CrimsonAvarice

DtV: Asura’s Wrath- Lost Episode 1 DLC

emptywalletgamer:

Release Date: May 8, 2012

-Marcus Lawrence

Even with the main storyline finished, the DLC keeps on rolling out. Asura’s Wrath is full of non-stop action and flying fists, so what better game to pair it with than Capcom’s own Street Fighter series? I’m even convinced there’s a tie-in with Street Fighter X Tekken hidden somewhere here. For the entire DLC, Asura will duke it out with iconic martial artist, Ryu. If you’re not excited yet, just wait until Ryu allows the Satsui No Hado to take control! Who will come out on top?!

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My article on the Asura’s Wrath Lost Episode 1 DLC

Street Fighter X Tekken Review

Street Fighter X Tekken/ Publisher: Capcom/ Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3/ Release Date: 3-6-12/Rating/ Teen/ Single Player, Local Multiplayer(1-4), Online Multiplayer(2-8)/ Genre: Fighting

-Marcus Lawrence

Greatest cross-up since Marvel vs. Capcom!

When I first went to go pick up Street Fighter X Tekken, I was at odds with myself. I didn’t really want to buy it but something kept pushing me to purchase it. After a couple of hours in the training mode, I figured out what pushed me. The fighting guru in me woke up and I can honestly say that I’m the proud owner of this game. First of all, it combines my two favorite fighting games into one. Street Fighter is pretty much my childhood and I have fond memories of playing Tekken through my entire high school experience. So what does this cross-up have to offer? Just what you would expect from a fighting game and of course that includes a somewhat decent plot.

All I can pretty much tell you is that a mysterious object falls from space and is dubbed “Pandora” because it’s shaped like a box. Apparently, Pandora gives off an energy that boosts the fighting ability of anyone close. With a power like this left unchecked, two of the world’s strongest organizations fight for the control of the box. Shadaloo which is run by M. Bison and the Mishima Zaibatsu, leaded by Jin Kazama. With that said, you can see how many of the fighters will come into conflict with each other.

SF X T plays out like how Super Street Fighter IV does but with a twist. Players now control a two man team of their choosing to head into battle. Whether you want to stick with the set teams (since every character has a set partner) or if you want to mix and match, it’s clearly your choice. For example, my main team consists of Kazuya from Tekken and Ken from Street Fighter. As stated before, fights plays out in the same manner as SSFIV, so this isn’t exactly new territory. Starting off by choosing your team, you can either go head to toe with the CPU’s in Arcade mode or see how good your skills are against real players in either the versus mode or online. If you have a friend that you like to play with, you can even form teams with them. Once you are in the fight, the most effective way to achieve victory is to link and combine combos. These can be done by either utilizing ground bounces or wall bounces which adds to the max damage combo. You also have at your disposal the ability to use throws as well as launchers.  Launchers are moves that knock your opponent into the air and tags your teammate in.

Like with all Street Fighter games, each fighter has a special move that is unique to them. Guile has his Sonicboom, while Ken has his Flaming Shoryuken. Even the Tekken fighters have special moves such as the ability to dash under projectiles or moves created just for this title. To enhance special moves would be to use an EX version. These EX moves use up a bar on the Cross Gauge but can be useful in a pinch. Also, each character has a Super Art that deals out major damage. These moves are cinematic, so you can watch when you successful pull them off. And for an even stronger move, each character can use a Cross Art. This is a special move that utilizes both fighters in one single combo in a cinematic form. Players can also use Cross Assault; this allows the player to control both fighters on the screen for a short period of time. Finally is the power of Pandora, which can be used when the odds are against you. Pandora allows you to take the life of your point fighter and boosts the strength and speed of the other. But only use this as a last resort, for you only have about eight seconds to defeat the enemy before you run out of life. All of these abilities and moves separate SF X T from all other fighters but only someone who trains often can master them.

Street Fighter X Tekken has an abundance of modes that can be played once the Arcade mode has been beaten. As I mentioned before, there is a versus mode as well as online multiplayer. The online has three different kinds of battles; Ranked, Endless and Scramble. Ranked is where you can gain or lose points depending on how the match turns out. Endless Battle is where you can gather several players in one lobby to fight it out in teams or free-for-all. Lastly, Scramble allows four fighters to be on the screen at once in teams of two. There is even an online training room called Briefing Room, this allows you to train with someone without fear of losing. If you find that you need to brush up on moves solo, the training mode awaits you. Trial mode is where you can learn new combos and techniques that can be helpful in an actual fight. The Mission mode requires you to follow special conditions in order to beat the CPU opponents. In the customization area, you can adjust what kind of gems you want on a fighter. These gems help boost certain aspects under the right condition. All in all, you will wind up spending hours playing this amazing fighting game.

So, what are some of the negative aspects of SF X T? When you play online, the sound lags behind at times. Where it may not seem to be such a big deal, it is when you get confused. It’s hard to explain but when the sound cuts off, I kind of get stunned for a minute. Plus I’m not the only one to complain about that, so hopefully Capcom fixes this with the next patch. Also, Infinite combos have made their way back into the fray. That’s all honestly; anything else I say would feel like I’m being bias. This game is a blast for anyone to play, be you a hardcore fighting game fan or a newcomer. I give Street Fighter X Tekken for the Xbox 360 8 out of 10.

Street Fighter X Tekken Opening Cinematic