Street Fighter X Tekken, one of the last frontiers of crossover fighting games, showed in full force at E3. The Capcom booth hosted 6 consoles and a big screen mainstage, complete with fighting sticks and long lines of eager gamers. The Capcom version of this double crossover, the demo featured familiar art style and gameplay from the latest installment of the Street Fighter franchise.

As expected, the biggest adjustment for fans of both titles has to be made when playing Tekken characters. However, it still promises an experience that is on track be one of the greatest crossovers yet.

Now, as you may already know, SFXT is a tag team based game. To get a feel for this feature as well as how a Tekken character acclimates to Capcom’s fighting ring, I chose Hwoarang and Ken. Apparently, these characters compliment each other very well.

As expected, Ken’s entire toolchest of moves is open and available to use; and one technique in particular, the Dragon Punch, plays well into Hwoarang’s aggressive and up close fighting style full of rushes and kicks. For the most part, Hwoarang’s moves carry over, translated into the traditional Street Fighter circular and zig-zag joystick motions. For a Tekken fan, this may take some getting used to; but the range and power of his trademark kicks is still there and you should find his balance in short time.

No matter what character is used, the tag feature offers more than just an opportunity to regain health. Using the launch combination (low, medium, high punch/kick) makes for a great tactic to start a juggle, pressuring the opponent and prolonging the immediate combination. One can also experiment with certain teams to find the right flow and accommodate style.

Unlike the cartoon-like launches in the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 crossover, there is a definite weight to the characters in SFXT. It makes sense for the Street Fighter world which is based more in technique and tactics, rather than hyper fast, ADD action. There is one downfall to the tag feature, in my opinion — once a character is taken out, the round is over, even though you have another in reserve. In the end, this is one complaint to an overall positive reaction.

Not included in the demo was a promise for the same online play features found in Super Street Fighter IV as well as some surprises. As to what the surprises are, Capcom has set its PR to slow leak, already revealing Cole McGrath from the InFamous franchise as an exclusive playable character for PS3, with other characters sure to be revealed soon. You want more on the current character lineup? See the following E3 trailer.

God. That name is surely the spawn of some foul nether creature. Anyway Square Enix just announced that Dissidia duodecim prologus Final Fantasy will be will be available for download exclusively on the PlayStation Network beginning March 15, 2011.

Of course the question remains: What the hell is a Dissidia duodecim prologus Final Fantasy? Hit the jump for more details.

Prologus is a just the fancy name for the prologue to the upcoming Dissidia 012[duodecim] Final Fantasy game for PSP. And starting now, I’m not typing out the full title for the rest of this article. According to the press release,Prologus focuses on Final Fantasy XIII heroine Lightning.

Essentially Prologus is a demo for the full game, however it also marks the first time that Lightning will be a playable character outside of Final Fantasy XIII. Prologus will cost $2.99, but it will come with a couple of bonuses to make up for the price.

By purchasing Prologus, players can unlock the hugely popular Final Fantasy VII character, Aerith (I still call her Aeris) Gainsborough, as an Assist Character. Also there are several carry over items that will transfer from Prologus to the full game when it releases on March 22, 2011.

I liked Lightning, even though I ended up disliking FF XIII. I think it’ll be cool to see her in another game, but even with the carry over features, I can’t see myself paying money for what is essentially a demo. Square Enix could take a page out of BioWare’s book which granted players an item for completing the (free) Dragon Age II demo. Anybody going to try out Dissidia duodecim prologus Final Fantasy? (Damn, I broke my promise).

The fine folks over at Piki Geek just debuted the demo for Super Smash Land– a Super Smash Bros. de-make using the looks and sounds of the original GameBoy.

Yeah, my mind was just blown too. Hit the jump for more information about Super Smash Land.

I don’t play a lot of fighting games, with one exception. Super Smash Bros. is the only series that I truly enjoy. It’s also the only one where I own every game in the franchise–all three of them. Well now I can look forward to adding a fourth (and unofficial) game to my collection.

Super Smash Land is Dan Fornace’s latest creation, and it’s a de-make of the N64 Super Smash Bros. using GameBoy technology. Everything is that greenish-yellow color, and you only have two buttons and  d-pad to control your characters with.

Because this is a demo, the only playable characters are Mario and Kirby, but many of their recognizable moves are there. Kirby can still inhale enemies, though he isn’t able to take their powers, and Mario can still shoot pixelated 2D fireballs.

Super Smash Land supports up to four players, but I imagine it’d be difficult to squeeze four pairs of hands onto one keyboard. It also supports gamepads, so players can plug in their Xbox or Playstation controllers and play that way.

I can’t wait to see what other characters and stages are going to be added. Already there’s a new trailer out that shows Link as a playable character and the Saffron City stage! Maybe some of the characters from Super Smash Bros. Melee or Super Smash Bros. Brawl will be added in the future. I’ll still be happy even if only the classic roster becomes playable. It’s also worth noting that chiptune artist Inverse Phase created all the 8-bit takes on the original songs and sound effects.

Head over to Piki Geek to download the demo, read an interview with the creator, or read their impressions of the demo. Super Smash Land doesn’t have an official release date yet. I wish Dan Fornace the best of luck in completing his project. It has a lot of charm and looks promising. I hope it comes out sometime this year!

[via Piki Geek]

Today Warner Bros. announced the title for the much anticipated sequel to last year’s blockbuster hit Batman: Arkham Asylum. Dubbed Batman: Arkham City, the new title takes the Caped Crusader out of the loony bin and tosses him into the “heavily fortified” “mini-city” of Arkham.

Aside from the details above, the only other information we have on the game is that it is slated to arrive on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in Fall 2011.

Obviously, I loved Arkham Asylum. I though it rejuvenated the long forgotten beat ‘em up genre, while expanding on what gamers thought was possible in terms of stealth play. Hopefully Arkham City will deliver the same great action seen in Arkham Asylum while adding enough features to not feeling like it has somehow become stagnant.

What do you guys think? Are you as excited as I am for this game? On a side note, what villains do you hope to see in Arkham City? I know I’m holding out for some intense shark combat.

Source: Shacknews.com

As made public last week by Capcom the two largest fighting series are finally going to collide “sometime” in 2012 in the form of Street Fighter x Tekken.

Not much real hard information has been forthcoming since then but that’s hardly surprising if the game is still two years away.

What we have been treated to are a load of new shots from the game and it is looking seriously awesome.  Having never been much of a Street Fighter fan my loyalty lies with the Tekken franchise.  My initial concern is how the team would deal with the different art styles but a few moments with these screens has put my mind at ease.

Behold the goodness:-

Is it just me, or is the Mortal Kombat franchise making a huge push this week. Earlier in the week, a video hit the Web showing what appears to be a pitch for a newly rebooted Mortal Kombat film franchise. Today, publisher Warner Bros. announced that it is producing a new Mortal Kombat title, the ninth in the series.

The new game, simply titled Mortal Kombat, marks a return to the classic 2D game mechanics that made the franchise such a hit. Development on the game is being handled by the re-branded NetherRealm Studios (formally WB Games Chicago,) who predicts the title will arrive on the Xbox 360 and PS3 sometime in 2011.

NetherRealm creative director and Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon stated, “We can’t wait for players to get their hands on Mortal Kombat. This game really is a response to what players have been demanding: mature presentation, reinvented 2D fighting mechanic and the best, most gruesome fatalities ever!”

Warner Bros. added that, “[a] number of new game-play features including tag team and the deepest story mode of any fighting game” will be included.

Personally I never really cared much for the MK titles. I was always more of a Street Fighter fan. That’s not to say that I never touched them. Whenever my brother had his choice we played MK. Anyhow, it makes me smile to think that these familiar characters, whom I had written off as being a thing of the past, are making a strong return in modern gaming.

What do you guys think? Are you excited for a new Mortal Kombat title? Do you think the return to 2D is a good move? On a side note, what do you guys think of the movie trailer?

Source: Shacknews.com

Today, after a decade of anticipation, Capcom finally announced that it is currently developing Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Slated to arrive on the Xbox 360 and PS3 in the spring of 2011, MvC3 will feature classic fighters from the previous games, as well as new characters from both Capcom and Marvel.

As you can tell from the trailer above, the only characters revealed so far are Ryu, Morrigan,  Wolverine, Iron Man, Hulk, and new comer Chris Redfield.

Under the careful eye of Ryota Niitsuma, producer of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, MvC3 will feature a more “accessible” fighting system. This means minimizing complexity (via controls) while maximizing depth. According to Niitsuma, signature moves will be simple enough that everyone will be able to execute them.

Niitsuma has stated that the game currently has 30 characters, but that number is subject to change. He also said that Capcom doesn’t plan on having as many characters as there were in MvC2, which featured 56.

MvC3 is not being developed on any current fighting game engine. Rather, Capcom has decided to use its MT Framework platform, the engine behind Resident Evil 5 and the upcoming Lost Planet 2. Niitsume stated: “the main problem we’ve had is slowing it down because if it comes off too fast the new players which we want to reach won’t be able to find it accessible.”

I know I’m excited for this game. To this day, my friends and I will get together every month or so and dust off the old Dreamcast just to drink beers and beat on each other in MvC2. Hopefully the same great fast paced action in MvC2 will show up in MvC3.

What do you guys think? Are you excited for this title? Have you moved on after a decade of waiting? Also, What characters do you think will make an appearance?

Source: Shacknews.com

Back in September, a very reliable source – Capcom’s own Japanese website for Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom – gave some unintended insight into which characters would be making debut appearances for the North American console release. Four out of five of the rumored characters have already been revealed, but the last revelation finally confirmed the rumor to be 100% accurate.

Earlier this week, Capcom announced that the last new console character would be Yatterman #2, from the eponymous Tatsunoko anime Yatterman. Yatterman #2 is, in fact, a Yatterwoman who controls a giant robot pelican, aptly named the Yatter-Pelican. Hit the jump to see some action screenshots.

Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars will be released for the Wii in North America on January 26th.

Sources: Capcom-Unity, Siliconera

Nearly the entire roster for the upcoming Super Street Fighter 4 has been confirmed up to this point. Alongside the old street fighters Dee Jay and T.Hawk, and the newcomer Juri, some old favorites from the Street Fighter Alpha series – Guy, Cody, and Adon – have been confirmed.

However, a Japanese blog indicates that the newest issue of Famitsu will be revealing the remaining five characters left to be revealed in the roster – even though the character select screenshot on the internet shows only four remaining slots.

First up are characters from Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike: the british boxer, Dudley, the kunoichi, Ibuki, and Makoto…the boyish karate girl. Next, we have a new character named Hakan, the rumored new character with very few known concrete details. And finally, our mystery fifth character is named “Shadow”. It’s mentioned that Shadow can throw Sonic Booms. Another Seth-like character, perhaps? Or maybe an iteration of Shadow Charlie, a la Marvel Superheroes Vs. Street Fighter?

The game also has a release date and price set for Japan: April 1st, for 3980 Yen. According to a currency converter I used, that’s $44.03 USD, so perhaps they’ll be setting it at $39.99 over here? There has been no word on a North American release date or MSRP as of yet.

In any case, the issue of Famitsu that will confirm or dispel these rumors comes out this Thursday, so stay tuned.

Source: Wii @ Everyday, Shoryuken

Evolution, the premiere fighting game tournament in North America, will be held yet again in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, this year, the location is going to be the super upscale hotel/casino, Caesars Palace. In previous years, the organizers of the tournament needed to book a location and work out reservation deals with a hotel. Holding the tournament at Caesars Palace provides gamers with a venue and lodgings as close to the action as they can get.

For the uninitiated, the Evolution Championship Series is the biggest and most popular fighting game tournament in America, and possibly the world. Over the span of three days,  tournaments for at least six games are held, and competition from all over the world comes out to play. None of the games being played have been announced yet, but one can be certain that Super Street Fighter 4 and Tekken 6 will make their debut appearances. Get hype!

Sources: Shoryuken, Evo Championship Series

Even as someone who is into fighting games as a competitive medium, I still find myself strangely excited about this news! This week’s issue of Famitsu revealed that Super Street Fighter 4 will see a return of the bonus stages of Street Fighter 2 and Street Fighter 3. The ‘wreck the car’ bonus stage is practically confirmed, but we have yet to see what other bonus stages will be included.

And, for those of you who were hoping for less kitschy news, we’ve got some of that, too. When SSF4 was first announced, it was announced that there would be improvements to online play. The Famitsu article also provided the first news of what new online modes we can expect from the new and improved online experience.

First up is the much needed quarter matches. They’ll appear in the form of a game mode called “Endless Battle”, a lobby mode that allows up to eight players to join. Next up is “Team Battle”, which will (unfortunately!) not be a Dramatic Battle mode, a la the Street Fighter Alpha series. Instead, you’ll get a group of 2-4 players and pit them against 2-4 other opponents in a team tournament style. Finally, there will be a new “Replay Channel”, where one can check out other replays while talking to other players in voice chat (perhaps to discuss or dissect the video), and even save them to your hard drive.

Stay tuned for more developments as they come! Super Street Fighter 4 is slated for a Spring 2010 release for XBox360, PS3, and PC.

Source: 1up

Today developer/publisher KOEI announced that a videogame rendition of the legendary manga Fist of the North Star is currently in the works for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with FotNS, the story is set in a post-apocalyptic vision of Earth. Almost all of the Earth’s resources have been depleted and society has broken down into bands of gangs struggling to survive.

The main character, Kenshiro, is a martial arts expert with knowledge of a secret brand of Kung-fu that allows him to literally explode his enemies via pressure point manipulation. The series follows Kenshiro as he explores the wasteland looking for his lost love Yuria.

To get an idea of Kenshiro’s power and to see how this story is being converting into a game read on.

Producer Hisashi Koinuma (producer of Dynasty Warriors: Gundam) “promises to be faithful to the spirit of the original manga.” This is accomplished by having a story mode that follows the plot of the series. Koinuma also mentioned that FotNS will also feature a “completely new storyline” told in a separate game mode.

Currently slated to arrive in Japan sometime in 2010, KOEI has yet to announce release dates for other regions. As soon as more details arrive, you can be sure I’ll post them here on Gamer Limit. Until then, this clip from the Fist of the North Star anime will have to do.

Source: Shacknews.com