These past few weeks have been beyond hectic, between Spring break, schoolwork, some serious gaming, and an equal mixture of too much and not enough sleep.
Actually, I'm in class right now! It was the only amount of time I could find to give a decent update on here.
I've been playing quite a few different games lately. I've made a small amount of progress in Devil Summoner, but I've placed quite a bit more time over this past week or so in a little game called Street Fighter IV.
Let me begin by saying that I've never been much of a Street Fighter person. As far as fighting games go, I've always found it far too slow, far too technical, and largely overplayed; up until now, that is.
My friend purchased a used copy of this and brought it over. After getting torn apart a good few times, I slowly became more and more obsessed until I decided to sell off a few games I don't play any more to go buy it. I love it. It's as simple as that. I find myself constantly striving to get better and considering the difficulty level of the game, improvement in skill is an absolute must. I've been working my way through Arcade Mode with multiple characters to unlock different things, playing with friends, and venturing into the realm of Online Mode. Now, I'll be the first to say that Online Mode is no walk in the park. It's rare that I find a player that I can beat with ease and honestly, I find myself getting destroyed more often than not. Rather than getting discouraged, though, as frustrating as it is, it just forces me to become a better player.
Reconsidering my preconceived notions of what Street Fighter is, it's only slow when the players don't understand the game mechanics; understanding the game mechanics makes it seem much less technical, and it's widely played for good reason. While upon first glance, especially in comparison to other fighters like Guilty Gear or Dead or Alive, Street Fighter IV appears to less than impressive in terms of speed, but the more you play, the faster it gets. The less button mashing involved, the smoother battles play out and between dodging, blocking, and doing everything in your power to land each of your attacks and catch your enemy off guard, the overall gameplay ends up being more than fast, it's downright chaotic.
Super Combos and Ultra Combos play a very large part in this game and while they can often be blocked with ease, they are the perfect trump card for a player stuck in a tight situation. I've had many a comeback by way of these attacks and I don't believe they're overpowered or unfair. It's all a matter of catching your opponent at the right moment!
Speaking of overpowered, the games character selection is very well balanced; to be expected from such a high caliber fighting game. My characters of choice are both actually female, haha! Sakura and Cammy are my two most played characters in the entire roster.
If I had any gripes with a character, it would be Sagat. The internet as a whole seems to agree; Sagat is vastly overpowered. He has projectiles, long limbs, speed, and to make matters worse, all of his attacks do far too much damage. Not to say that he's an invincible character by any means, but as almost anyone online will tell you, he's probably the easiest character to pick up and win a battle with.
To wrap things up, who wants to play online? My PSN ID is Sharkboyyy. I'm still not that great at the game, but I'm always looking for new friends to duke it out with.
Until next time!
