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Alan Wake Playthrough

Recorded a playthrough of Alan Wake along with commentary a little while back, I just now am getting around to rendering these out and uploading them to my youtube channel, so I'll embed the playlist below for your viewing pleasure. 
 
I've been waiting for Alan Wake for the better part of five years, and overall I wasn't disappointed with how the game turned out. The combat gets a little tedious I suppose, but it feels really good, and of course the suspense of the story is what pulls you in. Needless to say, there's a lot of ambiguity surrounding the ending of this game, I won't spoil it here though (though it will most certainly be spoiled if you watch the playthrough of the game). I'll be uploading an episode of play every day hopefully, so stick around. Enjoy! 
   
  

13 Comments

My Top 11 Fatalities

I was reminiscing about Mortal Kombat today so I figured I'd list my personal favorite fatalities (11 of them to be exact). Some people may complain that some of their favorites are missing from this list, but hey that's what makes this list my list. There's 11 of them because one of them is a stage fatality. Anyway, on with the list! 
  

11. Bell Tower Stage (Mortal Kombat 3) 

If I would have been able to pick two stage fatalities, one of them would have been the MK2 pit, but the Bell Tower Kombat Zone in MK3 was far more memorable. You uppercut a dude into the air, and his body crashes through a bunch of floors in the tower, until he reaches the bottom level, which by chance has a bunch of gigantic spikes laid out. This fatality in the console ports was a bit less flashy, the spikes were very tiny and didn't look nearly as menacing. 
 
  
   
 

10.  Baraka's Head Slice (Mortal Kombat 2)

Seeing as Baraka is my favorite character in Mortal Kombat II, he had to make it on this list somewhere. I enjoy performing this fatality more than anything, Back, Back, Back, Back + High Punch (close range). It's just such a clean decapitation, and a nice glob of blood flies out of the dudes neck afterward. "bloop!"  
 
  
  
 

9. Jax' Arm Rip (Mortal Kombat 2)

Mortal Kombat II has the best fatalities in the series, bar none. The gore looks just right, blood flies out satisfyingly and spatters across the ground, and there's just enough of that grim tone left from the first game to make it seem wicked. Jax ripping off a dudes arms is one of those unique animations in MK2 that makes MK3 fatalities look like a joke. The blood trickling out afterward is a nice touch.  
 
  
  
 

8. Robot Smoke's Armageddon (Mortal Kombat 3)

One of the more comical fatalities on this list, it's just absurd what this fatality implies. Robot dude opens up his chest-compartment and drops like 20 bombs on the ground, camera zooms out, planet earth explodes. What makes this even more hilarious is that Smoke somehow "WINS!", and he then proceeds to fight the next dude on the ladder. Maybe Smoke has some sort of time-traveling device in his chest-compartment as well.  
 
  
  
 

7. Johnny Cage's Triple Decapitation (Mortal Kombat 2)

Johnny Cage does the impossible in Mortal Kombat II, and it's just an inside joke from the developers of the game. In Mortal Kombat 1 there was a glitch where Johnny Cage would uppercut two heads off, and in MK2 they decided to up the ante and make it three. The normal fatality is simple enough, Forward, Forward, Down, Up at close range. But afterward, if you hold Down + Low Punch + Block + Low Kick, he'll uppercut two more heads off. Mysterious how the human body works.  
 
  
  
  

6. Kano's Heart Removal (Mortal Kombat 1)

One of the more iconic fatalities in MK history involves Kano ripping a dudes heart out of his chest, WITH HIS BARE HANDS. After the heart is removed, it continues to beat for a small period of time, which is amazing in its own right. Not much else needs to be said about this, since it's pretty awesome. In the SNES port of the game, there was no blood involved, and the heart looked more like a smokers lung, all black and stuff. Man that version sucked. 
 
  
  
 

5. Liu Kang's Arcade Cabinet Slam (Mortal Kombat 3)

 I'm not sure what kung fu school Liu Kang went to, but where ever it is, I want to go. He apparently gained the ability to summon/turn into a Mortal Kombat 1 arcade cabinet, and while that's not too useful on its own, it also plummets from the sky and falls on unsuspecting victims. Much better than that silly Kartwheel uppercut thing from the actual Mortal Kombat 1. Putting that machine to good use!  
 
  
  
 

4. Classic Sub-Zero's Ice Spike (Mortal Kombat Trilogy)

While Mortal Kombat Trilogy didn't really add anything useful to the UMK3 engine (look at the Aggressor meter, for instance) it did provide one of the cooler concepts for a fatality. Since the game lore had established that there were two Sub-Zero's, one of the dudes got the ice clone and air freezing crap (the stupid mask-less scar-faced hair gel idiot) -- and the other dude kept the ground freeze (and kept his mask, and therefor his ninja dignity). So what happens is Classic Sub-Zero uppercuts his opponent high into the sky, and then he does a big ol' ground freeze which forms a giant spike made of ice, at which point the opponent falls back onto it.  
 
  
  
  

3. Scorpion's Pack Attack (Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3)

Not the Scorpion fatality everyone was expecting, I'm sure. Flames are cool and all, but they don't necessarily make a good-looking fatality. When I was at my local Great Skate I would frequent the UMK3 machine and try to perform this fatality all the time, brings back so many memories. Scorpion lifts his arms up in the air all cool-like, which summons a whole pack of identical Scorpion twins (complete with yellow ninja suits), at which point the screen gets all black and they proceed to beat the crap out of the enemy. Truly memorable, who knows what's really happening when the lights go out, though?  
 
  
  
 

2. Sub-Zero's Spine Rip (Mortal Kombat 1)

Probably the most violent and serious of them all, it's also the catalyst behind the court acts taken against violent video games. Sub-Zero grips his opponents head with conviction, and pulls it off like a beast. Not realizing his own strength, the dudes spinal cord comes along for the ride. Sub-Zero just stares at the screen like, "WHAT." The fatality would make a return in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, but the screen would go black because they developers were A) too lazy to animate that again, and B) didn't want any more legal troubles headed their way.  
 
  
  
  

1. Kung Lao's Vertical Slice (Mortal Kombat 2)

The best fatality goes to none other than the vertical hat-to-body slice to rule them all! Exhibiting the greatness of Mortal Kombat 2, this animation was completely unique to Kung Lao, and also completely wicked to see unfold (HA, GET IT! UNFOLD). You must perform this fatality at the edge of sweep distance (I remember the spacing being pretty picky). Mr. Kung Lao takes his hat with a blade on it, and cuts vertically down the body of his opponent. There's a red seam in the flesh that can be seen, a little blood spurt, then shortly after each hemisphere of the body peels away from itself and flops to the ground. You can even see the meaty and frayed interior of the enemy, it's gruesome for sure, and my favorite fatality of all time! 
 
  
24 Comments

Wiki FAQ 2.0

Introduction

  
So Giant Bomb has this whole wiki thing. That's right, in the interest of being the largest and most comprehensive video game database on the internet, Giant Bomb accepts game-related content from its very own users (that means you!). With great power comes great responsibility, so with that said; there are some guidelines that Giant Bomb staff and moderators would ask that you adhere your submissions to. This will help to prevent nasty stuff from happening to your account -- such as warnings, suspensions, and mighty ban-hammers being struck down with vengeance.

So long story short, you must adhere to these rules and regulations while contributing to the bask of knowledge waffles we like to call Giant Bomb. We urge all users to read through this guide carefully before submitting content, and hope that you will return here for any questions you may have. If your questions can't be answered here, feel free to contact a moderator for assistance.

 It is strongly suggested you acclimate yourself with the Forum FAQ, the Giant Bomb Terms & Conditions, and the General FAQ.     
   

Guidelines

   

What We Encourage:

 
  • Well written original content:  Articles exhibiting personal knowledge and research are gladly accepted.
  • Correct spelling & punctuation: Solid understanding of grammar is recommended, though this isn't a complete deal-breaker. (And the grammar natzees can come clean it up afterward anyway)
  • Epic articles:  Interesting and detail-heavy articles are welcomed with open arms; however, grammar and correct structuring take precedence.
  • Good use of images:  Inserting a thumbnail image properly, a.k.a. near a group of text that relates to the said image. This increases readability of the article, and makes it snazzy!
  • Articles that "nerd/geek out":  Do you know the names and personal trates of all the koopa kids, as well as what game they originated in, and also what worlds / castles they inhabited? Good. That's what Giant Bomb wants.
  • New relevant pages:  We always encourage the creation of new relevant pages about video games for this website, about video games.
  • Moderator comments:  If you don't have a grudge against the moderators, you can make our job a little easier by detailing in the moderator comment exactly what it is that you've edited in an article. This will speed up the moderation process tenfold.


What We Deny:

   
  • Plagiarism: The big, obvious one, Giant Bomb is a unique database of video game knowledge: Copy/pasting a massive article from another source is only hurting you, the user. Please be aware that this includes content copied from official sources, such as game manuals and press releases.
  • Opinionated text: While everyone is free to have his or her own view on a subject, we like to keep things objective.
  • Short, poorly written edits: If an elaborate article exists and a user submits an irrelevant paragraph, it wastes everyone's time.
  • New pages with bad titles: Incorrect title case and punctuation, bad spelling, or unnecessary acronyms make page titles unattractive; taking time to submit correct information shows.
  • Lists: Though not every list is off-limits, character lists in body text are unnecessary; check the relationships sections!
  • Excessive use of images: Images out of context do not improve articles. The images section of a page is there for a reason.
  • Linking everything: Linking every item found in China is unnecessary, and it makes page navigation more difficult. Game-relevant items or characters are fine, broader links like Call of Duty 4 toEarth are a definite no-no, though.
  • Franchise games linked as Similar Games:  Some games are linked together by being part of the same Franchise, these should not be linked as Similar Games.
  • Multiple names for the same thing: These can be hard to identify, but similar concepts are often submitted under different names. Make sure to do a thorough search on what it is you're trying to add, as it may already been on the site.
  • Subjective concepts: A concept should not be open to opinion. Truth, not thought.    
  
 

Plagiarism

 
So what exactly constitutes plagiarism? Generally, anything that is not written by the user submitting the content is considered plagiarism, and in some rare instances content that may be written by the person submitting it may still not be approved (though that's not technically plagiarism). So what does that all mean, STOLEN STUFF. A good rule of thumb is to conduct yourself around these questions:
 
  1. Was the material written by someone other than yourself?
  2. Does the material exist on within another source or website?
 
If you answered yes to either of those questions, then your submission will be labeled as plagiarism and promptly denied. Here are the most common instances of plagiarism we find in submissions on Giant Bomb:

 

Stealing From Wikipedia

 
The most common occurrence of Wiki-related plagiarism on Giant Bomb is due to Wikipedia. It is indeed a vast resource of knowledge, but that doesn't make it ok to rip it off, or any other gaming-related wiki for that matter. The matter here is multi-faceted, let's think back to the code of conduct. A) You didn't write the material B) The material exists word for word on another website. Because of those two issues, you have to worry about C) The fact that honest users are spending hours of their own time writing original articles that are rich with knowledge, while you took no time to gain a similar amount of points. Not gonna happen, pal. 

  

"Borrowing" Official Release Info

 
This is the second most common offense regarding the plagiarism issue on Giant Bomb. Spewing the company line about the video game that they made, it's obvious that the text is going to be quite one-sided in its commentary. Not only is it very opinionated text (something Giant Bomb doesn't encourage), but it's also still stealing! I bet you forgot that whole thing didn't you? Did you write the press release that you found on Kotaku or the company website? My guess is probably not. And you know what, even if you did actually write the press release and do in fact work for the game company in question, we still can't accept your submission in that state. That's because Giant Bomb wants original content, as in content that doesn't already exist on a bunch of forums and websites outside of giant bomb. It once again goes in the face of all the users on Giant Bomb who actually devote a chunk of time to refining a game page.  

  

Game Manuals, Lore, and Quotes

 
So here is where it gets a little sketchy for everyone. Taking content from game manuals and lore is generally not allowed, so to avoid this complex mess the short answer is "don't do it." However, sometimes a quote from a video game may be so significant that the wiki article cries for its inclusion. Provided that you have plenty of original written content to go along with the quote, and you properly identify the phrase being quoted (with the use of quotation marks and other notation), we're good to go. Keep in mind that plagiarism checks are done on all pending wiki submissions, so even though you quote something you feel should be in the article, the submission may still be denied due to plagiarism.

 

Ripping Info From Giant Bomb Pages

 
Unless the content you're cribbing from on said Giant Bomb wiki page was completely written by you, and offers significant value to the wiki page you'd be transplanting it into, this is still considered plagiarism. Even if the perfect storm of conditions are met, Giant Bomb still promotes original content and would recommend that you add additional unique information along with your recycled text. Because it's very tough to prove who has written what content on Giant Bomb and whether it has been modified since it's original edit, your submission may still be denied because of this. 
 

Wiki Categories

 
There are several types of wiki submissions that can take place, so before you look up at the stars and blame the gods because your submission was denied and you were sent hateful messages from the moderators, you owe it to yourself to read this information.  
   

Games

 
Being as this is a website about video games, game pages are the backbone of the wiki. Games pages are essentially a collection of releases, and they're useful for finding information about multiple releases of a game. The type of data gathered on this page varies from game summaries, general facts, reviews, previews, news, videos, screenshots, releases, and a bunch more. We encourage games of all regions, so we're calling you the readers to arms, to add any obscure titles from across the globe. Pinball machines will also be documented here. 
 
Game articles containing spoilers are ok, this is sort of an encyclopedia for video games, so spoilers are unavoidable.
     

Achievements


Achievements are not added by the user, they are done completely on the back-end of the site, and tie directly into the achievement tracking system Giant Bomb uses. There is a section for achievements, and thus they are not listed on the main game page summary. 
 
  

DLC Add-Ons


Unless a game gets a stand-alone or retail disc expansion pack, the type of add-on associated with it will generally be that of DLC (downloadable content). This includes but is not limited to: Songs (Albums/Packs/Individual), Multiplayer Add-ons, Singleplayer Add-ons, Equipment/Clothing, Cheats, Characters, and Stages. Simply add a name for the DLC content, the platform it appears on, the date of release, the price it sells for, and a short description of the content for download. 
  

Releases   


Game pages are organized by title, not by individual releases. As such, there is a release section to every game, which will allow you to document all the different regions the game has come out in, as well as the different platforms it has spanned, and compilations that it's been a part of. Note that gold, limited, collectors, GOTY (etc.) editions of games go under the release category, they do not get their own game page. This includes compilations of games which may feature several other games long with the title in question. There are specific exceptions to the rule with games that come bundled as one package and appear on a certain platform by only that means (such as The Orange Box), but generally these are all releases. If you're not sure if it should be a release or not, PM the mods and they'll give you an answer. 
  

Images  


Only images relevant to the game can be uploaded, and no duplicates. Screenshots that are too small will probably not be accepted, so that means no low-res emulation screen captures! If an image is offensive in any way, you better be damned sure it is an in-game screenshot or you're in trouble, duder! Yes, there is an adult category of games, so unfortunately there will be some images featuring nudity that are linked to those types of games. 
  

Credits  


This is where you list the people who made the game (by linking their "person" page). There are various descriptors from a drop-box menu that are used to describe that persons field of expertise, and also a notes section where you can detail something specific to their work. Fill these out, people! 
 

Franchises

 
Franchises are collections of games with a unifying theme. This loose definition allows franchises to have more flexibility. For example, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 belongs to three separate franchises: Tom Clancy, Rainbow Six, and Rainbow Six Vegas. Remember that games within the same franchise are not supposed to be linked as similar games, since that sort of goes without saying and clutters up the list of similar games. So please, refrain. Franchises can be linked to characters, locations, objects, and concepts. 

 

Characters

 
The stars of the games you play, characters are named specifically, and display unique gameplay or personality traits to warrant a page. Different versions of characters do not warrant separate pages; for example,  Paper Mario is listed on the Mario page. A group of individuals or a race of creatures should be a Concept page, not a Character page (since we don't yet have a species or race category). 

Pages for characters which also exist in a Person page should only consist of information relevant to their in-game persona - their special moves, how to defeat them, how to unlock them, etc. For example:  
 
  • Tom Morello (character) - lists details about the games he's in, what he looks like in-game, any special moves he might have, how to defeat him, etc.
  • Tom Morello (person) - details the actual guitarist, could have a bit of a biography, his history with Rage Against The Machine, and how he got involved with the games he was credited in.    
  
A character page can be associated to several types of pages, such as the games they appear in, locations related to them, concepts involving them, and objects they come in contact with or use. There are a couple unique links to a character page as well, which are "Friends" and "Enemies." This allows you to list some of their good friends and mortal enemies they have within the games they're in. 

  

People

 
The individuals involved with the development and production of a title. A person must be credited in at least one game to merit a page. Jeff Gerstmann has a "person" page because he was credited in a video game. You cannot add random staff members who you think are cool "just because they are cool." You can write an overview summarizing that person's contributions to stuff, credit them to specific games, relate them to other people (who would preferably work with or have worked with them in the past), and add images of the dude/lady in question. In some instances a person can also have a character page, in the event that they actually appear in a video game.
 
 

Companies

 
These are the publishers and developers that put the games in your hot little hands. In the cases of publishers that have since been acquired and folded into other companies they will be credited as their most recent incarnation. There are exceptions to the rule that are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, especially if the history of the former company is very well documented, and features many different staff members. Discrete development studios that exist within larger organizations will retain their identity.  
 
Within the company page you can: write a summary, link them to the games they developed or published, upload images relating to the company, link characters, link locations, link things (objects), link concepts, and list "loyal employees" a.k.a. the dudes that work there. 
 
  

Objects

 
Like franchises, in-game objects can be very broad or very specific, allowing for object pages as general as Sword and as defined as Master Sword. The relationship should always be meaningful; Grass is only important in a few different titles, so don't list every game that has ever featured grass. Objects include vehicles, weapons, and basically any piece of technology that lacks sentience.  
 
It's important to note that these are in-game objects, and do not include stuff existing only in the real world, such as peripherals/accessories for game systems, consoles, or anything like that. That said, you'll be hard-pressed to NOT find pretty much everything appearing in one game or another, for instance, the Gamecube console appears in Animal Crossing. 
 
Object pages include an overview, games they appeared in, characters associated with, locations associated with, concepts involving, related objects, and images for the object.

 

Concepts

 
Concepts are the most loosely defined data type, serving as kind of a catch-all for pages and associations that don't currently fit into one of the other data types, such as a race of creatures, a specific in-game event, character abilities, game play characteristics, and even shady organizations involved in the storyline of a game. When submitting, try to think of what you'd like to see if you visit the concepts' page - is there going to be a really interesting list of things attached to this concept? Is there room for a great page on what this concept entails? Here's some quick concept guidelines: 

 

Ideas Used In Games

 
These are great to have -- imagine a list of every game that's stolen this idea from somewhere, or how much detail a user might go into about the significance it has in gaming history. 
 
 

In-Game events


A good example of this would be a war or a festival in a role-playing game. For instance, The Lion War is a series of conflicts that is tied directly to the back-story of Final Fantasy Tactics. It's referenced a lot while playing the game, and is a great topic to expand on in the form of a concept page. (this doesn't actually have a page, and it blows my mind, guess I'll have to make it later myself). 

 

Species/Races/Enemy Types   


Often times enemies and creatures are posted as a character page wrongfully (such as Pokemon, Pinata, or Chocobo) -- these belong listed as concepts and not actual characters. Unless there is a specific character that belongs to a species that merits their own page, keep all that stuff here.  

    

In-Game Corporations/Organizations 

 
Sometimes within a game you'll come across a company, militia, fictional government or whatever that exists in a game -- these belong as concept pages. A good example would be Shadaloo, which is the evil organization that M. Bison created in the Street Fighter Franchise of video games. 

  

Grey Areas   


Concepts that have little to no relevance in the actual workings of a game, typically memes created by the players themselves, i.e. tea-bagging. This is often the subjective nature of the concept that hangs your submission in the balance between being approved or denied. We don't really have a better way to document things of this nature at the moment, so as long as it has significance to a video game and the potential for a well-written article/other stuff to be linked to it, it's not necessarily a bad idea. That said, ridiculous stuff will of course be denied, and our official stance on hardware failure is a "no." I'm pretty sure Microsoft didn't come up with the amazing concept of mass-hardware failure.  
 
 

Duplicate Concepts

 
Because of the subjective nature of concepts, we run into duplicate pages every day. All we ask is that you do a "proper" search for the concept you're thinking of submitting, because chances are there's already a concept that covers what you're trying to detail -- it's just under a different, equally goofy name. What we mean by proper search, is that you don't just type what your concept is into the search bar, but you click the browse button on the navigation bar on the top of the website, look through the concepts, and see if there's anything in the ballpark of what you're aiming for. 
      

Locations

 
A named location is one with either strong aspects persisting through iterations or a unique area that has distinctive features separating it from others. In cases where one location encapsulates another, the association should be made to the more specific location. For example, Resident Evil 2 would be attached to the Raccoon City page, rather than the Earth page. While it's possible to have a mobile location, if its primary role is that of transportation, it should be an object. 
 
Location pages include an overview, games it appears in, characters associated with, other locations relevant to, concepts involving, objects that appear at the location, and images detailing the location itself. 
 
 

Platforms

 
Platforms are one of the two less-editable types of pages on Giant Bomb. Since platforms are easy to keep track of, only Staff has permissions to add a page in this category. Users can still associate different types of pages to platforms, link game releases to a specific platform, tie game developers to said platform, as well as write a detailed overview about the system itself. Please do not add a platform as an object unless it appears as an actual in-game object. Platforms are limited to real-world stuff, and objects are limited to in-game stuff.
 
 

Accessories

 
 Accessories pages are handled pretty much the same way as platform pages. Accessories typically include video game controllers, peripherals, console-add-ons and the like. Since that is a fairly closed market it is easy to keep track of, only Staff has the privilege of adding accessory pages. Users can still edit the overview of the accessory and add images detailing it, but that's pretty much it. Again, don't add a console add-on/peripheral as an object unless it appears in an actual video game. Accessories are limited to real-world stuff, and objects are limited to in-game stuff. 
 
 

Wiki Tasks

 

What are tasks?

Tasks are simply a way for the moderators and staff of Giant Bomb to highlight pages that need help in the wiki portion of the site. Sometimes this means correcting the grammar or objectivity of an article but other times we just need a way to call out pages that are weirdly empty or need to be updated post-release. As a means of encouraging our members to take on these tasks the moderators can assign extra bounty points (in addition to your normal wiki scoring) to each individual task. Once a moderator closes a task you earn the bounty and more importantly giantbomb is now a better place. 


How the system works:

 
  1. A moderator or staff member creates a task and assigns a bounty to its completion.
  2. One or more members decide to take on the task and it is marked as "in progress".
  3. After the requested changes have been made, one of those users closes the task, leaving a comment if they worked on it in concert with another.
  4. The moderator, seeing the changes can either close the task, or re-open it if changes still need to be made.
  5. When closing the task, the moderator assigns the bounty to all members who deserve points based on their desecration.    
  

Frequently Asked Questions

 
This is where your questions and stuff go, yay!   Want an answer to a question that gets asked all the time? Leave a comment and we will answer your burning queries below.


Why was my submission rejected?

Like that delicious banana pudding that tastes just a little off, not all submissions that are made belong on the site. While moderators try their best, sometimes your effort doesn't meet the expectations. In these instances, the moderator will leave a message stating the reason of the rejection.     
   

Why can't I add platforms or accessories?

 Platforms and Accessories have been locked since these categories only need updating periodically.  

  

I've discovered plagiarized content from another website / source, what should I do?

Please PM a moderator from the list below as soon as possible.  Do not edit the page. This will help us search for the individual that submitted the content. At this point you should run and hide. We will send a message back after the user has been "dealt with." 

 

Can I become a moderator?

You know the secret handshake? Yeah, didn't think so. But seriously, new moderators are chosen through a collaboration between site staff and current moderators. There is no specific criteria, and we only go looking for a new mod or two on a blue moon, so I wouldn't my hopes up if I was you. If you're the kind of person that continuously begs to become a moderator, chances are the job is not for you.
   

Moderators

 
Behold, a list of moderators! Please send all your complaints to MB, he LOVES complaints! 
    

We're here to help, so if you have any problems or questions either contact us individually or... 

 
*There's also a couple "sort-of" moderators, but they don't matter so let's move along now! (Just kidding Jared, love you)
 
  

Important Stuff

  
Here are some suggestions for pages or forum posts regarding the wiki that might put you on the path of righteousness!


Delete & Combine

 


Editing & Tools

 
17 Comments

Personal SFIV Tiers

Just for those who are interested, this is my personal assessment of where the characters in Street Fighter IV fall into the tier list: 
  

LordofUltima's SFIV Tiers

Top Tier

  • Sagat
  • Ryu
  • Rufus
  • Akuma
  • Balrog

High Mid

  • Zangief
  • E. Honda
  • Chun-Li
  • Abel
  • M. Bison
  • Blanka

Low Mid

  • C. Viper
  • Guile
  • Cammy    
  • Seth
  • Ken
  • Gen
  • Gouken
  • Dhalsim

Low Tier

  • Fei Long
  • El Fuerte
  • Dan 
  • Sakura  
  • Rose
  • Vega    
17 Comments

Keyboard Madness!

Me and SpecialBuddy decided to record some PC matches, to show the standard lag that we experience on PC, and to show off our keyboard skillzzzzz! Ten matches in total, there are a couple winners here, of course I beat him 10-0 (he ragequit once, what a scrubpants). Yep, never playing PC online again. I recorded skype chatter for your convenience. Enjoy. 
  
  

21 Comments

3-Minute Fundamentals: Option Selects

An Option Select is a joystick or button input which functions as multiple possible actions simultaneously, letting the game engine decide the best counter to a situation. Specific instances allow only certain moves to come out, so you can worry less about your opponents options, and focus more on your own offense. 
 
In my second 3-minute fundamental tutorial (I know it's closers to 4 minutes, I really made it as short and concise as possible) I cover option selects in a general way that you can apply to any character. I go over the main archetypes of OP/SEL, such as Crouch Teching, Meaties (ground & air), and Buffering (ground & air).  Really busted my ass on the editing for this one, feedback is appreciated! Enjoy. 3-Minute Fundamentals Playlist.
  
  

 
edit: Score another for Event Hubs, and my first iplaywinner plug! yeaaahhhh boiiiiii.
71 Comments

Blog About Blogs

I'm bored, so I figured I'd go through some of my old great blogs and link them all in one blog. Mind-blowing, I know.  
 

Textual

 

Visual

6 Comments

3-Minute Fundamentals: Hit-Confirming

This is the first video in a series I'm calling "3-Minute Fundamentals", where I cover aspects of competitive Street Fighter play in the span of (approx.) 3 minutes time.

Hit-confirming is the act of giving your mind enough time to react to a situation. Instead of going for an unsafe combo and hoping it'll connect, ideally you would leave "mental padding" in the form of quick normal attacks that can be linked together, which will give the mind the time to process whether your attacks are connecting or being blocked. If the attacks land, you can then go into a damaging combo, and if the attacks are blocked, you aren't forced to guess with a highly punishable maneuver. 
  
  

  

Song is "Speed Dry Manglehead" from the Jump Britain  OST, by Ian Masterson & Thomas Beach. I have some things in the works and they should hopefully come to fruition within a week or two. I'll let you guys know what's up.  Eventhubs again. Yeah.
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Tiny Improvements to SSFIV

So we all have heard at this point about the re-balancing and tweaking that is being done in Super Street Fighter IV, as well as new online modes that we as fans have been clamoring for since the release of vanilla edition SFIV. New stages, all character themes being included, the ability to save ANY replay to your harddrive -- but those are all major improvements. I'm not sure if it's too late for any of these pet peeves to be addressed, since they themselves stated the game is basically complete. But here's a list anyway! 
 

Button Mapping

 
As it stands, in SFIV and the beta version of SSFIV, the button mapping menu is identical. While this isn't such a big deal to those who play exclusively online (or use the default configuration), if you've ever been to a local tournament or watched a video/stream of one, you'd know how clunky the current system is. Everyone seems to have a different arcade stick, a different layout, or sometimes even a pad player wants to map focus and throw to one button where it normally isn't mapped as such. The whole process for this can take a couple minutes, and in the grand scheme of a large-scale tournament, it adds up. The current system has a list of buttons on the left, and allows you to "cycle" through options to the right of each button. Daigo at Season's Beatings for instance, he wanted to use the straight button layout, and everyone would fumble over this screen to try to get it set up right for him. Took forever. The way it should be done is HDRemix style, where the move names are on the left, and you just hit the button that corresponds to the function and are on your way.  
  

Poopy SFIV way on the left, awesome HDR way on the right! 
Poopy SFIV way on the left, awesome HDR way on the right! 

  

Restart Match

 
There should be a restart match option right from the pause menu for offline battles, straight up. Another proponent of "button checks" at local tournaments is having to restart the match after checking your buttons, because you spent time from the round hitting buttons and all that junk. As it stands, you have to go back to character select screen, re-choose your character and watch the match load up all over again. This can easily be fixed by just having a restart option right there, so after they map their buttons correctly with the sweet, new, fancy, quick way they can restart and have the matter dealt with in like 15 seconds instead of 2 minutes. This can extend to Online matches as well. Why do I have to go back to the online lobby after playing one match against someone? Can't we both just select restart and continue our battle immediately? It sure would save time in the long run. 
    

Challenge Ghosts

 
A little direction on the stupid challenges would be helpful, and I think a ghost performing the actions required to complete the challenge would help immensely. El Fuerte's hard trial #5 said to do three fierce punches, but to anyone that wasn't familiar with RSF loop, their mind would have been blown because they would be trying to link 3 fierce punches together, which is impossible. In general Capcom needs to think of more elegant ways to teach people the fundamentals of Street Fighter, but at the very least help a G out so I don't spend hours on someone's trial when I'm not even sure if I'm doing it the way they want me to. 
 

Other Stuff

 
A couple other things would be cool, but this is mostly stuff that doesn't really matter anyway. 
  
  • Ability to go into training mode on any stage
  • Ability to ACTUALLY mute the music (was impossible in SFIV)
  • More extensive training mode controls (gauges, recording, HITBOXES, etc.)
  • Player Data that is a little more consistent and makes sense
  • Changes Akuma's standing roundhouse back to the way it is in SF4. PLEASE?!
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GOTY 2009 - A Change of Heart

So I know I already did my GOTY 2009 stuff, but I have definitely done some stuff in the last couple days that has made me reconsider or add stuff. Those two things are mainly: I've played and beaten Uncharted 2, and I've listened to the soundtrack for the PSN game Shatter.  
 

  • The winner of the newly included best story of 2009 is Uncharted 2. The cut-scenes and delivery in this game are phenomenal, easily the best part of the game is not actually playing it. For whatever that's worth, this makes a story award an apt inclusion for 2009.
 
  • The new best videogame soundtrack of 2009 is Shatter. My god, I cannot believe how good this OST is, it's definitely shades of last year's winner, that being Bionic Commando Rearmed. While the tunes aren't familiar remixes of classic tunes, they share the same monumental electronic landscape feel, and completely blow the water out of anything else released in their respective year. 
 
  • While we're giving out new awards, I might as well give Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 the Best Setpieces in 2009 award. While Uncharted 2 had some great ones, the ones in MW2 just wouldn't let up and they were all ridiculously awesome.
 
That about covers 2009 now, for serious this time. lordofultima signing out.
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