High-Five Hadouken!
Friday marked the release of one of the most anticipated games for this next generation of consoles; Street Fighter IV. Based on the 1991 release, Street Fighter II, and incorporating new 3D rendered backgrounds, this new iteration promises to be the best fighting game for….well, since 1991.
One of our members, the Wagbat, threw an early hat into the ring today when he claimed “Street Fighter is the greatest multiplayer franchise of all time”. This started a huge debate and therefore required a blog and a pole. Personally I would love to disagree with Waggy-Waggy-Woo out of principle. However, the usual suspects (Mario Kart, Goldeneye, Call of Duty, Left for Dead) don’t quite reach the levels of this staple from our past, and now, once again, our present. Leave your thoughts below if you think we’re wrong or have missed any huge franchises past or present.
February 23rd, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Hang on. You’re confidently taking it as accepted fact and then dismissing Goldeneye & Mario right off the bat? Dubious. Very Dubious.
Whilst Street Fighter is of course, totally amazing (any game that can spawn a film with Kylie & JCVD is to be either loved or loathed, but never ignored) – I for one put my 2:2 down to the fact that I spent more time getting stoned and playing Golden Eye/Mario Kart than I did wearing trousers whilst at Uni.
And where’s Tekken? Or Halo for that matter?
February 23rd, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I have to agree with “Waggy-Waggy-Woo” on this one. Street Fighter is the essence of gameplay just like how “moisture is the essence of wetness” (Zoolander).
When you play a friend at Street Fighter there is nothing more pure. There are no power ups, there are no superior weapons to collect, you can’t “learn the maps” or memorise where the health packs spawn. Victory comes down to whoever has the superior grasp of their characters moves set, an understanding of the game mechanics and complete mastery of the controller. It is totally unspoiled.
And while I’m here and being opinionated: Tekken sucks.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Whilst game play is king, having a more sophisticated environment to interact with, a more realistic narrative to empathise with, doesn’t to me mean just being able to get a bigger gun. And personally, I think to describe these things as somehow detrimental to your gameplaying experience is pretty one eyed…
We’re either discussing successful games franchises, or game paradigms. I hear you on the pure, visceral argument, however ‘mastering’ three simple moves to me gets pretty boring nowadays. When I was a kid the graphics, moves and characters to Street Fighter WERE an advance on what had gone before. I guess if this conversation were taking place back then, you’d be telling us all that Pong was ‘pure’ and hence a better game.
Games aren’t described as being the new form of cinema because they’re meat and potatoes. But I digress.
ps YOU suck.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Its true… last Friday afternoon I did suggest that SFII was one of the best multiplayer games ever, nay THE best…. and that SFIV, if executed properly, could well take up that mantle.
Having said that there’s a lot to consider when suggesting an overall best-ever. True, Goldeneye was a gem, but one that no longer shines as brightly as our fond recollections may have us believe. One things for sure, the FPS genre has undergone the most significant overhauls – leaving our past obsessions of COMPLEX + MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN + 10 MINUTES; nothing but distant memories. I mean seriously, when’s the last time you even picked up an N64 pad, let alone played Goldeneye? Well, let me save you the time… its rubbish. The FPS genre is one that’s defined by future technologies, modern consoles, more realistic physics, rendering, online multiplayer….etc. People get sentiment confused with quality far too easily. Just because its USED to be good, doesn’t mean it stands up today… and first-person-shooters as a genre belong in the ever-developing world of NOW rather than the giddy recollections of our past.
Other genres however have faired more generously, and its fair to say that games with simple rule sets, instant accessibility, and competitive but friendly environments have managed to weather the development storm – and its here that Mario Kart wins. Its always been a favourite for hardcore and casual alike, but I’d wager that not too many hardcore gamers have ACTUALLY played the Wii version… One thing we do know is that the majority of Wii ownership is by the casual market. If this IS the case then how can Mario Kart REALLY be considered the BEST multiplayer game? It certainly WAS a contender, but now things like Wii sports surely replace it for the same criteria?
Street Fighter not only spawned an entire genre of gaming, both on coin-op and console, but gave rise to films, merchandise, comics…etc, to a level surely unsurpassed by any other game franchise. It caters for “button-mashers” and “3L1TEs” alike by utilising a combat system that relies on dexterity as simple, or as complex as the user is able. Its inclusive, fun, competitive and instant in its gratification… but MOST importantly; its simple.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:24 pm
The thought has just occurred: GUITAR HERO/ROCK BAND