Category: Fighting Games

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Mr. Freeze, Jay Garrick as The Flash, & Vixen Premiere Skins emerge in Injustice 2

With Injustice 2‘s release date merely four days away, many eager players are scoring early access to the final version of the game–via mom-and-pop retailers breaking the street date, generally. While we already know about the Power Girl, Reverse-Flash and John Stewart Premiere Skins that are included in the game’s Ultimate Edition, it seems the eagle-eyed Bruno del Vilar has discovered some additional characters moonlighting as costumes in the Gear Customization menu. Though we caught a brief glimpse of him in the “Your Battles, Your Way” we now have our first look at Captain Cold’s Mr. Freeze Premiere Skin, based off of his New 52 design, though it lacks his iconic helmet (likely for hitbox-related reasons). We also get our first looks at a Jay Garrick Premiere Skin for The Flash that pays homage to the original Speedster from the Golden Age. We also surprisingly have a Vixen Premiere Skin for Cheetah, who technically possesses a completely different power set, due to her Tantu Totem allowing her to channel the full powers of the animal kingdom. We also get another look at Power Girl, Reverse-Flash, and John Stewart from the perspective of the customization menus. You can view all 6 Premiere Skins, which appear to be the only ones currently in the game (save for Cyborg’s Grid Skin, which can only be unlocked by syncing up the console and mobile versions of Injustice 2, via your WB Play account) in the gallery below.

Click to view slideshow.

What are your thoughts on these Premiere Skin character choices? Will you be using any of them, or perhaps picking up additional characters, just to play with a specific Skin? Are there any more Premiere Skins you’d like to see added to the game in the future? Let us know in the Comments below!

Injustice 2 will be released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on May 16th.

Source: Bruno del Villar (Twitter); via Test Your Might

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PND|Ketchup and Mustard look at “What’s Changed” with Cyborg in Injustice 2

After creating a series of “Getting Started” guides for Injustice 2 newcomers Scarecrow, Dr. Fate, Gorilla Grodd, and Deadshot, PND|Ketchup and PND|Mustard have decided to round out their pre-release coverage with a pair of “What’s Changed?” videos, looking at a pair of returning Injustice: Gods Among Us veterans that haven’t seen much of the spotlight, in order to see what new tricks they may have up their sleeves in the sequel.

The first subject of this brief series is Cyborg, one of the three characters who has yet to receive an official breakdown from the Injustice Watchtower. Unfortunately for the cybernetic Justice League member, Victor Stone found himself among the worst characters in the original Injustice, to the point that he barely saw any competitive play whatsoever. He is fundamentally the same character in Injustice 2, following the path of his fellow legacy characters in retaining large amounts of his previous playstyle, but he’s received several technological upgrades.

For starters, he has a new upward version of Nova Blaster, mapped to DB1, that can be charged and dash-canceled like his regular fireball. Using this in the sky provides him with an air fireball, similar to Akuma’s, which can be meter burned to fire a second air projectile in a straight line. “Think of it as like a reverse of what the old projectile does,” Ketchup advises.

His uppercut, Power Fist, has been remapped to DB2 to make room for his diagonal fireball, and the meter burn extension has been adjusted to now strike enemies back down to the ground as an overhead strike, as opposed to launching foes upwards like it did previously. This affords Cyborg new mid-screen follow-ups and greater damage, but at the cost of forcing him to readjust his corner combos to compensate for the reduced launch height. He also couldn’t meter burn on block in this pre-release build, so he may not have mixups with it. Target Acquired has been changed from an unblockable projectile to an overhead, potentially giving him hard-to-blockables with his low-hitting B2.

Cyborg’s most notable change is his completely-new Trait. Gone is the health-replenishing Repair Circuit, as it’s been replaced with a pair of summonable droids: an air bot that tracks the opponent before dive-bombing them, and what’s essentially a Roomba that slides across the ground for OTGs. These should prove invaluable supplements to his zoning, setup and offensive games. You can catch the full video below, and check back soon for their coverage of Green Arrow.

Are you excited for these Cyborg changes? Will you be trying him out with these new tools if you avoided him the first time around? Tell us in the comments.

Injustice 2 will release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this Tuesday, May 16th.

Source: PNDK&M

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Latest FGC News ELEAGUE interviews provide a closer look at FChamp and Wolfkrone

Group C’s finals at ELEAGUE ended up being an intense spectacle for a lot of reasons, and both of the players interviewed by FGC News‘ David Gama were largely at the center of that hype.

On one side of this coin was Splyce’s Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez, the storied Marvel and Street Fighter pro who came so close to making it out of Group C, only to fall in a last round vortex versus 2013 Evolution Street Fighter Champ RZR|Xian. Conducted just after his elimination, FChamp vents and reflects on his path both in Street Fighter V, and in the upcoming Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.

And on the other side, Joshua “Wolfkrone” Philpot, coming off his win against the same threatening Ibuki, Xian. Wolfkrone kept it brief: offering advice on how he personally leveled up, expressing his frustration with some characters, and his general love of ELEAGUE. And, of course, he talks about what caused his now-legendary beef with EG|K-Brad.

Source: FGC News

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Spylce signs Charles “Cactuar” Meighen as their Super Smash Bros. Melee coach

Following in the path of Cloud 9 and Team Liquid, Splyce have hired a coach specifically to guide their Super Smash Bros. Melee players. A familiar face in the Melee scene, old training partner of Echo Fox|MVG|Mew2King and current rank 60 on the 2016 SSBM Rank, Charles “Cactuar” Meighen has joined Splyce as their dedicated Melee coach.

Hoping to bring his years of experience as both a high-level player and an analyst, his guidance should help continue the success of Splyce’s current Melee players, McCain “MacD” LaVelle and Michael “Nintendude” Brancato. Cactuar is no stranger to helping Melee players improve, having created the YouTube channel Smash Practice alongside boxr|Zhu.

He will be making his debut for Splyce at Royal Flush this weekend, both as a player and a coach.

Source: Splyce

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Joker, Black Adam, & Brainiac get their time in the spotlight during this week’s Injustice 2 Watchtower stream

Focusing their efforts on the remaining villains in Injustice 2, NetherRealm Studios have devoted their latest Watchtower stream to showing off Black Adam, Brainiac, and the Joker. As Injustice 2 releases in the US next Tuesday, there was plenty of stuff to run through.

Newcomer Brainiac is the big bad for Injustice 2, descending on Earth to catalog its inhabitants and eradicate the last remnants of Krypton. His tentacles make him the perfect fighter for someone who loves playing the neutral game, but beware of the long recovery on most of his normals and specials. While a master of whiff punishing, he is also prone to being whiff punished himself.

Black Adam retains much of his toolkit from the original Injustice, keeping his role as a defensive powerhouse that excels at punishing the slightest misstep. His new special Riddle of the Sphinx is a three-hit rekka that ends with a powerful lightning blast, which is great for hitting opponents who over-extend. Many of his strings are still the same, so old Black Adam players should be right at home with this new iteration. He hits super hard, so beware of challenging this Egyptian champion.

Finally, the Clown Prince of Crime has indeed returned in Injustice 2, bringing with him a bag full of various lethal gags and pranks. While his normals have stayed the same, many of Joker’s specials have received a noticeable rework. His Gun Shot now has a meter-burn option, with Joker firing out a Bang! flag which sticks in the enemy and explodes after a short delay. Joker can now run full screen with his Crowbar, similar to Leatherface’s chainsaw charges in Mortal Kombat X, with it turning into an unblockable once he breaks into a run. It can even be meter-burned to gain a hit of armor. His character trait no longer requires him to land a parry, Joker can just start laughing to speed himself up. As long as Joker keeps laughing, he’ll retain his speed boost but continuous laughs do decay the meter faster.

Source: GameSpot via NetherRealm

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Team No Surrender Gaming signs DJT and MIT to compete in Injustice 2

In the wake of YOMI Gaming’s demise, and with Injustice 2 just over the horizon, many of the original team members are being signed by various Esports organizations. Forever King was recently signed by Circa eSports, while his younger brother, Forever King Jr. was picked up by BxA Gaming. Last week, it was confirmed that another top pair of former YOMI players have inked contracts–as the Terry brothers, best known as DJT and MIT, have been signed by Team No Surrender Gaming.

Denzell’s resume includes a 2nd place finish at Evo 2013 and a 5th place finish at Evo 2014 for Injustice: Gods Among Us, as well as becoming the Evo 2013 champion for Mortal Kombat 9, on top of countless placings in Mortal Kombat XL. By comparison, Malik placed 13th at Evo 2013 and 3rd at Evo 2014 for Injustice, as well as getting 9th at MLG Anaheim and 4th at Evo 2015 for MKX, among other accomplishments. These two join an already impressive stable of players that includes Footwurk, Saltface, Cupcake, and Ludovic.

It’s certainly an exciting time for Injustice 2 players with the announcements of the GameStop Hometown Heroes circuit, the Injustice 2 Championship Series and Stream.Me’s “War of the Gods” online circuit. You can see an official announcement tweet from Team NS below–as well as MIT’s declaration that he and DJT are going to “MMMMOOOOPPP fools”–below.

All of us here are Shoryuken would like to congratulate both the Terry brothers and Team No Surrender on this fantastic signing, and wish them all the best as they enter the super-powered battlefield.

Injustice 2 will be released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on May 16th.

Sources: NoSurrenderNS (Twitter) & NS_MIT1996 (Twitter) via Test Your Might

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Injustice 2 Mobile game now available for download on iOS and Android

While Injustice 2’s console release may still be a few days away, fans eager to ensure that every battle defines them on the go can now download the Injustice 2 mobile game for free on both iOS and Android devices via the App Store or Google Play.

Weighing in at 914 megabytes (and already updated to version 1.03) the Injustice 2 mobile game will allow you to wage super-powered wars anywhere you see fit, with 3-on-3, team-based card battles, in the vein as its predecessors Injustice: Gods Among Us, Mortal Kombat X and WWE Immortals. However, this mobile supplement is bigger and badder than ever, boasting an extremely deep revamped combat system, which incorporates greater movement into the game, with the added ability to jump and crouch under attacks, as well as new rush attacks to close the distance between you and your opponents.

This update also adds Suicide Harley Quinn, Dawn of Justice Superman, The Joker, Green Arrow, and more to the playable roster. You’ll also have access to the same extensive Gear customization as the console version, and perhaps most importantly, the mobile version will include the exact same cinematic story experience you’ll be able to see on console, with Chapter 1 available to be played through right now.

Lastly, we have our first confirmed mobile-to-console unlock, as synching up your mobile and console versions of Injustice 2 will allow you to acquire a Premiere skin for Cyborg, transforming him into the Crime Syndicate’s sentient computer virus, Grid. Don’t forget that if you pre-registered before launch, you’ll be able to exclusively receive access to Catwoman within the first week, whose passive ability is to receive greater rewards upon her completion of an Operations Mission–likely to provide you with quick access to some great loot. You can view the game’s official launch trailer, as well as a tweet from NetherRealm Studio’s Ed Boon, below!

We also caught our first look at Grid, via a loading screen during yesterday’s Injustice Watchtower live stream, uploaded by DR3 GAMING.

The console version of Injustice 2 will be released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this Tuesday, May 16th.

Will you be playing the mobile version of Injustice 2, and are their any mobile-exclusive characters or additional mobile unlocks you’d like to see, in addition to the Grid Premiere skin? Sound off in the comments.

Sources: Injustice; Ed Boon (Twitter); DR3 GAMING

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The Rivals Championship Series returns for its second season

After the success of its first season last year, the Rivals Championship Series is back for a new season. With its first major offline event being at Shine 2017 in August, the Rivals of Aether team have announced some of the changes they are making to the overall tournament circuit for this year.

First off, the tournament circuit is being expanded from two regions to three regions. Alongside Europe and North America, Australia is now joining the Rivals Championship Series. Alongside the top four players from North America, the top player from both Australia and Europe will get travel vouchers to attend the season finale in early 2018. The finals location has yet to be confirmed but it is promised to be “the biggest Rivals event ever.”

Alongside offline events, RCS Season Two will host regular online monthlies running up until December. If you are unable to make it out to big offline events, this monthlies will be your best bet for grinding out RCS points and potentially winning that travel voucher out to the season finale.

Hoping to raise the stakes for its first two monthlies, the RCS have teamed up with Big Blue Esports to make their first two online events qualifiers for Shine 2017. Alongside additional goodies, the top 8 from each of these qualifiers will enter a special 16-man bracket, where the overall winner will win a trip to Shine 2017. These qualifiers are only available to those in North America, so Australian and European players will have to wait for their respective monthlies.

Source: Rivals of Aether

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Fable eSports signs on Guilty Gear player Kizzie Kay and Pokkén competitor Suicune Master

Right after Texas Showdown this past weekend, two new fighting game players have joined the Fable GG squad with a sponsorship: the first is Keenan “Kizzie Kay” Kizzie, and the second player is Christian “Suicine Master” Patierno.

Kizzie Kay is famous for his Jin Kisaragi in BlazBlue: Central Fiction and Sin Kiske in Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-. This sponsorship comes right off a triumph at Texas Showdown over now-fellow Fable GG player Fable|KidViper, who also recently got signed on.

Suicune Master triumphed at the CEO 2016 in Pokkén Tournament, and scored 5th place at last year’s Evolution Championship.

Congratulations to both players; make sure to give them a follow on Twitter at @Kizzie_Kay310 and @SuicuneM.

Source: Yahoo! Esports

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Street Fighter V at Red Bull Proving Grounds: NorCal Rivals round two recap, results, and replays

The second round of NorCal Rivals took place this past weekend at the Gamers Den in Campbell, CA. While the number of entrants were only around half the size of last month’s first round, the Street Fighter V competition was just as fierce as ever, but with quite a few shakeups in the standings.

German “Ultima” Marroquin–the young up-and-comer with the rambunctious Rashid who placed fifth at last month’s event–took the first place spot this time around: shimmying some of NorCal’s best in the winners bracket such as Mattypie, G-Dragon, Pavocado, and ultimately (no pun intended) BJ Unchained in grand finals. With this victory, along with his fifth place finish last month, Ultima has the lead with 500 points in the overall standings.

Brian “BJ Unchained” Jeon, who dismally placed 32nd last month, finished strong in second place and made up some ground to tie for third with his brother Kelvin (who won last month’s event) with 300 points each. His matches were really close throughout the night, with Brian almost losing to BrolyBallz’s solid Akuma and Pavocado’s cold and calculated R. Mika play. He only ended up losing to Ultima earlier in the winners bracket and in grand finals. The fact that the two Jeon brothers are tied for third in the standings will make for an interesting result next month if only one of them can make it through barring some bizarre shakeups. One of three things can occur in this scenario: either only one of the brothers qualify for the 3v3, both brothers make it or none of them do. Everything hinges on what transpires at the beginning of June.

Lets also not forget Pavo “Pavocado” Miskic who has been the most consistent player so far with two third place finishes in a row and is currently in second place overall with 450 points. While I’m sure he’s not satisfied with that result, if Pavo can place in the top three for next month’s event, he will have secured a spot for the Red Bull Proving Grounds finals in Santa Monica to try and win the trip to Evolution 2017 along with whoever his teammates will be.

You can watch the whole tournament below, which clocks in at a little over three hours long. Some NSFW language is used here–so watch with discretion.

NorCal Rivals: Street Fighter V

Top 16 results (54 entrants)

1st: Ultima (Rashid)
2nd: BJ UnChained (Necalli)
3rd: Pavocado (R. Mika)
4th: BrolyBallz (Akuma)
5th: G-Dragon (Karin)
5th: Higashi (R. Mika)
7th: PH|Crackfiend (Urien)
7th: DM|John B. (Ibuki)

9th: CE|Isaiah Raider (Laura, Guile)
9th: ROG|Kelvin Jeon (Urien, Ibuki)
9th: LDO (Birdie)
9th: Lamerboi (Rashid)
13th: Supa (?)
13th: Danphan (?)
13th: GenesisFrenzy (Laura)
13th: THEDTRAN (Birdie)

Sources: Team Spooky; smash.gg