Better Early [Killa Blog GOTY GAME OF THE YEAR 2010]

What's Killa Blog's Game of the Year? (It's pretty obvious when you look back, just like it was last year...)

(Please keep in mind all games involved with KB GotY are games that I've played and were released in calendar '10. League of Legends was released in 2009, making it ineligible, even though I didn't play it until 2010. Starcraft II should be a huge presence, but I didn't play it, so it's not up.)

GAME OF THE YEAR: Super Street Fighter IV

Well, if this isn't a weak knock off of last year's KB GotY's, I don't know what is. Vanilla Street Fighter IV dominated last year, and its Super upgrade keeps the industry's most uncoveted award on lock. SSFIV featured ten more fighters than its predecessor, (two of which were completely new), a new Ultra combo for every single character (and two for Gen), and the relatively unnoteworthy new locales and the return of bonus stages.

I'll have to take a look, but I've likely dumped even more hours into SSFIV than I did Vanilla, and my rivalry with Legoman has only intensified as our execution and overall gameplay has leveled up considerably. While we both still enjoy some Tekken or Soul Caliber when a guest suggests it, by default, the game we play is SSFIV. I don't know how things will change when Marvel 3 drops in February, but I have a feeling if the pendulum of playtime does swing away from Street Fighter, it'll swing back right around the time Arcade Edition DLC drops. (Smart Capcom.)

Super edged out some strong contenders including BioShock 2, Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, and Final Fantasy XIII. I never played Mega Man 10 or Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker as I had intended, but that is emblematic of my gaming this year. BS2 and FFXIII were the only singleplayer games I chose. The rest of my gaming was devoted to competition, either LoL'ing with Big Sis Prinny or testing my Theory Fighter against Legoman and the trolls of PSN.


To review:

BEST NEW CHARCTER DESIGN: Juri (SSFIV)
BEST NEW ENEMY: Big Sister (BioShock 2)
BEST NEW LEVEL: Taejin's Tower (FFXIII)
BEST NEW GAMEPLAY MECHANIC: Baroque (TvC)

You're welcome for the early arrival. Figured I'd make amends. Thoughts?

Better Early [2010 GOTY BEST NEW GAMEPLAY MECHANIC]

BEST NEW GAMEPLAY MECHANIC: Baroque (TvC)

To be honest, this was the toughest category by far, sadly only because none of the nominees really stood out. The Baroque from Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom narrowly edged out FFXIII's Paradigm Shift job-changing system which was slick, but ultimately not that much fun. BioShock 2's Protect Little Sister segments were a lot of fun, but ultimately not very original. SSFIV's Ultra Select has been quite a game changer, but when compared to SFIII's Super Art select, it's really not all that new.

The Baroque is not tremendously original either, borrowing heavily from Guilty Gear's Roman Cancel, better known these days as BlazBlue's Rapid Cancel. The SFIV series also has the EX Focus Attack. All of these expend meter to cancel an attack during its animation, normally to either extend a combo, or to cancel out of a blocked move to avoid punishment. The X-Factor in the upcoming Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 performs a similar cancelling function, bestows boosts based on when it is activated, and has been seen in early videos to allow characters to X-Factor cancel one Hyper into another, or the same Hyper. Double Magnetic Shockwave == "Welcome to Die".

The Baroque has a couple of interesting characteristics that differentiate it from the aforementioned. Instead of using meter, or a one time activation (ala X-Factor), Baroque sacrifices a character's recoverable red health to activate the cancel. Once activated, subsequent attacks in the combination recieve a damage bonus based on the amount of red health used to execute the Baroque. This all adds up to some intense comebacks, wherein the more badly beaten a character is, the greater the potential damage they can unleash.

In the VS series, traditionally, a character will slowly recover their red health while tagged out. The choice then becomes, swap characters so that the injured partner can come back strong later in the match, or throw caution to the wind and go for Baroque.



And, man, do I like comebacks.

This pic is actually from Marn vs. Keits at the 2010 Midwest Championships. To be clear, Marn does not use Baroque for comebacks in TvC, since he's never behind in TvC. Baroque is kind of broken on a rushdown character with extended combo's like Martin Phan's Zero because it can be used over and over again in a match.

Better Early [2010 GOTY BEST NEW LEVEL]

BEST NEW LEVEL: Taejin's Tower (FFXIII)

SSFIV's Solar Eclipse and Crumbling Laboratory were fun, but I can't really give a KB GotY award to a background. Siren's Alley in BioShock 2 really stood out as well, using a relatively small space to convey a great deal of action and narrative, but it was not as impressive as the Tower.

Taejin's Tower was one of many visually stunning environments in Final Fantasy XIII, along with Orphan's Cradle, Oerba, and Gran Pulse in general, and it was one of the relatively few with bearing on gameplay. It is actually a little talked about series hallmark, joining the ranks of FFVII's Shinra Tower, FFVIII's Deep Sea Research Center, and FFX-2's Via Infinito, among others, as vertically oriented dungeons with enumerated levels.

While not labyrnthine, Taejin's Tower contains some of the more robust puzzle elements in all of FFXIII, which isn't really saying much.


(I really would have liked to have had LoL's Magma Chamber up for the award, but , *cough* riot *cough*.

Better Early [2010 GOTY BEST NEW ENEMY]

BEST NEW ENEMY: Big Sister (BioShock 2)

The outstanding opponent this time around is the incredibly strong Big Sister of the sequel to BioShock. If you thought Rapture threw some tough baddies your way the first time around, you were in for a surprise in BioShock 2. A far deadlier and more agile boss than the Big Daddies of the predecessor, these encounters (at least earlier in the game) necessitated a greater degree of caution and planning than their lumbering counterparts.

By the end of my second run through the original BioShock, Big Daddies were no longer very frightening, as I had learned to beat them to death with a pipe wrench, which denotes a degree of comfort. Bigger, stronger Big Daddies with more hit points wouldn't have been a game changer in BS2, which lead to the inclusion of their nimbler cousins. In the original, Big Daddies would be seen in the wild, making their rounds, escorting Little Sisters, ignoring the player, which enabled the player to observe and learn the route and plan accordingly.

Encounters with Big Sister followed a different pattern. After taking care of enough Little Sisters (one way or the other), Big Sister would come find you, wherever you were, to initiate the fight. She would then proceed to blast you with plasmids, drain your EVE with a giant needle, go fucking Maximum Spider on your ass, as well as generate telekinetic debris storms to deter you. Overall a much more harrowing experience.



This official final sketch by Colin Fix.

A runner up nod goes to the recurring boss Barthandelus from FFXIII.

Better Early [2010 GOTY BEST NEW CHARACTER DESIGN]

Time for the Killa Blog Game of the Year Awards again. I am sure everyone is thrilled.

I'll break up what was once an extremely long post in an effort to not frighten y'all. I'll do one category each post culminating in the Game of the Year award. As if it wasn't painfully obvious.

BEST NEW CHARCTER DESIGN: Juri (SSFIV)

There was a lot of controversy internally about last year's Best New Character Design winner, with a lot of dissent in favor of Rufus. I don't suppose this makes up for the snub, but Juri really stands out amongst her peers in the category.

Her Super counterpart Hakan is also a very fresh look for SF characters, but Juri far and away has the superior and more appealing design. FFXIII's gruff protagonist Lightning, BioShock 2's Subject Delta, and LoL's Miss Fortune were all candidates, but not quite up to snuff.

Juri Han is a malevolent bloodthirsty Korean girl with a ki boosing implant in her eye, which she uses to amp up her "Taekwondo". She has a ton of interesting normal attacks, a teleport counter, a focus-breaking dive kick, a custom combo ultra and, uh, oh yeah, she throws fireballs with her fucking feet.



This pic is from Boss Logic's Street Fighter X Tron series on Deviant Art.

Better Late [Killa Blog GOTY]

What's Killa Blog's Game of the Year? (Pretty obv, when you look back.)

(Please keep in mind these are games I've played and were released in calendar '09. Bioshock and Resistance 2, for example, are not eligible.)

GAME OF THE YEAR: Street Fighter IV

Huge game especially for fighting fans, really rejuvenating the tournament scene in a big way. I personally spent hundreds of hours playing, and am eagerly awaiting the Super update this spring. Why so popular? People love a good Street Fighter, and Capcom went the right direction, bringing in everything great from Super Turbo, learning from the mistakes of III, all while combining graphics and an art style that updated the franchise.

Compared to MGS4, the game that ultimately trumped Fallout 3 for 2008 KB GOTY, '09 proved to be more of a competitive year. Fighters dominated my playing time, and therefore, Killa Blog.


BEST NEW CHARCTER DESIGN: Luna Himeki (VanPri)

Vanguard Princess's provocative, futuristic gunslinger takes the cake. Stiff competition from the likes of SFIV's Rufus, BlazBlue's Ragna the Bloodedge, Tekken 6's Alisa and L4D2's Coach, but a true gem shines through. Terminal Emission Libery Art FTW.


BEST NEW ENEMY: Freakin' Chainsaw Guy (RE5)

Ah, the Freakin' Chainsaw Guy from Resident Evil 5 got a lot of chatter on KB earlier this year. I don't think any enemy presented such a monument to mechanized equipment and close-quarters terror.


BEST NEW LEVEL: Dead Center - Atrium (L4D2)

Oooh yeah. The opening campaign of Left 4 Dead 2, while primarily indoor, is a great contrast from the original L4D that showcases the more colorful and open environments, the clever use of vertical space, and the realistic, often humorous attention to detail.

The final stage is the Scavenge segment, tasking players with collecting gas cans to fuel a stock car on display in order to make an exciting escape. The Atrium is so well designed that it plays great after dozens of rounds and is eagerly anticipated by survivors and special infected players alike. Total classic.


BEST NEW GAMEPLAY MECHANIC: Saving Attack (SFIV)

AKA the Focus Attack in North America, pressing medium punch and kick simultaneously will execute this technique that significantly consolidated the landscape of Street Fighter. Why 'consolidated'? The Alpha series' Alpha Counters, SFIII's parries, Guilty Gear's Roman Cancels, and Namco's unblockables all rolled into one. Yes, the Focus Attack is a revelation.

Street Fighter IV is so playable because of its take on its own fighter heritage. Eliminating air blocking could have returned the SF world to a jump-punishing dark age, but the Focus system accomodates more modern styles of ground fighting, particularly zoning and poking, allowing walking speed and backdash attributes to flourish as character strengths.



Sorry for the late arrival. Figured now or never. Thoughts?