THE BEST OF EVO 2011 : MARVEL vs CAPCOM 3 SEMIFINALS JUSTIN WONG'S AKUMA

New York City's very own Justin Wong, the king of the now defunct Chinatown fair arcade in Mott St. pulls off Two amazing comebacks in a row in this Semifinal vs Richard Nguyen.

Justin playing Wolverine, She-Hulk and Akuma on your left, the first win is nice in it's own right but the second come from behind win with AKUMA is just sick.

enjoy:

ULTIMATE MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3 : DOCTOR STRANGE VIDEO

So many game announcements that it's hard for me to keep up or even care, but by Vishanti, the Sorcerer Supreme's debut in a fighting game can not go unmentioned.

Although I could never imagine Stephen Strange as someone who would go fist a cuffs with the likes of Ryu, his spells, teleportation and enchantments look spot on, even his creepy "I'm starting an all females defenders" pre-fight comment to CHUN LI, fits him perfectly to a tee.
 (editors note : see Strange's relationship with his one time apprentice Clea.)

Kudos to Capcom for taking a risk with the good Doctor now I can't wait to see some Iron Fist clips.



Note: They also released a clip of another addition to the game on the CAPCOM side of the game
Nemesis from RESIDENT EVIL 3, I really don't have any feelings either way but I'll add it for those who care:

Marvel vs Capcom 3 final boss battle Video

See it while you can since this is actual cease and desist material I'm hoping to get this out before the major game news outlets get to it.

My thoughts? I wasn't a fan of the giant Apocalypse battle in X-men vs Street fighter and Onslaught in Marvel vs Capcom, anyone who's read Marvel comics featuring Galactus should understand that he's not a villain but a force of nature who could care less about the inhabitants of the world he's devouring, making his face grimace and attack using his hands just looks silly to me.

just click below to find out.


Galactus Boss Fight Marvel vs Capcom 3
Uploaded by WhalingDan. - Discover more gaming videos.

MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3: HSIEN-KO & SENTINEL

On of my favorite Darkstalkers, Hsien-Ko made the cut ( I really hope there's a Japanese voice option for this game ala Street Fighter 4 )







along with everyones favorite Mutie hunting SENTINEL ( hope he comes with the Blue and Orange Mets / Mango color sceme )

MVC3 AKUMA & TASKMASTER Videos

Akuma was a no brainer for Marvel Vs Capcom 3 - but Taskmaster for those of you not familiar with Avengers history is a mercenary that has an interesting ability aptly named Photographic reflexes. any fighting style he sees, he can duplicate.

He can't replicate or absorb powers like rogue, but he's learned moves from the likes of Captain America, Daredevil, Spider-man, Ironfist, Hawkeye, The Swordsman just to name a few.

sweet.

Now here's a grainy video of the both of them in action:

Marvel vs Capcom 3 : Alternate Costumes Preview

By Seth Killian MVC3 developer

courtesy of Marvel.com

As far as career highlights go, working on Marvel vs. Capcom 3 for Marvel definitely ranks way up there for me. (And as far as obvious statements I’ve made go, my last sentence ranks pretty highly itself.) From the start, I’ve had the honor of personally working closely with Capcom to ensure everything Marvel in the game feels appropriately, well, “Marvel”—from character designs to environments to the phrases that come out of the characters’ mouths. Basically, I’ve acted as a fan on the inside, making sure that the stuff in the game is as cool as it’s always been in Marvel fighting games from Capcom—actually, to do my best to help it become even better!

That’s a tall order, too—they may be on the other side of the world, but the folks developing the game really know their Marvel characters! But one of the things I’m proud to say I’ve actively helped to influence was the creation of alternate color schemes for all of the characters. As a holiday gift to you—or maybe just to show all this cool stuff off on the internet—I’d like to show you the kinds of things I’ve worked with the team to bring to the game in this regard.

First, some back story of what I’m talking about here, in case you’re new to this whole Capcom fighting-game thing. Basically, a game like this allows you to pit the exact same characters against themselves, providing the need for differentiation of their visual presentation. With a few exceptions (such as Gray Hulk), this has always meant some sort of random color variation without a ton of thought behind why, leading to characters like the “mango Sentinel” that makes you think of the New York Knicks (hardcore MvC2 fans know exactly why that reference is so Pringles…). So…I took it upon myself to help in putting a ton of thought into the color variations this time.

If you know comics, you know most characters have one or two iconic outfits we associate with them...plus, in many cases, many others we don’t. What follows is a small sample of the color variations you can expect when you play MvC3, plus an explanation of the thought that went behind each, usually based on less iconic ensembles. There were two key rules we had to deal with as we selected each alternate color scheme:

1. Gameplay comes first, so the color scheme has to differ enough from the others to easily differentiate in the heat of battle. Because of this, we can’t do alternates like “Bucky Cap” for Captain America—they’re just not different enough.

2. The color scheme has to fit on the character model. For this reason, I hesitate to call these “alternate costumes” (although in some cases, they actually are). With so many characters, changing the models to get completely authentic alternates in there would delay the game quite a bit—and we think you want to play in February. You’ll see some examples of this below.

So, with that in mind, here are five characters, along with their three alternate color schemes, along with the story behind each. And yes—they all have a story.

IRON MAN

Here, we have Tony Stark’s primary suit of choice, based on the popular Extremis look he’s sported with regularity over the past few years. (Yeah, yeah… I know he’s not wearing it now—he’s just worn it a lot’s all I’m sayin’…)

The team would love to have gotten the “Tin Can” first-ever look for Iron Man from TALES OF SUSPENSE #39 in there… but adapting the color scheme to this character model will have to do.

The stealth suit is just plain badass. It hasn’t appeared much in the comics, but we don’t care. It serves the color differentiation purposes well, plus it’s actually a fairly close fit to the source material.

And, my personal favorite—the Silver Centurion color scheme. Actually, I think this combination of Silver Centurion colors with Extremis svelte makes for my favorite Iron Man costume ever.

WOLVERINE

That’s right, bub—this is the primary look Wolvie’s been sporting since ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 in 2004. You might not notice at first, but it’s actually quite different from his similarly colored MvC2 outing, especially in the lower legs and, uh, ear things.

I’m proud to say I’m friends with Craig Kyle, the co-creator of X-23, as well as the new take on X-Force that started in 2008 (and producer on next year’s THOR movie—guy gets around!). The new X-FORCE comic—which was recently relaunched as UNCANNY X-FORCE—introduced this great gray/black color scheme for Marvel’s most popular mutant.

Another classic! The brown suit is predictable, sure, but it’s gotta go in there. Of course, the ASTONISHING X-MEN model adds some variation to it we’ve never seen before, but I kind of like that, actually.

When it came to the fourth suit, the pickings suddenly got slim—so I resorted to expanding the idea a bit here by dipping into one of my all-time favorite (if all-time convoluted) X-Men stories, “Age of Apocalypse.” You might recall Wolvie was missing a hand in that one and didn’t have a mask. Well, this is what he looked like right before he lost the hand! Right? Two hands and a mask. The justification works for me, and I’m sticking to it. Frankly, I’m just glad I got some AoA love in there.

SHE-HULK

The classic look of Jennifer Walters.

Now, this might stir up a bit of She-Hulk controversy, but rather than go with the “She-Hulk in the Fantastic Four” costume you might predict, Capcom convinced us that the “Lyra in the Frightful Four” look was better for gameplay—Lyra having a red outfit and red hair and all. Plus, in a weird way you get an extra character (who just so happens to move and talk like Jennifer Walters). Wait, you don’t know Lyra? Read some SHE-HULKS then, written by the guy I could throw Pac-Man figures at from my desk if I wanted to, Harrison Wilcox.

And the “She-Hulk that isn’t Jennifer Walters” theme continues with this ensemble, which you may have seen in Damon Lindelof’s—yeah, the LOST guy—ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS. HULK. In the Ultimate Universe, She-Hulk is actually Betty Ross, not Jennifer Walters.

Oh, and speaking of Betty Ross…we’ve also got a take on Red She-Hulk.

SPIDER-MAN

You might have played a game or two wearing this suit before.

Maybe even this one.

And less likely, but still possibly, this one.

Definitely not this one, though. (Dan Slott, where you at?...)

MAGNETO

Behold, the Master of Magnet! …Uh, -ism. The Master of Magnetism! (Sorry about that, X-chickens—X-Men Arcade new on Xbox Live and PSN and all…)

In the Ultimate Universe, they spell “Erik Lehnsherr” as “Erik Lensherr,” and he prefers darker hues mixed with a deeper shade of red.

Mixing it up a bit is Magneto from the Mutant X Universe. No big yellow X on his belt, but hey…if you ask me, it’s an improvement.

Finally, you might know this version of a Magneto as a version of Magneto I can’t say on a family blog like this—let’s just call him “MAG-F#$%IN’-NETO”! That’s right. The MvC2 variant from that delightfully profane, wildly popular viral video. Gotta respect the old school (pardon me—OLD SCHOOL!), my friends…

So, there you have it—the first in what I hope is a series of blog entries like these that reveal all the alternate color schemes of all the Marvel characters, plus the thinking behind each and every one. Of course, your comments will inspire me to get off my butt and actually do it, so please, let me know what you think. The more thoughtful your comments, the more inspired I’ll be to reveal more. So, on that note…

Excelsioryuken!

Storm and C. Viper make the cut (MVC3)

Storm, former pick pocket/ X-men / Dracula's concubine / Mohawk punk chick / Leader of the Morlocks and X-men / queen of Wakanda and Goddess of Thunder made the roster of Marvel vs Capcom 3




Oh I almost forgot, C.Viper made it as well

NYCC coverage part 2 : Marvel vs Capcom 3.

First of I want to reassure everyone freaking out over the horribly cheesy character voices, Capcom rep at NYCC confirmed that the option to change to the Japanese voices will be incorporated into the US version ( like Super Street Fighter 4)

That being said the game plays a lot like Tatsunoko vs Capcom ( which didn't bode well for me since I've only played that game a handful of times. The game looks terrific, feels responsive but the control scheme change threw me for a loop, but I'm sure the option to change the controller to a more familiar set up will be in the final version.

Big announcement characters will have complete alternate costumes!

(the following Four costumes have been confirmed for Spidey)

So will we see Layton's Iron man?

Simonson's Thor?

Mr. Fixit?

only time will tell.

NEW CHARACTERS ANNOUNCED:

MODOK (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing) insane!



MAGNETO ( A classic )




ARTHUR ( Ghouls N Ghosts )




Spencer ( bionic Commando )




The only thing worth hating about this game for me is the release date of Spring 2011!

Super Street Fighter 4 : New Characters Confirmed

Yun and Yang, The twin Kung fu fighters from the Street Fighter 3 series have been confirmed for the arcade editiion of Super Street fighter 4 and will soon be available as downlaodable content for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

I'm not a Yun and Yang player ( shit I can't even tell them apart ) but I'm sure someone who plays SSF4 online must be jumping for joy. ( I would have preffered Alex or Q from SF: 3 )

here's a clip:

MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3: TRON BONNE & X-23

Here's some MVC3 gameplay footage of the recently announced Tron Bonne from Mega Man Legends and Marvel vs Capcom 2 with her trusty servbot.

and the controversial X-23, wolverine's female teenage clone that I believe he's taken under his wing in the comics ( who can tell nowadays, Wolverine is in every Marvel title )

The only thing that concerns me are the English voices for all the characters, I kind of miss the Japanese voices with their broken "engrish" for certain moves.

oh well hopefully Capcom will add a Japanese voice option like SSF4.

here's the clip, enjoy:

A GRANDAIZA EXCLUSIVE! MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3:THE REMAINING CAST OF CHARACTERS

I don't know where to begin with this...so I'm starting this post with a fitting, appropriate video clip that sums up how I feel right now......



Capcom wants to give you the roster to MvC3 in drips and drabs but I can't bite my tongue any longer, I have it on a very reliable source that the following are THE remaining characters. Call me crazy but when the "official" announcement comes, remember where you heard it first.

ready? here we go:

CAPCOM:

MIKE HAGGAR ( Final Fight, Saturday Night Slammasters)
FRANK WEST (Dead Rising)
ARTHUR ( Ghouls n Ghosts )
ALBERT WESKER ( Resident Evil )
VIEWTIFUL JOE ( Duh!)
ZERO ( Mega Man Zero )
TRON BONNE ( Mega man, MvC2 )
HSIEN-KO ( Darkstalkers )
CHUCK SPENCER ( That new Bionic commando guy with the claw arm )
AKUMA ( Raging demon coming at ya! )
FELICIA ( Cat chick from Darkstalkers )

MARVEL:

WAR MACHINE ( James Rhodes, see IM2 )
MR. FANTASTIC ( Reed Richards, leader of the Fantastic Four )
ELEKTRA ( Greek ninja chick that had a thing with Daredevil )
X-23 ( Wolverine's clone "daughter" and member of X-force )
MAGNETO ( X-men Adversary / Ally )
SHUMA-GORATH ( From the "evil squid demon" dimension )
EMMA FROST ( Half naked mutie psi-witch )
TASKMASTER ( Merc with Photographic reflexes )
JUGGERNAUT ( Who? )
SHE-HULK ( Jenny Walters, Lawyer, super heroine, Juggernaut's friend with benefits )
SPIDER-MAN ( I think he's a photographer or something )

MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3: 4 MORE CHARACTERS ANNOUNCED

With almost a year before the game drops, Capcom has decided to give us the roster to their much anticipated fighting game in drips and drabs ( and like a true sucker I'm hanging on with baited breath to every announcement waiting for either Thor or Ben Grimm )

NEW ADDITIONS FOR CAPCOM:

- CHUN LI ( a shoe in, she's ever missed a game)

- TRISH ( The Female interest in Devil May Cry, don't know much about her but she looks fun )

AND FOR MARVEL:

- DOCTOR DOOM (It's funny that they would announce him and not an obvious character like Spiderman)

- SUPER SKRULL (This bodes bad for any of the Fantastic Four making it into the game since he's covers all of their powers in one green little package )

here's the clip:

Here's my MvC3 obscure wishlist:

CAPCOM

- Q ( Street Fighter 3 : 3rd Strike - Mystery man wearing a trench coat and an Ultraman mask.)

- LOST PLANET NEVEC PIRATES ( Sweet!)

- DR. WILEY ( Mega Man Villain who summons evil robots )

- ARTHUR ( Fabled king and hero from the classic Ghouls N Ghosts series )

- FOCKER ( Power Stones Pilot guy )

- HAYATO ( from Rival Schools , the gym teacher that makes you do push-ups)

- PHEONIX WRIGHT ( Who wouldn't want to beat up an Ace Attorney? )

MARVEL

- THOR ( He's got a movie coming out, now's the time to get Storm out of there and give the God of Thunder his due)

- Mr. IMPOSSIBLE ( It would be insane, but oh so much fun )

- IRON FIST ( With out question )

- MANDARIN ( 10 Rings of fun for everyone )

- MOON KNIGHT or DAREDEVIL ( I'll take what I can get )

But my number one must have character is Chauncey Streets very own the ever loving blue eyed THING - BEN GRIMM!

MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3: IRON MAN LvL 3 SUPER

Uni-beam!

EVO LAS VEGAS 2010 SSF4 GRAND FINAL RESULTS

Awesome live streaming of the fights with commentary, big thanks to the team at Levelup-series.com.

This is the first time that I actually watched the matches leading up to the finals and I have to say I was blown away with the variety of characters selected and pleasantly surprised to see that players are breaking away from characters that I consider boring like Sagat, Ken and Ryu.

Super Street Fighter 4 SEMI-FINALS
Justin Wong (Rufus) vs Gamerbee (Adon)
(One of my favorite matches)

Not for any cool moves or super comback, what made this match for me was the on camera pre-fight interview where the favored Justin Wong was overheard by Gamerbee stating that Adon was a weak bottom tier character, so what does Gamerbee do? he eliminates Justin with.....Adon, bazinga!




and now on to the Final Match:

Super Street Fighter 4

Finalists Daigo vs Ricky Ortiz

WINNER: Daigo

EVO 2010 LIVE!

Evo 2010 fighting game tournament is going on right now in Las Vegas.

SSF4, MvsC2, TvsC, and Much more!

Now you can catch all the action live from Vegas this weekend on GRANDAIZA.com!

just click below and enjoy:


Video streaming by Ustream

LOOK MA!! I'M FAMOUS!

Here's a little video that I stumbled upon while searching google for my username and blog, apparently one of the players of this Super Street Fighter 4 team battle was so impressed by my Blanka skills that he had to share it with the world.

All kidding aside, I love this age of online gaming and video sharing, it's simply amazing (like my street fighting skills)

Check out the video below and enjoy:

KING OF CHINATOWN STREET FIGHTER DOC.

I first met Justin Wong back in the mid 90's when I use to frequent the game and robot shops on Elizabeth St. in New York's Chinatown.

He was (and probably still is) a regular at a small arcade on Mott St. (the one with the Tic Tac Toe chicken) that use to get all the major fighting game cabinets before anywhere else in the city.

I played against him (most of the times, he was the guy who everyone was trying to get beat to stay on he machine) during my unemployed, wild vagabond days at that very arcade during one of many crowded stay and play sessions of Street Fighter 3 : 3rd strike, I plunked my Quarter down on the cabinet, waited my turn and lost several Dollars each visit never 0nce winning a match.

Ten years later, I have a good job with benefits, a wife and a child and he's making a living playing Street fighter....life sucks.



To give you a little back story on the Justin x Daigo rivalry. They are responsible for the greatest Street fighter video comeback I've ever seen. EVO semifinals Las Vegas 2004, Justin paying Chun Li and Daigo as Ken.

Justin, thinking that he has the win and the game with a Super move with Chun Li in the final round get's a rude awakening for Daigo's Ken.

I know you've seen this clip before but let's look at the entire match and wonder why we don't see highlights of Tournaments in HD on G4 or SPIKE.



Five years Later, Justin & Daigo met again in Vegas at the 2009 Evo Street Fighter 4
( sorry for the video quality)

Part 1


Part 2


Give it up Justin, Daigo is a Beast!

STREET FIGHTER 3 : THIRD STRIKE.....BEST OF THE BEST.

Here's a nice montage of some of the sickest Street Fighter 3 : Third Strike Tourney gameplay combos, parries and comebacks!

Capcom needs to put everything aside and get this out on the PSN and XBOX with online versus......NOW!

MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3: COMING IN 2011!!

CAPCOM has officially announced that after 10 years the sequel to the popular "versus" game has a sequel in production with an expected release date 2011 2nd quarter.

The game will be released on PS3 and xbox 360 and will use a graphics engine similar to the Tatsunoko vs Capcom game released on the wii earlier this year.

Expect character design updates and online play.


here's the trailer:

SUPER STREET FIGHTER 4 PREVIEW

Courtesy of gametrailers.com




April 27th will be the day that I lay my pimp hand on the Paystation network.

WITH DAN!!!!!!!!

I can't wait for this to drop, it's like Christmas in April!

If you feel up to the challenge my playstation id is: GRANDAIZA and I will gladly serve you.

Video Games Super Street Fighter IV Preview

XBox 360 Playstation 3 Nintendo Wii