The "Ultimate" dilemma

[trashcanman]

So I made a really big deal out of Marvel vs Capcom 3 before and after it came out as it was and is a geek wonderland combining many of our favorite things here in The Fortress. And, as with Street Fighter 4, it was not a huge surprise that they just announced an extended version of the game.

xbox360.ign.com/articles/118/1182838p1.html

Now, at first I was super-excited. 16 new characters! Maybe Sentinel will be powered down to the point that a noob can't easily slaughter a high-level player with only one button using him! Now you can watch other players while you wait your turn! A new crop of losers for me to bash before the bad-tempered experts and unsportsmanlike fucktards run them out of town! JOY!

But waitaminute. Look at that roster of new characters. Phoenix Wright? The Japanese lawer from Nintendo DS games? What's he going to do, shout "objection" at Wolverine? Was a FOURTH Resident Evil character really a necessity? Fucking ROCKET RACCOON!? Come on! Hawkeye? Taskmaster already relies largely on bow attacks (even shouts "aim of Hawkeye") so what the hell is he going to bring to the table? No Megaman? Again? Seriously? Can a motherfucker get some Psylocke? Venom? Carnage? Cammy? I don't care about Iron Fist. Ghost Rider is cool. Strider is an awesome addition. Frank West should have been in the original. But really, what were they thinking with some of these picks?

Worst of all, this one is coming out in November. A mere two months after Gear of War 3, and about the same time as Skyrim, which will surely be the game of the year and eat a triple digit number of hours. And with a lot of other games coming out between then and Mass Effect 3's March release, it looks like this is one I'm going to have to skip. After all, one thing I've learned from MvC3 is that I'm just not good enough at fighting games to compete once all the beginner-intermediate players are run off by the ultra-competitive maniacs who train at these games like it's for the goddamn Olympics. And is it really worth the $40 to play an extra set of characters I'm mostly not that into? So looks like no Ultimate MvC3 for me. How about you? If you got the original, are you considering an upgrade? And if you didn't, is the discount price and added content enough to entice you?

[The Curmudgeon]

Potentially, but it would have to be better characters than that. Like, yeah, put Carnage in there and that's a pretty damn good start. Another generic RE guy won't cut it for me, nor would the Japanese lawyer character who I've never heard of (although if she DID shout "Objection" that would be pretty sweet).

Like you say, Trashy - there's enough great new games out there clamouring for our increasingly rare spare time without double dipping on a game for a handful of new guys, some of whom don't even sound that great. Agreed though - Strider gets a BIG thumbs up.

And besides, are you forgetting what's coming out in October?



Keep your money for that.

[trashcanman]

I may have to put a hold on Bats. WAAAAAAYYY too many great-looking games coming out at the end of the year.

September has Dead Island (skipping) and Gears of War 3, which I wouldn't miss for the world. Adn that one is going to occupy some months. October has Spider-Man: Edge of Time (skipping), Dead Rising 2: Off the Record (skipping), Arkham City (possibly skipping, but we'll see), and Battlefield 3 (insane buzz, but skipping). November has Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (remake of the first game....skipping) coming out on THE SAME DAY as Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (which is taking precedence over every other game released this year and will take up several months of my time by itself), and Saints Row: The Third (GTA clone...skipping), Assassins Creed: Revelations (looking forward to playing, but skipping), and Ultimate MvC3 (skipping). December has only The Witcher 2, which I may or may not skip based on how into Skyrim I am (it's not looking good for another highly anticipated game, though). Mass Effect 3 is my most anticipated game and it's coming out in March so that will give me 3 months to consider whether I can fit The Witcher or Arkham City in. I'd bet Arkham City since it will surely be a shorter game, but with Skyrim eating my brain with open world RPG awesome, It'll be hard enough to tear myself away for Mass Effect. People ask me why I don't have time for more than one console, shit like this is why. With even just one console I don't have enough time or money to play all of the awesome games that come out for it.

And in case you are wondering how I could give Skyrim precedence over so many other games, I think this demo about covers it:


If you don't have the patience for the full video, go to 4:00 for dragon-heavy badassery.

[The Curmudgeon]

Looks absolutely gorgeous, no question about it. Dunno if it's the sort of thing I'd be into (that stilted gameplay where you're just holding up your sword and shield like an idiot whilst that guy charges towards you.. I hate that sort of thing). The dragons looked amazing, though.

Looks great if that's your bag.

300 HOURS? Fuck. When do you, working man, husband, father, Fortress champion, find the time to play this stuff, Trash?

[trashcanman]

I get home from work as about midnight and don't go to bed until 3:00-4:00 AM. That's 3-4 hours to watch DVD's and play video games. Comics and web-surfing get the day shift before I head to work. But I pretty much only play games for an hour or so at a time most days. I never beat those Elder Scrolls games. They pack those things with so much to do that the story actually comes off as an intrusion most of the time. I make my own objectives, motherfucker! Those are the kind of games that keep me up all night. There's always one more thing I want to do and suddenly the fucking sun is coming up. Mass Effect too. That is just my favorite series right now, period. Comparatively short at a mere 30 hours or so, but so packed with awesome it feels like more. It's got great action, great characters, and the best story in gaming. So between those two coming out only 4 months apart, and Gears 3's limitless multiplayer a few months before that, I'll be pretty much done for buying games until next summer once September hits.