Shryuken! and In Defense of a Medium

Well, The Moviegoer recently added a new section to the world of FTS, thus establishing one more thing we can all enjoy from a safe distance: Videogames. However, after 2 thrilling and insightful posts, he's faded away as quickly as he appeared. Now, like any mysterious hero, he will return, but until then, I, like Azrael in 93, will take up the cowl.

My meager addition? Street Fighter IV. This newest in the classic series is my most recent adventure in digital punishment and one I'm damn glad I took. It's fighting engine runs in a classic 2-D mold, but the sleek artistic techniques combined with the traditional work create a textural, almost 3-D feel to the boards. In a much celebrated decision, Capcom has done away with all the over-the-top Alpha and Marvel vs. style super-air-combos and insane rolling moves that turned a once proud series into a juiced up anime-cartoon . But we're not exactly playing Turbo here, either. The creators kept the ultra-moves, reversals, technicals and combo bonuses that actually enhance gameplay. Having a grasp of the fundamentals and a knowledge of special moves are essential, but a beginner won't feel completely overwhelmed on the default difficulty. But, if you want to win, you must have the proper fighting instincts and defeat Shen Long to stand a chance....oh, sorry...it got away from me there. Anyways, anyone can enjoy the game, but if you're not going to dedicate your time to building your skills and honing your instincts, this might be better as a time-killer, gamefly, or rental. If you are a dedicated World Warrior, though, then you'll really enjoy the online combat mode, which will allow you to reach out and crush someone (in your face, HW1). But, beware: strangers will cheap you, friends will back-to-back spinning-360 you, and if you didn't live and die on SFII back in the day, you might not be ready for it. If you were a Gouken-geek, you'll probably want one of the specially released fighter sticks (god knows i do), but good luck finding one.

Long story short: SF4 is definitely worth checking out and allows you to swim as deep as you dare explore. You'll have as much fun dropping it to easy and breezing through the story/arcade mode as you will knotting up the head band for an online, ranked match, ass-whooping. Enjoy. And may the Videogamer return shortly sparing us all from my hack reviews.

In Defense Of A Medium

To make up for my vulgar simplicity, I'd like to provide you with a link you MUST check out. It's from Michael Swaim over at cracked.com and it's in defense of video games as art. I have not played a lot of games on the list, but I did see a Murakami exhibit in Brooklyn, once (thanks, KTL). You'll see why I included this when you read the piece.