Category: News

Now, this is really cool: as part of a partnership with CEO Gaming, Rivals of Aether is gaining a special skin for its Rock Wall stage, themed around the world famous CEO wrestling ring. This collaboration comes out of Rivals of Aether’s place as one of the headlining games at CEO Dreamland in April, a major specifically for platform fighters and brawlers.

Playing on the custom @CEOGaming stage in @RivalsOfAether on https://t.co/5luE30bWV2 pic.twitter.com/t9oFMSc34N

— Alex Jebailey (@CEOJebailey) March 1, 2017

If players pick the Rock Wall stage in local multiplayer, you can specifically choose the CEO Ring skin but when playing online, the stage only appears every other time you pick Rock Wall. As long as one of the players in an online match has the CEO Ring skin, it will still have a chance to appear any time you go to fight on Rock Wall.

This cosmetic DLC costs $5 and forms part of CEO Dreamland’s compendium, so if you want to fight in the CEO Ring but cannot make it out to Florida, consider giving it a purchase off the CEO Dreamland shop. Rivals of Aether has built a solid reputation for adding cool cosmetic updates to help support its community, so it is possible to expect more of these special stage skins in the future. A Steam update should have just gone live to add the stage skin into the mix, so you can start throwing hands in the ring right now.

Source: CEO Gaming

Cygames unleashes the Beast!

Japanese mobile game developer Cygames–known for their hit digital collectible card game Shadowverse–has announced that it will sponsor a legendary trio of esports athletes: bringing Daigo Umehara, Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis and Eduardo “PR Balrog” Perez under its banner for its foray into the world of fighting games. The group will adopt their name from Umehara’s famous moniker: Cygames Beast.

Cygames is well-equipped to make an impact on Street Fighter V’s competitive scene with this combo of Umehara’s indomitable Ryu, PR Balrog’s hard-punching namesake, and Snake Eyez’s deadly Zangief. Cygames will act as a co-sponsor to Snake Eyez (shared with Red Bull) and to Umehara (shared with Red Bull, Twitch, and HyperX).

Here’s what these fighters had to say about their new sponsorship:

Daigo “The Beast” Umehara:

I feel great to be able to start the new CPT season with a new partner joining my existing great support team of Red Bull, Twitch, and HyperX. I am honored to be a part of Cygames, one of the greatest mobile game makers in Japan. I believe this new partnership will not only help further US community growth, but it will also bridge the gap between the US and Japanese esports scenes.

It’s very exciting for me to be reunited with Street Fighters from around the globe, discover and meet new and young faces throughout the CPT 2017 season. It is my desire to visit the countries I have never been to and meet the community members there.

No one can predict what is to happen in the end, but my goal is always to showcase my gameplay. To put up an exciting game is my job. I am only going to work hard to do that.

Eduardo “PR Balrog” Perez:

I feel very proud and honored to be representing Cygames throughout this year, and I’m extremely grateful that they believe in me. My goal going into Capcom Pro Tour this year–aside from trying my best to win–is to take some time and try and grow the community further, since fighting games are getting popular, I want to be able to teach not only by streaming, but by creating content on other platforms and spreading our awesome game.

Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis:

I think it’s an amazing opportunity to partner up with Cygames. Seeing new companies emerge in the fighting game community is always an eye-opener to how big our scene is getting. I started playing Street Fighter back when none of this even came across my mind, so it’s crazy seeing all the opportunities available to us now. Capcom Pro Tour is getting bigger every year, and I plan on participating in as many tournaments as I can. I plan on becoming stronger both mentally and technically, and to ultimately (of course) win Capcom Cup 2017. I also want to take part in projects that will bring more people into Street Fighter, so our community could grow even bigger.

Source: Cygames, Inc. [Photo of Eduardo Perez by Rose.]

Despite the base game’s age, Team NINJA continues to support Dead or Alive 5: Last Round’s competitive scene. That continues this year, with the announcement of the Dead or Alive 5: Last Round Battle Royal 2017.

This year’s installment of Team NINJA’s competitive tour for DOA5 Last Round focuses on five tournaments that they’ve dubbed “The Magnificent Five.” These include the four qualifier tournaments: Final Round 20 in March, Summer Jam 11 in August, Republic of Fighters in September, and the Fall Classic 2k17 in October.

The fifth and final tournament in “The Magnificent Five” is none other than the Battle Royal 2017 Final at Northeast Championships XVIII in December. As with previous Battle Royal’s the winners of the qualifying tournaments will be sponsored into the Battle Royal 2017 Final, with Team NINJA paying for their travel, accommodations, and tournament fees.

Total prize pool bonuses for the DOA5 Last Round Battle Royal 2017 is $10,000, with a $1,000 prize pool bonus for each of the qualifier tournaments and $6,000 for the final at NEC XVIII.

Source: Free Step Dodge

Less than 24 hours have passed since the release of Kolin, and players across the globe have wasted no time cracking into Street Fighter V’s newest character. Using the hashtag #KolinLab on Twitter, players have been compiling a variety of combos, setups and techniques for the Illuminati ice queen.

Kolin continues the trend of Street Fighter V’s downloadable characters becoming increasingly more complex, and brings a unique set of mechanics to the game. Her slide specials and double jump give her a tremendous amount of mobility, while her counter attacks and projectiles give her options to score good damage with a correct read. Here are ten things we have learned from #KolinLab efforts:

• Counters (QCB+P) start up in two frames, EX is 1 frame. Kolin must choose between low, mid, and anti-air counters. She can even use EX counter between the hits of Urien’s EX Chariot Tackle.
• The projectile from Hail Storm (QCF+P) can be positioned after knockdowns to cover approaches, including slide (QCB+MK). The initial hit of Hail Storm can nullify projectiles.
• Diamond Dust, Kolin’s V-Trigger, can hit enemies on the floor if they do not quick rise.
• The recovery of EX Parabellum can be cancelled into Kolin’s slide attacks for follow-ups. slide punch and slide launch -> air throw do the most damage.
• At the cost of two bars of meter, Kolin can use EX slide launch (QCB+MK+HK) and an aerial attack to reset an opponent after EX Parabellum.
• The first hit of Kolin’s sweep can be special cancelled on hit, but not on block. Try performing the special cancel after ex parabellum xx slide.
• Similarly, the Kolin’s target combos after slide can be cancelled on hit, but not on block. They are also rather punishable.
• Like Laura, Kolin uses resets to set up meaty attacks and hit links that would otherwise be impossible.
• Kolin can juggle off a successful V-Trigger activation with super, slide punch, V-Skill and more.
• Jumping heavy kick can be used to create fake crossups and hit earlier while jumping. Jumping light kick is Kolin’s only crossup. Swapping between these options can be particularly ambiguous if an opponent tries to block Hail Storm.

The hashtag is evidence of how impact the social media era has made on developing tech in fighting games. Kolin already looks to be more complex than most of Street Fighter V’s cast, in less than a day of discovery. Capcom Pro Tour competitors attending Final Round will have to be ready for a full array of Kolin tech, as she will be tournament legal come March 10. Be sure to keep following the KolinLab hash tag to see the latest as soon as it’s posted!

Source: #KolinLab; DaFeetLee