MMORPG.com has been given closed beta keys for the all new 3rd person brawler-shooter game – Raiders of the Broken Planet! The next weekend beta event is scheduled to run Saturday May 20 starting at 9am EST to Sunday May 21 7pm EST. Get your beta key now!
Eighty Sixed: A spotlight on their T-shirt and keychain collection
There are a few things you’ll unavoidably see many players with at any given FGC event. Of course, you’ll see your standard tournament equipment: things like arcade sticks, pad, and the occasional hitbox–but you’ll also see plenty of “gamer swag.” Some players adorn themselves in bead art, others carry plushies with them–but by-and-large the most common sight would be gaming T-shirts.
Eighty Sixed is a vendor specializing in officially licensed wearable merch, providing primarily shirts and keychains for players and fans. They have products based on a number of different franchises, including Street Fighter V, Killer Instinct, Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, and Skullgirls. They also produce gaming-themed shirts of their own original designs, and even have worked with YouTuber Maximilian Dood to provide a collection of shirts themed around him and his exploits (Yo! Videogames).
The shirts feature a wide variety of cool exclusive artwork, some of which are even glow-in-the-dark. Street Fighter is currently leading the pack for the widest variety of available shirt designs, but there’s a varied selection for most of the featured games. Most shirts will set you back $24.00 USD each.
They also sell some other items aside, from shirts. Their most recent announcement centered around new Street Fighter V keychains, which depict about half of the original cast so far. More will undoubtedly be released, so if your character isn’t available yet, simply being patient should solve that problem for you. There are also keychains available for Killer Instinct and Skullgirls, which you can see below:
Each keychain is a decent size, big enough to appreciate the character artwork, but small enough to not be a pocket-burden. These are all also original designs by Eighty Sixed, each keychain made of soft rubbery material. They’re a great way for fans to show off their love for their favorite characters–as cute, “chibi” designs. Their keychains generally run between $6.00 and $8.00 USD.
In addition to those, they also sell buttons–and even mouse pads–for a handful of their supported franchises. They range in price from $5.00 to $10.00 USD.
Their focus as a vendor is naturally on providing clothing and accessories, but they also have been known to help out fighting game communities more directly. A specific example: they recently ran a sale on all Skullgirls products, with a percentage of sales going towards the donation drive aimed at flying international players to Combo Breaker. (This donation drive has since concluded.)
You can see Eighty Sixed’s full catalog on their website, and follow them on Twitter for updates (and the occasional promo code).
Source: Eighty Sixed
Super Steam Xrd Exhibition League: Mr. K and NC Jin try to outwit each other, while braindead2000 duels Killey
New week, new Super Steam Xrd Exhibition League match! The online Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- showdowns continue. The FT7s (with commentary) showcase players from various regions, and are a great way of highlighting particular match-ups. This time, we have Mr. K’s Leo Whitefang battling NC Jin’s Dizzy, as well as braindead2000’s Venom vs. Killey’s Johnny.
Let’s get a better grasp at who’s who, and how they feel about the upcoming battles.
Mr. K
On the match: “I’m excited! Silva is doing great things for the Guilty Gear community and I’m happy to be part of it. I’m a little nervous because Dizzy is a rare character, and I don’t play against strong Dizzy players often. I’m making sure to be prepared though!”
On his opponent: “I think we met for the first time at SuperTSB in New York earlier this year. We got to play a set and we also talked about some of Dizzy’s best anti-Leo offense. He seems to be dedicated to his character and it’s awesome to find other people who want to push their character to its limits.”
On his own playstyle: “I think I’m at my best when I can play fast and force my opponent to deal with what I’m doing directly. Leo suits my aggressive risk/reward style really well, since he basically demands responses to threats once he’s close. Really strong opponents don’t crack under pressure, though, so I’ve made a conscious effort to expand my gameplay in new directions with Leo to become more well-rounded.”
NC Jin
On the match: “I’m really excited and grateful for the opportunity to play in the Steam league. I think it’s been a great way to build up hype for Xrd, and with REV 2 on the way, I hope more people will pick up the game. As far as my match goes, I just hope to play well and make it as exciting as possible.”
On his opponent: “I’ve never played Mr.K before, but from what I’ve seen, he is a very strong Leo player. It’s obvious that he has a great understanding of both the game and his character. He places very well in the tournaments I’ve seen him attend, so I know I will have to play well to win.”
On his own playstyle: “My playstyle varies from game to game, in my opinion. I try to play a very offensive style most of the time, but in certain matches, I like to zone. It really just depends on who I’m up against. I try to adjust to what my opponent’s tendencies are and adjust accordingly. I would have to say that I focus more on player interaction rather than character-specific match-ups.”
braindead2000
On the match: “I’m a bit nervous because I’d like to play well, but I’m more so excited at the opportunity to play in this league! I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun.”
On his opponent: “Killey has really good spacing and hit confirms, add that with good execution–he’s certainly not an opponent to be taken lightly. In my honest opinion, he’s definitely one of the best Johnny players in North America.”
On his own playstyle: “My favorite kind of style is establishing control of the screen and approaching my opponent carefully. Once I have made my approach I want to overwhelm my opponent with relentless offense.”
Killey
On the match: “I’m excited but also a bit anxious about this match since I don’t do exhibition matches that often. I’m somewhat familiar with the match up since I have two Venom players in my scene; however, every player has their own take on a character. I’m hoping that I’m able to adapt to my opponent’s style on the character as the match progresses.
I really like the format of these exhibition matches, as it forces accelerated learning of match-ups and helps refine your learning process moving forward. I had fun studying this match-up, since I involved the community for assistance. I got help from my local Venom players and the Johnny discord; I even went as far as asking KSB winner Omito for some advice on his stream… ha ha ha. While I do want to win this match, I’m not too concerned with the final results. I just want to put on a good show for the viewers.
I’m currently preparing for Combo Breaker, which will be REV 2, but since this match is -REVELATOR-, I had to revisit the specific combo routes on Venom. The issue is that Venom’s aerial hitboxes make it hard to consistently land midscreen knockdowns, which causes Johnny to lose positioning and momentum. I had to explore the specifics of Venom’s aerial hitboxes to make Johnny’s combos more consistent, and I think I found some unique solutions to this. Thankfully, I won’t have to deal with this moving into REV 2 due to the aerial hitbox changes on Venom.”
On his opponent: “I respect his Venom play since it’s very solid and centered on control. I remember playing him months ago, and he had unique answers to certain situations. We were trying to get more matches in afterwards, but that never happened, since we could never line up our schedules. I like to view this exhibition match as the rematch that didn’t happen back then.”
On his own playstyle: “Hmmm… I think I play rather textbook or systematic, and then try to fine tune my strategies based on my opponent’s habits. I like to force certain situations on my opponent and see if they have an answer to it. If they don’t demonstrate to me that they can deal with the situation then I’ll continue to exploit their match-up knowledge deficiencies until they do then adapt accordingly.”
It’s good to see a few less-popular characters in these match-ups, and it will be interesting to see what individuality the players bring to them. Don’t forget to tune in to Silva_hime’s Twitch channel tonight, starting at 9:15 PM EST/8:15 PM CST/6:15 PM PDT. Octopimp and BxA|dotNova are commentating this time.
In the most recent online Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- set, Beautifuldude’s Zato=1 battled Dekline’s Sin Kiske. What a battle! The other FT7 involved Ryyudo’s Faust and WindGodDude’s Millia Rage. Check it out below!
Sources: interviews; Mdesilva
UDON’s Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers issue #1 is in stores today!
After a number of delays, the first issue of UDON’s new series has arrived!
UDON’s wildest fight yet begins at last today with the release of Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers issue one! The kick-off issue features a number of cover variants, and comes packed with two bonus (and exclusive) UFS cards.
You can pick up your copy of Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers #1 at a comic shop near you–or check it out digitally on comiXology. Issue #4 is currently available to pre-order, and keep an eye out for the upcoming Street Fighter & Friends Swimsuit Special.
If you happened to miss out on the UDON Street Fighter Wrestling Special issue for Free Comic Book Day, there’s still a little time to enter their draw for a copy.
Sources: UDON Entertainment, Gleam
– Wild West Online will Bypass KickStarter & Early Access
Now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag, the Wild West Online team is ready to talk about their game, crowd funding options and more. Most interesting is the news that the game will bypass Steam Early Access to dive straight into full release later this year.
– Pathfinder: Kingmaker – An Isometric RPG from Owlcat Games
My.com has announced that Owlcat Games is working on a new isometric RPG based in the Pathfinder universe. Called Pathfinder: Kingmaker, the game brings familiar characters into the game in new adventures through the Stolen Lands. Chris Avellone is also working with developers to “help shape the game’s narrative”.
LiangHUBBB returns with Episode 101 of his “Funny & Cool Moments” series
After hitting the milestone of his 100th episode back in March, LiangHUBB continues the march into triple digits with Episode 101 of his “Funny & Cool Moments” series, which compiles some of the most hilarious and impressive fighting game clips from a variety of different titles. This episode’s selections contain footage of Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, Injustice 2, Street Fighter V, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, ARIKA’s in-development Fighting Layer sequel/spin-off, For Honor, Under Night In-Birth EXE: Late [st], Ultra Street Fighter II, Street Fighter III Third Strike, Ultra Street Fighter IV, The King of Fighters XIV, Mortal Kombat XL, and more.
Highlights include Akuma sentencing Bryan Fury to “die 1,000 deaths” (while decked out in ridiculous customization), Alex flying off into space after getting overly pumped from a victory, Akuma scoring a Time Out victory in SFV before his Raging Demon animation can even begin, a crazy Garuda combo from Gods Garden Pro’s Kazunoko during ARIKA’s stream, along with various stuttering glitches. Ed’s Psycho Cannon bounces Ibuki’s bomb like a beach ball, a pair of Lauras seemingly have a headbutting contest, a Rock Howard player will not stop waking up with Raging Storm, and poor Rainbow Mika gets tormented by an invisible Dhalsim.
We also have a look back at Shaq and Eva Marie’s epic battle at the ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Celebrity Invitational, a Juri player V-reversing Ibuki’s bomb (only to die when it explodes), VesperArcade getting into a hilarious throw tech war with a Urien player, stylish Ibuki sequences, Poongko getting angry in USFIV, Krullex’s NSFW salty rant against Cammy, and Defend The North’s Smug getting way too into some pre-match nachos at Next Level Battle Circuit. You can see the entire compilation below.
Source: LiangHUBBB
Can You Beat an Esports Champion: Watch an “average Joe” mount a comeback against Justin Wong, & other highlights
Last Saturday, Gillette and Compete’s “Can You Beat an Esports Champion” gave amateur players the chance try and take on some of Street Fighter V’s top pros. Specifically, the line up consisted of Team Liquid’s Du “NuckleDu” Dang, DTN’s Bryant “Smug” Huggins, and Echo Fox’s Justin Wong.
Well, it seems that an amateur does have a shot at beating out a pro, given the chance (and likely copious amounts of practice). Compete has now shared some highlights from the event, including this amazing match where an “average Joe” going by the gamertag Option is actually able to stand up to Justin Wong, even mounting a comeback against the latter with his Ibuki.
Of course, there were other noteworthy matches during the event as well–especially when some of New York’s more well-known players also showed up. NuckleDu for one found himself having to face another Guile master in the form of Kevin “Di3minion” Landon.
Smug, however, found himself doing much better in his match against New York veteran Sanford “Santhrax” Kelly.
Now, these aren’t all of the highlights from the event. Head on over to Compete for more matches: including a young kid trying his best to go up against Justin, and a head-to-head match between Smug and NuckleDu.
Source: Compete
DreamHack Summer 2017 is now a part of Pokkén Tournament’s World Championship Series
A new tournament venue has been added to the Pokkén Tournament World Championship Series, and it’s none other then Sweden’s DreamHack Summer.
This is a bit of a surprise as, you may remember, last year’s Dreamhack Summer Pokkén Tournament was a bit of a fiasco. Still, the biggest problem of that event was when it was announced; this year’s announcement gives a much more generous amount of preparation time. DreamHack Summer 2017 will be taking place June 17th-20th.
Curiously, the site also mentions that 4 players will qualify from an unnamed American event. It’s possible this is simply referring to CEO 17, but there are still two more DreamHack Events in the USA this year (Denver, Atlanta) that Pokkén players will likely travel for, if DreamHack Austin was any indication.
Source: DreamHack Summer
Nintendo is hosting a special ARMS Direct tomorrow night
Ahead of the special ARMS tournament that is being held at E3 this year–and its release in about a month–Nintendo is hosting a special ARMS Direct stream tomorrow night. Starting at 3;00 PM PT/6:00 PM ET, this Direct promises a “deep dive” into the world of ARMS, showing off its single-player and multiplayer modes, as well as potentially some new characters.
Tune in tomorrow at 3 PM PT for an #ARMS Direct + see a brand new trailer for #Splatoon2! https://t.co/sVsqDLEOcv pic.twitter.com/35v8upExGb
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 16, 2017
If you need to find out more about ARMS in the mean time, you can read this article here, which talks about the game’s control schemes. While there is the option to play without using the Switch’s motion controls, it does look like it will put players at a disadvantage compared to those using the JoyCons like boxing gloves. We’ll hopefully see these alternate control methods in action during the Direct.
Source: Nintendo of America