imparts important techniques like double jump canceling, instant disabling as part of a recovery, and plenty more.

If you’re looking to capture this Pokémon for yourself, be sure to check out the video below.

Source: My Smash Corner via Smash Boards

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NetherRealm Studios Promises “Huge Improvements” to Mortal Kombat X on PC

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While Mortal Kombat X has enjoyed a hugely successful launch on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, folks who went with the PC version were provided a less than stable product upon release. Crashes, bugs, and a general shoddiness put a dark cloud over what could have been an excellent product.

Fortunately, NetherRealm Studios took notice, and has been working in conjunction with third-party developer High Voltage Software to make the necessary corrections. Multiple updates have been released thus far, but one in particular will hopefully bring PC fans the parity they deserve.

According to creative director Ed Boon, the next Mortal Kombat X patch–on schedule to drop tomorrow–will bring “huge improvements” to the PC title. Though specifics weren’t stated, Boon and his fellow Kombat Kast hosts promised that this update will make the Steam version operate just like its counterparts on home consoles.

Tomorrow is a big day for the Mortal Kombat universe with the release of Jason Voorhees as a playable character, so let’s hope PC players will soon be able to take part in some unhindered fun as well.

Source: NetherRealm Studios

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Mortal Kombat X Developers Providing $10,000 Pot Bonuses to Community Effort Orlando, Combo Breaker

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During today’s Kombat Kast, NetherRealm Studios creative director Ed Boon joined the show to make a couple of very special announcements concerning Mortal Kombat X’s appearances at upcoming tournaments.

Community Effort Orlando 2015 and Combo Breaker will each be receiving $10,000 from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and NetherRealm to add to the prize pools of their events, both of which are set split their bonuses among the top eight finalists. These funds are being provided by sales of the Blue Steel Sub-Zero skin.

Although still in its infancy when compared to other competitive titles, Mortal Kombat X has been gaining some incredible steam over the past month. Despite inconsistent online play, ESL’s pre-season cups have seen relatively stable numbers from week to week, and Northwest Majors 7 provided an excellent showing for the title as the first major to include it in competition. Furthermore, this year’s East Coast Throwdown will see the likes of Street Fighter and Marvel cast aside to make Mortal Kombat the tournament’s main event.

Combined with the aforementioned details, these bonuses are sure to boost Mortal Kombat X’s presence as the competitive season soldiers on. The developers also mentioned there’s more to come, so stay tuned.

For more details on Community Effort Orlando 2015 and Combo Breaker, be sure to visit their respective websites.

Source: NetherRealm, images courtesy of CEO Gaming and Combo Breaker.

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Get the Scoop on Mortal Kombat X’s Jason Voorhees During NetherRealm Studios’ Kombat Kast

Starting tomorrow, Mortal Kombat X will see its first round of downloadable characters begin with the release of Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees. While a trailer was release this morning, the folks at NetherRealm Studios are set to provide more details about his gameplay during today’s special Kombat Kast, streaming live now.

To catch it all, be sure to tune in below or head on over to Twitch.

Watch live video from NetherRealm on www.twitch.tv

Source: NetherRealm Studios