02/10/2004 Archived Entry: "Three Hundred"
There's something about fighting games that make them immensely satisfying. Not only do they offer gaming gratification from only minutes of play but there's also the pure joy of walking into an arcade throwing down two quarters and unleashing a jawdroppingly devastating set of moves on the stranger standing beside you. And the fact that you've financially hurt them (50cents!) is just icing on the cake!
I honestly don't find any other kind of games as fun and fulfilling as fighers. Pitting years of finely tuned muscle-memorized thumb twitches against others who've had the same amount of training...well, it's just fun to kick someone else's butt. Even against vastly superior opponents (like those 12 year old kids who only play games all day) who can make other well trained players degenerate into random mindless button mashing, the game can still be fun, if not educational. What other kind of games let you try out new strategies, openings, moves, and complete rematches every 60-or-so seconds?
The competitive aspect of fighting games is its most appealing; going toe to toe, thumb to thumb, quarter to quarter against other people and knowing that you can crush them if provoked is a great feeling. There's also the amazing high you get after a good streak of wins, you walk around sizing people up and thinking to yourself that you reduce any of these people to a whimpering, bloody pulp in 15 seconds flat...but only in a game, of course.
Replies: 9 comments
hehe, in my opinion... (mostly) nothing even comes close to bringing out that feeling of friendly competition, fighting games rule!
...Especially Soul Calibur 2 :)
-Dave
Posted by David @ 02/10/2004 05:19 PM EST
I have to disagree about that Thai, but then I didn't grow up playing fighting games so I don't have the ingrained expreience and sense of what will work and what won't when playing. As a result, I just don't get the enjoyment out of these games. My preference lies in the direction of sports and racing games. Now there is a good time, battling it out online against 30 or 40 other people on a race track... That is one advantage of an XBox for me, to play Nascar on XBox Live.
Posted by sbdep @ 02/10/2004 05:39 PM EST
Racing games don't do much for me.
They don't have enough "oooh! aaah!" moments.
Especially not the "simulation" types like Grand Turismo or Nascar. If any, I prefer the arcade-y racers.
Get an XboX! Then we'll have the best stocked house ever!
Posted by Rayne @ 02/10/2004 06:06 PM EST
I'm with Stephen, fighting games just never did it for me. I have fun playing them here and there but nowhere close to the level you do, thai. However, I crave a good race in mariokart (usually more fun for me against the computer) and give me any NHL hockey game, I love them all. Especially NHLPA 93, gotta love the far near end scoring trick, heh.
Posted by Mike @ 02/10/2004 06:44 PM EST
I find that the amount of fun you get out of a game REALLY depends on the people you're playing with. Say you're playing SC 2 with a bunch of nintendo sissy's =P who think you shouldn't be allowed to do certain moves or who like the idea of 'ganging up' on the best player. Than you won't get as much out of it 'cause they won't put up a challenge(This is all theoritcal of course). I can get as much fun out of sports games as i do from fighting games. It's all about the people you're playing with. And if they can accept a healthy in game competition. 'And that's the way the cookie crumbles!'
Posted by Anonymous @ 02/10/2004 10:06 PM EST
Certainly, who you are playing with helps. I can enjoy playing SC2 for a little, but while it is fun, I don;t get the lasting enjoyment out of it. Partly because the game style isn;t my preference, but also because I think to really appreciate fighting games, you need to have built up the experience and have the history of playing all the old fighting games that provide the basis for the current generation. That is what I particularly lack for fighting games. For example when people are talking about a move, and it is "just the same as a 'super-crazy-high-kick' from some other historical game in the genre.
Similarly, a lot of the enjoyment that comes from the Nintendo platform games is based on the players knowledge of the characters and the characters abilities from previous games. For myself, it is that relationship with the genre/characters that I don't have and that detracts from alot of games which assume that the foundation already exists.
For a lot of this, it can be learned, but I am not interested in spending the time to do so. I guess that is why for myself, I prefer the sports and racing games.
hmm, that was long.
Posted by sbdep @ 02/10/2004 11:01 PM EST
Fighting games are great and all...but only to a certain point...once you get into muscle-memory, you know you've been brainwashed and played too much...:P
As for racing games...lets please not call Nascar a racing game...to me racing requires a certain amount of skill and more turns than TWO...I understand it would be fun to tackle 30 others at one time on X-Box...but that's only cuz after lap two, I'd be crashing into people out of boredom...;)...Gran Turismo is the true racing game...they've sold me on their realism...so much detail put into the game from every point of view.
I have always loved a good hockey game, but haven't found a good one recently. In the last few versions put out by EA Sports, its impossible to play defence...I can't hit the guy skating past me on most occasions...and the goalies seem to follow a trend in their performance...they'll allow goals in the first 10 mins and then become invincible until the final 5 minutes or so...I do like the rebounding physics they've managed to mimic though and the new goalie moves...still not worth a purchase though.
Posted by dAN @ 02/11/2004 08:14 AM EST
You can never play fighting games too much! If you can't do down, down-forward, forward + punch with split second instinct then you've already lost. =P
I do agree that my love of fighting games comes from my experience with 'em. I'll play any new Street Fighter game just based on the nostalgia value of the characters.
I think anyone who grew up with street fighter has the same fondness for these games since its the granddaddy of the genre. And once you've mastered SF, all the others just kinda fall into place...except Tekken, that game makes no sense.
Posted by Rayne @ 02/11/2004 02:27 PM EST
"except Tekken, that game makes no sense."
lol
Posted by Dave @ 02/11/2004 03:55 PM EST