The fighting game series that defined high-risk, high-reward combos returns as a free-to-play launch title for the Xbox One, later receiving constant updates with new characters and game modes. It can also be played on Windows 10 systems with cross-platform multiplayer.
Looks great. He actually looks Native American now! Approved.
He looks even more stereotypical now than he did in the original. So...yay for cultural insensitivity, I guess?
Err...I'm pretty sure in the original, they took T.J. Combo's face, who was clearly black, and put it on Chief Thunder. Chief Thunder was a black guy with a mohawk.
That's what I'm referring to. The original was kind of an embarrassment to Rare and probably insulting to Native Americans considering it wasn't their race. He also had feathers coming out of his bald skull and was called Chief Thunder but used fire projectiles! I'll take the Native American with war paint and feathers anyday over the original. Who actually uses lightning this time around.
It looks like his Ultra invokes a storm, with rain, thunder and lightning followed by a tornado in his stage. I'm assuming that can be stopped if you break his ultra. Wet next-gen skin, confirmed. Looked great.
Can't wait to see more of him now that he has grappling mixed in to his moves. Thunder vs Werewolf fights are going to look awesome.
Wonder if they're going to keep TJ Combo a boxer again, or give him some grappling moves as well. I want more moves mixed in with his punches.
Also Double Helix have officially gained the biggest teases in the gaming industry label. Where's Orchid(DH)?! I know a lot of people are asking for black, but I hope they keep her green. Or give us multiple costumes.
Wouldn't that mean it wouldn't appear in the Xbox One forum though? Still trying to figure out how things work around here. Doesn't make sense if it's something new.
I just now figured out what you mean by that. What's it supposed to do? Format? I highlighted and clicked and nothing happened for me. What are you seeing?
Jeeeeeesus that looks good. He looks freaking devastating. Max can keep these coming all he wants.
On another note, Youtube needs to upgrade badly. Their video quality isn't going to cut it for next gen and 60fps games and it's become pretty obvious every time I new K.I. video comes out in uncompressed HD at 60fps and the Youtube counterpart. Seems like a great opportunity for some other website to steal the show for gamers.
Some of my friends started saying that, "clean," which implies that something is legit, or dope, and has no real flaws in presentation. So it just somersaults over to awesomeness without even breaking a sweat. And I just wanted to see how the phrase would turn out here, so it turns out it got some questioned looks here, yea. :D
Some of my friends started saying that, "clean," which implies that something is legit, or dope, and has no real flaws in presentation. So it just somersaults over to awesomeness without even breaking a sweat. And I just wanted to see how the phrase would turn out here, so it turns out it got some questioned looks here, yea. :D
Oh well at first I was like...it's gotta be some new meme...then I saw the Clean button. And then I was confused.
Actually looks pretty cool, huge step up from the old version of him. I think his Native portrayal is pretty good. He actually looks like what I would think a Native chief would look like back then.
@alexglass: No, kind of the same thing. If they put it an African character and gave him a loincloth and spear, people would (and rightly so) flip their shit. Give a Native American a headdress and a tomahawk and people think its cool.
@alexglass: No, kind of the same thing. If they put it an African character and gave him a loincloth and spear, people would (and rightly so) flip their shit. Give a Native American a headdress and a tomahawk and people think its cool.
Why? That's stupid as shit. If someone wants to show a tribal African with a spear in a video game they can and it's not racism.
If you try to portray the entire African race as just a bunch of Africans with spears, then that might be or at the very least ignorantly stereotypical. Especially if you did it in a derogatory way. Like portraying that same African being the CEO of some company on wall street like a jungle dwelling African with a spear. In that case yeah.
A Native American with a headdress and a tomahawk IS cool. And they existed. Part of the culture. Known facts.
I'm pretty sure you're confusing the two. By your definition Busch Garden in Williamsburg, VA is a racist theme park.
@alexglass: Unless this game is based in history and I was not aware, I am sticking with that character design being racist and lazy. Mostly lazy, and probably not racist on purpose, but it still is. If you put one black person in your game then made him into a stereotypical African "savage", yeah I would say that is probably racist.
Trust me, I know that they exist(ed) and are still part of the culture during special occasions. However when (almost) every single game that has a Native American in it depicts them as wearing a headdress and a tomahawk, it starts to give off a certain "savage" vibe. All they need now is for his special move to be scalping the other player, and have him chug some firewater at the end of the match!
@alexglass: Unless this game is based in history and I was not aware, I am sticking with that character design being racist and lazy. Mostly lazy, and probably not racist on purpose, but it still is. If you put one black person in your game then made him into a stereotypical African "savage", yeah I would say that is probably racist.
Trust me, I know that they exist(ed) and are still part of the culture during special occasions. However when (almost) every single game that has a Native American in it depicts them as wearing a headdress and a tomahawk, it starts to give off a certain "savage" vibe. All they need now is for his special move to be scalping the other player, and have him chug some firewater at the end of the match!
Also I have never heard of Busch Garden.
And I'm sticking with the simple fact you don't have a good enough grasp of the English language and are throwing around English words that you don't fully understand how to use within their appropriate context. And I really wish people would stop flinging around words like this without really understanding their application.
War paint, headdress on Chief thunder has little to do with racism. It's as much a stereotypical and cultural representation and association of Native Americans as Jago is of Tibetan fighters, Marius Titus in Ryse and Romans, as a Samurai is to medieval Japan and yes as an African American wielding a spear in some tribal warfare game.
NONE of those are racism. Some of them are not even stereotypes. Just culture.
And you could also take the time and read this blog by a Native American who addresses this exact issue and even points out inappropriate usage and appropriate usage of Native American stereotypes. I think you'll find the end of the blog particularly interesting.
And if you have any doubts of what a real Indian Chief with a real Indian Headdress looks like, see this picture:
If I want the young version of this guy in my video game kicking ass, what exactly is the problem? Seems to me more like DH actually put in the time and research and tried to depict Chief Thunder as accurately as possible without him being demeaning to Native Americans but rather as a pretty kick ass character and as cool a representation as any of the other characters being stereotyped.
@alexglass: Well then, I guess we are done talking, I respect your opinion but believe it to be wrong. I will not have this discussion with someone who feels the need to insult me or my grasp of the English language.
@alexglass: Well then, I guess we are done talking, I respect your opinion but believe it to be wrong. I will not have this discussion with someone who feels the need to insult me or my grasp of the English language.
When you claim a stereotype and racism are one and the same, simply pointing out you don't understand the words and their usage in context, when it really is a factually inaccurate statement, isn't an insult either. But judging by your argument to begin with, I can see why you would find offense to that as well.
Personally I get annoyed when people call things that are not racist, racist. At every single turn. Over every little thing, whether it fits the bill or not. It's a serious accusation, so if you're going to throw it around, make sure it is what you claim it is. And not just because it's the "in" thing to do nowadays.
If not then just accept by your loose definition, everyone, everything and anything can be considered racist and anyone can find anything offensive. And starting to paint everything with that wide stroke brush isn't cool either. Like you practically accusing me taking of being racist or supportive of racism because I think Chief Thunder actually looks like a Native American and I happen to love his design.
I'm actually surprised someone who is apparently so sensitive to these types of issues as yourself, didn't think of the implications and insinuations of your initial post when you made it.
@alexglass: Unless this game is based in history and I was not aware, I am sticking with that character design being racist and lazy. Mostly lazy, and probably not racist on purpose, but it still is. If you put one black person in your game then made him into a stereotypical African "savage", yeah I would say that is probably racist.
So if they put one white male in the game, and he was a 14th century knight, that would be racist? It's stereotyping whites as knights. What if you had one white male in the game, and he was a WW2 era soldier? Are you saying that all white men are WW2 era soldiers? Or maybe it's a stereotype, because character design is based around archetypes.
So if there's one black guy, and he's a tribal warrior, that would be racist. What if there's two? The other is a street gangmember. Racist too? Okay, maybe a third black guy, and he's a pro wrestler, with the tights and everything. Still racist? Maybe a fourth black guy, and he's an accountant? He fights with the power of math.
Simply put, you seem to understand that you should be racially sensitive, but not what actually constitutes insensitivity. Showing a tribal warrior dressed like an 17th century tribal warrior is simply an archetype, not racism. However, it would be racist to assume that since there's a single Native person dressed this way, that must mean that that's how they all dress.
@alexglass: Unless this game is based in history and I was not aware, I am sticking with that character design being racist and lazy. Mostly lazy, and probably not racist on purpose, but it still is. If you put one black person in your game then made him into a stereotypical African "savage", yeah I would say that is probably racist.
So if they put one white male in the game, and he was a 14th century knight, that would be racist? It's stereotyping whites as knights. What if you had one white male in the game, and he was a WW2 era soldier? Are you saying that all white men are WW2 era soldiers? Or maybe it's a stereotype, because character design is based around archetypes.
So if there's one black guy, and he's a tribal warrior, that would be racist. What if there's two? The other is a street gangmember. Racist too? Okay, maybe a third black guy, and he's a pro wrestler, with the tights and everything. Still racist? Maybe a fourth black guy, and he's an accountant? He fights with the power of math.
Simply put, you seem to understand that you should be racially sensitive, but not what actually constitutes insensitivity. Showing a tribal warrior dressed like an 17th century tribal warrior is simply an archetype, not racism. However, it would be racist to assume that since there's a single Native person dressed this way, that must mean that that's how they all dress.
The problem with this argument is that Chief Thunder and the rest of the original human characters from the original KI aren't figures pulled from historical context. They're from the twentieth (I guess now, twenty-first) century. Modern Native Americans don't dress like tribal warriors save for special events regarding their culture. If you visit a reservation, you're not going to see people running around wearing feathered headdresses and face paint while carrying tomahawks. If Chief Thunder was from the past, and was thus a figure more akin to your fourteenth century knight example, then sure, I could see your argument. But he's not.
And yes, this goes for Street Fighter's T. Hawk, too.
This thread got real silly. Real silly. As someone with mexican blood if you wanted to include a bandito with a sombrero shooting his pistolas AND a badass mayan warrior with a spear I would be super stoked. Game looks great.
I don't want to get an XBOX ONE or play Killer Instinct, but I really like the character design of Chief Thunder. I like his serious and angry attitude and he looks far less offensive than his original design, thought the thunder moves seem to resemble Nightwolf's attacks in MK. But he's called Chief Thunder so it makes sense.
I'd like to know more about the new spider lady and what's she's about.
The problem with this argument is that Chief Thunder and the rest of the original human characters from the original KI aren't figures pulled from historical context. They're from the twentieth (I guess now, twenty-first) century. Modern Native Americans don't dress like tribal warriors save for special events regarding their culture. If you visit a reservation, you're not going to see people running around wearing feathered headdresses and face paint while carrying tomahawks. If Chief Thunder was from the past, and was thus a figure more akin to your fourteenth century knight example, then sure, I could see your argument. But he's not.
And yes, this goes for Street Fighter's T. Hawk, too.
This is my second time typing this out because this forum runs like garbage. I was likely more eloquent my first time through.
Yes, it's pretty obvious that if you visit a reservation, you won't see people dressed as 17th century warriors. It's also likely that if you visit a German or Nordic cultural center, you're more likely to find guys in slacks who like winter sports than you are to find a shirtless barbarian warrior. And yet
Maybe it's because when looking at designing characters for fighting games, designers are more interested in famous martial archetypes than they are with representing entire races of people. It is not social commentary, it's merely referencing tropes and archetypes we recognize; the Germanic barbarian, the Indian brave, the black boxer, the skeleton pirate, the oddly caucazoid looking ninja man. Does Street Fighter imply all Japanese men are gi-wearing karate experts, or all Chinese girls are qipao-wearing kung fu experts? All Turks are red oil wrestlers? Do Russians feel misrepresented because Zangief wrestles bears instead of finding a good job in the public service sector, voting in chamber of commerce meetings, and becoming a homebrew hobbyist? These are simply archetypes, not social commentary on what every character's race, gender, ethnicity, orientation is actually like in real life.
Ethnically I would be that barbarian king, nationally I'm Canadian. If the next new character in Street Fighter is a Canadian chick in full hockey equipment, and her ultra was pulling the other guy's jersey over their head, I would be freaking stoked. As long as she wasn't a charge character. Because I can't play those.
@brodehouse: That shirtless barbarian warrior also happens to come from another time and place, when Killer Instinct 2 introduced characters via time travel. Be that as it may, you do have a point, and I will concede that.
@alexglass: Unless this game is based in history and I was not aware, I am sticking with that character design being racist and lazy. Mostly lazy, and probably not racist on purpose, but it still is. If you put one black person in your game then made him into a stereotypical African "savage", yeah I would say that is probably racist.
So if they put one white male in the game, and he was a 14th century knight, that would be racist? It's stereotyping whites as knights. What if you had one white male in the game, and he was a WW2 era soldier? Are you saying that all white men are WW2 era soldiers? Or maybe it's a stereotype, because character design is based around archetypes.
So if there's one black guy, and he's a tribal warrior, that would be racist. What if there's two? The other is a street gangmember. Racist too? Okay, maybe a third black guy, and he's a pro wrestler, with the tights and everything. Still racist? Maybe a fourth black guy, and he's an accountant? He fights with the power of math.
Simply put, you seem to understand that you should be racially sensitive, but not what actually constitutes insensitivity. Showing a tribal warrior dressed like an 17th century tribal warrior is simply an archetype, not racism. However, it would be racist to assume that since there's a single Native person dressed this way, that must mean that that's how they all dress.
Yeah GTA 3 is totally racist. No more Italians named Vinnie in Mob games either! Oh and as a Romanian, can you please stop using this aberration that is Dracula to represent Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula? He was a king Hollywood! Who did some great things for his people. And stop painting Transylvania as a freaking graveyard of hell. It's actually gorgeous. The werewolves were also never allowed inside....heck most people still don't even let their dogs in. Why do werewolves and vampires always get to chill in his casltes and he doesn't? You know what? Let's just represent every freaking culture and warrior character wearing Levis and t-shirts so no one gets offended.
/sarcasm.
Seriously now. We could all bitch about the dumbest shit if we wanted too but it doesn't mean it's racist.
If anything I actually have some REAL injustice to bitch about on this topic. I mean how do you go from a King who lived in Transylvania, impaled Turkish enemies because they wouldn't stop invading to demoralize their troops, and once assassinated a whole bunch of nobles(because they were greedy bastards who starved and sold off his people...using poison! Not sucking their blood!) after he invited them to a party....to Count Dracula who's an immortal vampire and sucks blood and has to be stabbed in the heart with a stick and is afraid of garlic,churches and crosses. Personally I would love a more accurate representation of Vlad like Chief Thunder.
Doesn't mean what we're bitching about is actually racism and people should learn to use that word more carefully before wielding it around like a tool of the righteous.
Just to be clear, the only thing that pisses me off about Dracula is that Hollywood doesn't actually want to tell the real story, since I think it's actually pretty good and much better than fiction. And the real- as in semi- fictionized video game terms- Vlad, would make an awesome video game or even fighting character. So would most of the scenery in Transylvania that's always being used. And worse, that the only time I came close to actually hearing the story in the USA is on Busch Graden's 3D Curse of the Dark Castle ride, but there it was about a King of Bavaria, which was what Transylvania was called when it was occupied by Germany(Bavaria). 300 years earlier! So they credit the real story to the Germans and we get freaking Dracula. Now that's pretty messed up!
Plus he actually looks like he belongs in those castles they always use. Dracula's just kind of lame and sparked a whole generation of idiots who put fangs in their mouths and play costume games. Vlad deserves better. And if people are so offended by Chief Thunder, how about it Rare or Double Helix? I'm cool if you want to put him in.
Oh yeah one more thing Double Helix, the Peles Castle(upper right) is not even in Transylvania. I'm tired of seeing all the castles without any of the Romanian Kings. What's up with that?
But I don't think the fake Dracula should go away or most of the games and movies that misrepresent him and that it's racism. Fiction is awesome. And those idiots can go on putting fangs in their mouths. Even I did...when I was 10.
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