Soul Calibur Techniques
I've found myself playing the age old Soul
Calibur 2 of late with some flatmates.
I bought the game a year or so ago and played it a fair bit, but it's only now that I'm getting the chance to play against another human player. It's true that's it's really the only way to improve and appreciate fighting games in general.
I don't pretend to actively know the move lists, but I've started to try different combinations of buttons, instead of hammering only X and Y. The difference is incredible...
I had sometimes doubted the skill of the so called 'tournament level' players and pro gamers. However, this has really changed my attitude. I can see how an individual could master the game if they practised to an extent whereby the moves become second nature...
Fahrenheit
I recently read a very interesting article dealing with the PS2 and Xbox title, Fahrenheit. The over-opinionated piece of writing in question tore the game to shreds, and really attacked the game's foundations. Before I start, I have to admit that I entirely agree with every point made in the article, however I feel that it was written by a pretentious academic type, believing himself to be far more clever than he truthfully is. (hopefully not quite as bad as me!!)
The game itself is an attempt at reviving the age old adventure genre, and something I respect greatly. However I think the game was highly over-rated.
Fahrenheit is a game that believes itself to be a film. For Example, the 'New Game' option was replaced by 'New Movie'. This is a minor characteristic, but a result of this fairly original notion is the included gameplay tutorial, whereby the director includes himself in the game, and instructs the player through the basic game actions as if on a film set. While clever in a way, you do tend to see how much Fahrenheit loves Fahrenheit.
I am not going to list each and every point from the article, but some did bring a smile to my face. Firstly, the characters are weak, especially the supposed protagonist, Lucas Kane. The man has little that is attractive about him. Video game player characters are often slightly 'empty' due to the fact that they are effectively everyone and must be generic, but Lucas Kane is boring, simply put.
This article also reminded me of the chronic section where you must find a file from a shelf in police archives but need to skilfully prevent Carla, the second principal character, from hyper ventilating the whole time (she is claustrophobic) using the trigger buttons. It provoked what I thought was unnecessary frustration and was thrown in as a clever attempt at creating gameplay, but in practice, came across as a tired task purely for the sake of adding more minutes to that time-in-game counter.
For anyone who has played the game, you'll remember this infamous section well...
Okay, so the above may appear to be hyper critical, as even the greatest games have similar flaws every now and then. Sadly, the major problem with Fahrenheit is the fact that the story which was said to be on par with a Hollywood blockbuster, is just not very good. It is as if many events take place, dropping hints throughout the game, but all ultimately head off independently. There is no significant twist, nothing memorable, and no clever plot element drawing the story together. I found it almost impossible to follow.
I recommend trying the game if you haven't already, to see if you can relate to any of this post. That is only if you can stomach the whole game. I could, but I've tried to repeat the experience without success...
CGS
I've been watching the Championship Gaming Series on Sky One for the past week. I'd visited the website several times but it came as a bit of a surprise to see the action televised. It's apparently the first true professional video gaming organisation, revolving around a league structure with paid players.
The whole idea is very good for the video game industry, it brings video games into the spotlight, and casts a more serious aspect to gaming. It also appears to redraw a more firm boundary line between pro or high level gaming, and casual (or amateur) gaming. Like any sport, the featured games are versatile enough to define a huge array of differing skill levels between players.
From watching the matches, I realise now how good these gamers actually are, and the practice that's required. Although games are my passion, I am very much an average player, without any great aptitude.
Having said that, competitive gaming is a different world to what I and many gamers alike are accustomed to. I have always been more interested in single player, story driven games and have had little time & opportunity to get into online competition, etc.
I'll need to write more on this topic...
Check out the website at
http://www.thecgs.com
