Under Pressure: Higa's Ibuki

Higa's Ibuki is absolutely on fire, especially at the beginning of this video. Watch and be amazed at the intense rushdown. Video courtesy of TheShend's YouTube channel, which you should certainly subscribe to if you like Third Strike at all.

15 Days to Galactus' Attack

I would embed the leaked Galactus video that was on YouTube right here, but it has been taken down. Instead, I'll do my best to describe the boss encounter. The scene from the Akuma reveal trailer showing Cosmic Doom is from the final boss battle. You actually fight Cosmic Doom and Cosmic Akuma simultaneously. Once they are defeated, you fight Galactus. He only appears from the chest up on the right side of the screen and is huge, like Apocalypse from XMvSF and MSHvSF. He takes huge swipes with his hands and shoots lasers from his eyes. Apparently, he has a Super of sorts that causes him to move behind the playfield and blast lasers from his fingertips and eyes simultaneously. He looks pretty cool, but is very likely to be unplayable.

UPDATE: I found a YouTube video that works, but who knows for how long...

16 Days to Mission Mode

Shoryuken brings to our attention this video, which teases MvC3's Mission Mode. There appear to be 10 trials per character, all of which take place in a remake of MvC2's Danger Room training stage. This video also gives us a glimpse of the game's title screen.

17 Days to MvC3

Capcom has confirmed to Shacknews that there are more character reveals coming in the next few weeks. Will they be on the disc or DLC? I guess we'll know soon.

18 Days to MvC3

Check out this interesting article from iPlaywinner.

This article, though at times wordy and bombastic, really hits on something I've experienced myself. The author details the nigh-indescribable feeling of playing MvC3. He contrasts that with the experience of SSF4. It is hard to put into words how atrocious it feels to play SSF4 shortly after playing MvC3. MvC3 feels so creative and interesting that everything looks bland in comparison. Will SSF4 be kicked to the curb faster than Mubarak? You'll find out firsthand in a mere 18 days.

Sony Unveils Next Generation Portable

And that's exactly what they're calling it: "Next Generation Portable," or NGP. Though that's not the final name, don't get it twisted and call it the PSP2. It will be released later this year. What are the important specs and features, you ask?

• Dual analog sticks: These are full sticks, not slide-pads.
• 5" OLED capacitive multitouch touchscreen with 960x544 resolution.
• Capacitive multitouch pad along the back of the device for rear control without obstructing the screen.
• Uses a 4-core ARM CPU and a 4-core GPU.
• A front camera and a rear camera, enabling all sorts of augmented reality games.
• Sixaxis-style motion tech including gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass.
• A microphone, perhaps for DS-style in-game use or voice communication.
• 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G cellular network connectivity.
• Can play PSP games, PlayStation Minis, PS One games.
• Uses proprietary flash memory cards (that look like DS games) for new games.
• GPS: Probably not for navigation, but for location-aware features.
• Location-based features include "Near," "Live Area," and "Activity." These do things like tell you what games are popular in certain areas or if someone is playing a particular game near you.

Demos shown at the Sony event included a segment from an NGP Uncharted game in which the player uses the rear touchpad to swing on vines. I was particularly impressed by the NGP Hot Shots Golf demo, in which the player was able to look around the course by holding out the turning in place.

With all of this expensive tech packed in, I'd expect it to cost easily over $300, though Sony has yet to announce a price. How much would you pay for it?

Source: PlayStation Blog

19 Days to Sentinel and Hsien-Ko

Sentinel and Hsien-Ko have been revealed! From now on, I may refer to Hsien-Ko by her Japanese name, Lei Lei, which is easier both to type and to say. Fun fact: Her sister is transformed into the talisman that hangs from her hat. Her name is Mei Ling in the West or Lin Lin in Japan.

Lei Lei's Dark Force mode gives her armor!





Source: Eurogamer (which isn't exactly up and running right now) via iPlaywinner

20 Days to MvC3

Sentinel got leaked!

Source: Shoryuken.com

21 Days to MvC3

On behalf of Shoryuken.com, Keits and UltraDavid explain some of the intricacies of Amaterasu and Viewtiful Joe. Amaterasu being able to change weapons mid-combo is very interesting, but her slowdown super seems underwhelming. On the other hand, Viewtiful Joe's slowdown super and his overhead might make him very powerful.

22 Days to MvC3

This video, which I found over at SRK, is noteworthy despite its horrendous camera work. It shows off a few new combos that use Skrull's DP move and Dante's Devil Trigger mode. The combos vary slightly from what we've been seeing in the game's earlier showings, indicating that we should see a lot of improvisation once the game is widely available. Also, the video clearly shows how X-Factor can be used to cancel block-stun. Dante is able to avoid chip damage by X-Factoring his block and the using an invincible reversal Super. This defensive use of X-Factor could end up being a major factor in future MvC3 matches.

Video Proof of Mid-Air Raging Demon

LI Joe shows everyone how Oni is played. (Or at least he did... but then the CapCops got the video taken down from YouTube.)

Fresh Second Impact Footage

It's not every day that I get to post up new Street Fighter III: Second Impact matches. Here we have Tokido and KSK playing the defunct game recently.

23 Days to MvC3

Today we take a look at the strange underbelly of the Internet, the MvC3 detractors. They write strongly-worded critiques of the game, such as this response by aaa300 (scroll down to view it) to Haunts' article I linked to yesterday. It is entitled "angry at this game already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

First of all I've watch plenty of game play and the graphics are not that much better than MvC2.But thats not where Im mad if it plays like MvC2 than I could care less!!!!!!!!!!Now with that being said I love this game series all the way bask to street fighter vs xmen and one thing each game did was add more than the 1st one.Is it anyone but me who feels like the roster for MvC3 is screwing you over greatly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think the roster is in the high 30s mean while MvC2 had an amazing 55 to chose from!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!With the game play and graphics so little change and with disc space on the new consoles there is no excuse for this game to take a step back.And I know alot of you will say that theyll add dlc later but when I bought MvC2 for $50 it had 55 on it and now I'll pay $60 for 30 and its only 2d.I would rather have them rerealse MvC2 with 30 more to chose from rather than give me this half ass attemp to make money!!!! I love 2d fighters and want it to stay that way but the game looks looks like tasanoke VS capcom on Wii,so why is it that a keep in mind a 2d game cant make its way on to the Wii?????With the same graphics they would look just about the same and then you would realize because wii games cost $50 dollars that they were stealing that extra $10 ! Like it would hurt them to port it over for the classic controller.The main thing I loved about MvC2 was its huge roster so when I heard there was a 3rd coming out I was hoping for 60 -70 with dlc in stead we get burned for 30-40 insane!!!! Regardless theyll have my money day one. WHY CAPCOM YOU WHERE ONE OF MY FAVORITES NOW YOUR OVER CHARGING US FOR A HALF ASS 2D FIGHTER!!!!!!!!!JUST GREEDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Oni Akuma and Evil Ryu Revealed

Notice that the select screen seems to have room for two additional characters.

Oni Akuma and Evil Ryu have become playable in SF4: Arcade Edition. They both look more different from their standard versions than they have in past games. Oni has a Gouken-style chargeable fireball, though it only goes straight. He also has a mid-air dash that is an attack and can go forward, backward, or down. He has a dash-punch that can go through an opponent and hit from behind. He has a quick jumping attack that hits overhead as an EX. He also has his standard 3-hit Shoryuken and Tatsu.

Evil Ryu has a super-fast dash and a new axe kick that hits overhead as an EX. He has Ryu's F+MK hop kick from the Alpha games.

Both Evil Ryu and Oni have a Raging Demon as their Super and a fireball as their Ultra 1. Oni is able to perform his Ultra 1 (and maybe even his Super, ala Shining Gou Shock) in the air. Oni's Ultra 2 is a close-hitting attack that does a ton of damage. Evil Ryu's Ultra 2 is a Messatsu Gou Shoryu, which is Akuma's old uppercut Super from Alpha and Third Strike.

Oni has a fairly normal amount of health, while Evil Ryu's is slightly low. Evil Ryu, however, is faster and dishes out more damage. Will these characters be top tier? Well, that remains to be seen. Initial impressions are that they're not as obviously overpowered as Yun and Yang. I think Oni's power will be in his air mobility and his ability to set up cross-ups with his rush punch. Evil Ryu will be all about using his speed to get in position to land damaging combos. He can supposedly link c.MPx3 as well as EX fireball, FADC, Ultra 2. He might even be able to set up sneaky resets with his overhead axe kick. It will be interesting to see how these characters develop.



Sources:
Shoryuken - Video and Images of Oni Akuma and Evil Ryu in Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition
iPlaywinner - Exclusive Oni Akuma and Evil Ryu Media, Movesets, and Images

24 Days to MvC3

Haunts from iPlaywinner published his impressions of the announced characters over at 1UP. Though each character only gets a brief overview, the article is interspersed with some nice gameplay videos. There were even a few observations that I was unaware of. For example, did you know that Haggar loses some life when he does his lariat, just as he did in Final Fight? When Haunts starts talking about Shuma and Jill, however, he's obviously just speculating. Anyway, check the article out to see what a fighting game expert thinks about your most-anticipated characters.

Awesome AE Footage from Capcom

Capcom's Japanese YouTube channel has hours of SF4:AE footage available for viewing, including this great Guy (played by Legendary Otaku) vs. Dictator (played by Shungoku Neurosis) set.

25 Days to MvC3

As we await MvC3, the last great MvC2 money match has just taken place. Anyone looking forward to Doctor Doom in MvC3 should take note of this incredible match recorded by iPlaywinner. Clockw0rk plays Doctor Doom better than anyone in the world, and he is looking forward to playing as Doom in MvC3 as well. Will Doom find his niche in MvC3?

Capcom Fighting Jam Champions

From psychorarity's YouTube channel, this is the 2005 Capcom Fighting Jam championship. Daigo and Dan face off with Mago and Tokido in this forgotten game. See below for some crazy Jedah play from the semifinals.

26 Days to MvC3

If you want know as much as possible about MvC3 at this time, you need to listen to this podcast from Shoryuken.com. It's over two hours long, but has tons of information about all of the characters.

27 Days to MvC3

With 27 days left, let's review the basics of Marvel vs Capcom 3, starting with the default button layout:

A   B   C

E  A1 A2

The controls for the game consist of three attack buttons: light attack, medium attack, and hard attack. The buttons for these attacks are known as A, B, and C. Note that there are not separate punch and kick buttons; each particular attack may be either a punch or a kick. The fourth attack button is Exchange, or E for short. Exchange performs a launcher if you're on the ground or a combo ender if you're in the air. Attacks chain together from A to B to C, then to E. An example of a simple combo would be A,B,C,E, superjump A,B,C,E. Some specials are performed with the E button. For example, most characters' flight mode is activated with QCB+E. Just as in MvC2, there are two assist buttons. Calling assists works exactly as it did in MvC2, but tagging out is now done by holding either assist button. Pressing both assist buttons performs a Team Hyper Combo, wherein your assist characters perform their supers at the same time as the point character.

Supers, or Hyper Combos if you prefer, are generally performed with a single motion and any two attack buttons. In other words, supers in Marvel require QCF+AB as opposed to Street Fighter IV's QCFx2+PPP. Special moves can be canceled into supers, just like in SF4. This allows you to do things like fire Deadpool's guns from full screen, then cancel into his gun super on hit for big damage. Delayed Hyper Combos (DHC's) are exactly as they were in MvC2. You can activate the point character's super, then input the next character's super during its animation to have that character tag in and immediately perform that super. DHC's are not only a great way to extend combos for more damage, but also a way to safely tag out your point character.

The main new addition to MvC3's fighting system is something called X-Factor. X-Factor can be performed only once per match by pressing A,B,C, and E simultaneously. It puts all of your remaining characters into X-Factor mode for a limited time. When in this mode, the characters glow red and deal more damage. Your point character heals and moves faster. Activating X-Factor also cancels whatever the character was doing, sort of like a FADC in SF4. You can do things like super, X-Factor, super again for massive damage. The length of time the X-Factor mode lasts depends on how many characters you have remaining. When you have all three, it lasts the least amount of time. When you're down to your last character, X-Factor lasts quite a while. Because of this, X-Factor adds a huge comeback potential to the game.

So, that takes care of the basics. If you have any specific control questions, post them in the comments below.

28 Days to MvC3

With 28 days to go, here's a little snippet from Seth "S-kill" Killian on Phoenix. Phoenix may have looked a bit underwhelming in her video premiere, but Seth assures us that her full potential hasn't been properly shown off yet. From a post on Ask Capcom, we learn the following about the mysterious Phoenix:

• Due to her low health, she really can't take many hits.
• Her healing shield super only heals her when her opponent is within its boundaries. She can't just run away and heal.
• You can use Dark Phoenix for an unlimited time in training mode.
• While tagged-out, she regains health like any other character. She also has specific, powered-up Dark Phoenix assists.
• Videos showing her "best bits" will be available soon.

Akuma and Taskmaster Join the Cast

It should come as no surprise that Akuma and Taskmaster are in Marvel vs Capcom 3. Akuma looks mostly like his MvC2 incarnation, with a few additions: He has his demon flip now, and the palm follow-up does a ground bounce. His dive kick OTG's, allowing for re-launch combos. He can combo into a ground hurricane kick, then into a launcher for huge damage. Also, his supers seem to have beam-type and fireball-type variations. I'm not sure how to perform these variations or what effects they will have. Finally, his Raging Demon travels full-screen very quickly and has a ton of invincibility.

Taskmaster is the first character revealed that looks completely unappealing to me. He's got a sword and a gun, but doesn't seem to be able to use his sword as well as Dante nor his gun as well as Deadpool. He has a counter super, which is almost always disappointing. He can do Spiderman's Spider Swing for extended air combos, and  seems to have Captain America's Stars & Stripes. His bow and arrow is somewhat unique, however. He can do all sorts of angled projectile attacks from the ground and the air. He can even fire arrows vertically into the air, only to have them rain down later. I think he looks like a real dud, but I wouldn't mind being proven wrong.




Videos via Eventhubs YouTube channel (since I really didn't want to embed IGN's crummy player, complete with commercials).

29 Days to MvC3

Today we have another video from WorstGiefEver (Hakf) highlighting some of the combos and tricks the characters can do. A couple of things that are new to me are how Hulk can launch off of an angled Gamma Crush and how Felicia has a low normal that OTG's quite nicely.

30 Days Until the Fate of Two Worlds

There are only thirty days left until the Marvel and Capcom worlds clash in Marvel vs Capcom 3. Join me as I count down the days to release, highlighting a particular video or piece of information about the game each day along the way. Today, let's take a brief look at Felicia, who has really not been shown off in MvC3 yet. This is courtesy of WorstGiefEver, AKA Hakf on YouTube.

Dante, Show Me Your Moves!

Video by CrossCounterTV.

Thor Talks Smack

And he gains five levels in the process! Video by WorstGiefEver, AKA Hakf on YouTube.

Haggar and Phoenix Announced for MvC3

Haggar and Phoenix were just announced for MvC3. Haggar seems to play a bit more like Hulk than Zangief, which is probably a good thing. He's got a command throw or two and a Level 3 grab super. He can even combo into a hammer-toss-style air grab. I didn't see any sort of Raidenesque dropkick in the video, but I'm still holding out hope for it.

Phoenix has a teleport, flight mode, and a few different projectiles. She has a super that puts a "Healing Shield" around her. Does it protect her from all attacks for a limited time? Does it absorb a certain amount of hits? It is unknown at this time exactly how it works. She does resurrect as Dark Phoenix (as rumored) when taken to zero life with 5 bars of super. As Dark Phoenix, she looks significantly more powerful. In fact, regular Phoenix looks rather like a weak character, especially in comparison to her second form.

Supposedly, Haggar and Phoenix will be playable at Capcom's "secret event" in Las Vegas tonight. The event won't be completely secret, since there will be a live stream. Details are here, along with a stream going on right now that doesn't have the two new characters available.

Is Seiei Enbu Better Than Genei Jin?

Yun always excelled in Third Strike due to his extremely powerful Genei Jin super art. In that game, Yang's super meter was rarely ever used for anything but EX Mantis Slashes. In SSF4: AE, Yang's super finally looks potent, and it doesn't hurt that he is able to rapidly build meter. The video above shows Nemo building a rather foolproof reset into his Seiei Enbu combo for maximum damage. Will players develop similar strategy's with Yun's Genei Jin in AE or will Yang's super reign supreme?