The trick is me trying to figure out something else to say about them. I think the creators have did an excellent job varying the strengths and weaknesses of the playable characters, so that you do need to vary your strategies depending on who you play as, and who you're up against. I was always a fan of Fox McCloud myself; being a big fan of using speed and quickness to land a few shots, then escape unscathed, and he had a nice upwards kick, to keep opponents flailing helplessly in the air, while I rack up their damage, until they eventually go flying high enough they're out of the ring. Plus, in the first game Fox had the Reflector Shield, where he could bounce projectile attacks back at his opponents. I think that was one of the missteps of Melee, that they gave all the characters shields with a similar ability. Granted those shields could be worn down from repeated attacks, but it took away one of Fox' selling points as a character.
Of course, Melee added a lot to the game that was good as well, I thought. The Adventure mode, where you pick a character and venture through all sorts of different levels, trying to accomplish different goals. In some cases you were defeating 20 Kirbys, or trying to escape from the Planet Zebes in a set time period, or just playing through an old-style Mario level. I actually really enjoyed the F-Zero level, where you were on the race track, trying to make it to the end without getting killed by the cars going hundreds of miles per hour. And there were the fights with Giga Bowser, where you are supremely outclassed, as you can see from the picture there. It's a very "Spider-Man vs. Juggernaut" vibe. And there were all the little trophies you could win, which were nice just to have and spend time looking at onscreen. Oooh, pretty.I must admit, when it came to multiplayer skirmishes, I tended to be a bit of a cheap shot artist. Not completely, but I did like to stay on the edges, and take potshots at whoever was in the line of fire, while everyone else pummels each other. It's a good strategy if you're playing survival mode, not so much if it's a contest to rack up the most kills. Although it did lead to a moment at a birthday party (the same one with the Goldeneye battle between Friend Jesse and my father), where I was winning every match, and the other three players realized this, and that I was winning by staying largely out of the fray. For a few moments there, it looked like it was going to get ugly, as they all focused their attention on me. But soon enough they resumed battering each other, and I was able to walk away with more victories. Video game battle favors the calm and focused mind, which is why I'm so bad at most other, more complex, fighting games, as I devolve into frantically pushing buttons in attempt to overwhelm my enemy with a flurry of attacks (that really comes back to bite me on Dead or Alive, when the computer starts countering all my attacks, so I essentially hurt myself).
2 comments:
Huh. I always stayed far away from Super Smash Bros. I was a king amongst gamers in the NES and Genesis eras. Platformers, shooters, rpgs, whatever. I'd beat 'em all.
But with the advent of fight games like Street Fighter II and Mortal Combat (and later things like Tekken and Killer Instinct), I completely lost interest in popular gaming. The games didn't seem that interesting to me and the necessity of knowing combos that you had to read a gaming mag to learn doomed any chance that I'd actually be able to enjoy the game. So I've stayed far away, as a matter of course, from anything resembling a fight game.
Is Super Smash Bros. in a category of its own? Or is it just one more in a litany?
the dane: Well, as far as fighting games go, Smash Bros isn't on the same level of complexity as the others you mentioned. There's a button to throw, and button to punch/kick, and one for special attacks (which you do depends on which direction you hold the control stick). If you just sit and watch the start screen, they do a roughly 2-minute tutorial that tells you basically all you need to know.
Plus Melee added the adventure mode I mentioned, which puts more platformer elements in there, with the running and jumping, and time limits on levels, so in that regard it goes beyond the basic fighting games. So I think it's different from the games you mentioned.
Post a Comment