Massively Multiplayer: Gaming In The New Millennium
- Thread starter RySenkari
- Start date
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That COULD come down the road, in a similar way to the SNES-CD standalone unit that came out in 1995. IOTL, Sony took PS2 backward compatibility out of the PS3 to drop the price, since it was already way too high. The Sapphire is priced competitively ITTL, so that's not quite as much of a concern.
The successor console might take out backwards compatibility, at least for everything except the Sapphire. We'll see.
I doubt we'd get any kind of Selena series ITTL. She's got too much money to do one of those VH1/MTV reality-type shows, plus she's already producing her daughter's Disney show. We MIGHT get some kind of biopic about her, maybe about her relationship with Chris Perez, or we could also get a kind of animated film (sort of like OTL's Mariah Carey Christmas movie). An animated DTV film is most likely (and would make another nice little vehicle for her goddaughter Inez's voice acting career), but I'm not so sure we even get that. Selena has enough money and enough fame, and her focus as of this time is to help the people she's close to achieve their own dreams of fame. It's why she went into music production, it's why she's producing her daughter's Disney show... she enjoys helping the people she cares about more than she loves performing for herself.
It's nice to get that kind of information. On the other hand, I would prefer if Wave games could still be played on the successor console, as well as some later Ultra Nintendo games, but the latter is optional.
Spring 2009 (Part 13) - More Fighting Fighters
Street Fighter V
Street Fighter V is the fifth mainline game in Capcom's acclaimed 2-D fighting game series and the first for the seventh generation consoles. It's released for the Nintendo Sapphire and the Apple iTwin, and would eventually be ported to the iPod Play and iPhone. It continues the storylines from Street Fighter IV, with a new "Legends" mode that allows players to experience a more in-depth single player story where they can choose any fighter they wish to play through a multi-chaptered quest. Other than that, the game features the typical slate of versus modes and online play, building upon what Street Fighter IV started. The game features fleshed out 3-D graphics that are significantly improved from those of the previous game, still retaining a slightly cel shaded style but with smoother textures and more detail. It also builds majorly upon the roster of 20 characters that Street Fighter IV utilized: Street Fighter V includes 24 playable characters from the very beginning, including all of the characters from Street Fighter IV and several returning characters, including Sagat. Many of these returning characters appeared in Super Street Fighter IV, which brought back some (but not all) of the characters dropped for IV. Street Fighter V brings mostly everyone back and adds numerous new characters, ultimately featuring 37 characters in the base game, with others available via DLC. Characters new to the series include Flora, a beautiful woman/plant hybrid, Delgo, an expert in Krav Maga, and Nolan, a former cop who took up street fighting to avenge the death of his partner. These characters join a roster full of classic fighters, including a few who have some new tricks up their sleeve. M. Bison returns as the game's main villain, having augmented himself with cybernetic parts. Dataka and Mitsue from Shadaloo Wars make their main series debut as the first two DLC characters, sold as part of a "Shadaloo Wars" pack that fleshes out the main story and brings events from that game into the world of Street Fighter V (because of the game being set in an alternate continuity, the DLC tells the events of that game a bit differently). The main plotline, however, sees a returning and powerful Bison manipulating the governments of the world using a cyborg army. One of these cyborg soldiers, Codek, is Bison's new lieutenant, replacing Sagat, who is furious at Bison's betrayal (he's not a "good guy" in the game, but he does hold a major grudge against Bison). Bison also attempts to kidnap several fighters and augment them with robot parts. Ryu and Chun-Li are captured, and Ken and Cammy lead the effort to save them. Nolan plays a major role in the game's story (it's Bison who was responsible for the death of his partner), and the story itself brings back numerous storylines from past Street Fighter games, though in somewhat of a disjointed way.
Street Fighter V is released in April 2009, a few months after its debut in Japanese arcades. The game's storyline is for the most part decently received, but is seen by some, especially casual fans, as a bit of a mess. The game itself would ultimately receive mixed reviews: the graphics themselves are good, but not groundbreaking, and once the Apple handheld port is announced, it's rumored that Apple asked Capcom to deliberately tone down the graphics to make an iPod Play port easier (Sapphire owners in particular are not pleased, comparing the game to Killer Instinct 4, Rare's fighter looks MUCH better). The gameplay is probably what gets the coldest reception: it's seen as being a bit too derivative of Street Fighter IV, and a number of updates and character balance changes are also received somewhat poorly. The game seems to play a bit "slow" in comparison to Street Fighter IV, and a lot of the new characters are also seen as being bland, boring, or just plain weak. The general fan reaction is that the game is a "mess", and critics aren't extremely kind to it, giving the game an average score of around 7/10. The game is a definite critical disappointment, but early sales are strong, and it does extremely well on the iTwin, becoming one of the best selling iTwin titles of the year. The game's flaws aren't so glaring on Apple's system, and it actually doesn't play quite as slowly, leading to accusations of the Sapphire version being neutered somewhat. The controversy over the game lights up gaming news sites and message boards during the spring of 2009, though the news would become somewhat lost in the face of two other much more well received fighters being released. Street Fighter V is a controversial but ultimately successful entry in the series, and fans are confident that Capcom will pull it together the next time around.
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(Authors' Note: The concept for the Divine Wrath series and several ideas for the game were given to us by the reader HonestAbe1809!)
Divine Wrath 4
Divine Wrath 4 is the fourth game in Acclaim's popular fighting game series featuring gods from different pantheons battling it out with each other for control of the souls of all living beings. This is the first multiplatform release in the series, after the original game was exclusive to Ultra Nintendo and the second and third games were exclusive to the Xbox. It's the first HD entry in the series, and the first to include both guest fighters and eventually DLC fighters. Divine Wrath 4 features a massive graphical improvement over its predecessor, and an increased focus on counters and playing up individual character strengths, with more distinct character niches to give each character in the game their own unique feel, strengths, and weaknesses. It makes matchups and finding a "main" much more important than in previous titles, and allows certain characters who were somewhat underplayed in previous games to have their chance to shine. The game has ditched a third of the roster from Divine Wrath 3, dropping 15 of that game's 45 character roster. However, in their place are 12 new characters, including one very controversial new addition and for the first time ever, characters from actual other media (however, most of the guest characters would show up only in DLC).
Here is the game's initial 42 fighter roster, before DLC:
Thor
Odin
Loki
Zeus
Hercules
Hades
Apollo
Athena
Medusa
Shiva
Vishnu
Lakshmi
Ra
Horus
Anubis
Gabriel
Lucifer
Amaterasu
Izanagi
Hachiman
Artemis
Hephaestus
Pele
Poseidon
Osiris
Uncle Sam
Mammon
Exmachina
Santa Claus
Iris
War
Famine
Pestilence
Death
God
Constitution
Enki
Enlil
Shango
Cu Chulainn
The Mask
Hellboy
Iris originally appeared as Media in Divine Wrath 3, but has shed her disguise, fully embracing her original identity (but retaining some of her newscaster traits). The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse make their debut here and serve as the villains of the game's main storyline. Death is fairly self explanatory, appearing in his classic form as a skeleton in a black robe, but his personality is somewhat of an homage to the Death from Discworld, and he's voiced by Ian Richardson. War is very similar to Kratos from OTL's God Of War, but much more manic and bloodthirsty. He's voiced by Terrence Carson. Famine appears as a pale, beautiful, but very skeletal thin supermodel-like figure, voiced by Grey Delisle. Pestilence appears as a classic plague doctor, able to spread disease via insects and syringes, and is voiced by Tobin Bell. God is, of course, the most notable new addition to the game, and is indeed the Judeo-Christian God, appearing in his classic "old man in a robe" form and utilizing attacks with a lot of power while having his wrathful Old Testament personality. Constitution is a woman based off of the classic naval ship legends and is stylized like a human version of Old Ironsides, using cannon and water based attacks on foes (she takes Lady Liberty's place on the roster). Enki and Enlil are classic Sumerian gods, Shango is a deity from Yoruba legend, and Cu Chulainn comes from Irish lore. The Mask and Hellboy are classic Dark Horse comics characters acquired by Acclaim. The Mask utilizes darkly cartoonish attacks, while Hellboy (who, yes, is voiced by Ron Perlman) is a smartass who utilizes a variety of gadgets and brute force on his divine foes. The storyline of the game involves the Four Horsemen, led by Death, rebelling against God and coming to Earth before their time, wreaking havoc and destruction while God rallies a divine force to try and stop them. Lucifer slyly plays off both sides, while gods of various pantheons take various sides for various reasons. The plot is admittedly a mess, but is also a lot of fun, and is played mostly for laughs. The storyline mode, which is called Apocalypse, is playable from one of three sides: God's army, the army of the Four Horsemen, or a neutral faction, and plays out somewhat differently in each branch. Each side has 14 characters aligned with it, so whoever you choose places you on one of the three sides. Each character has their own unique cutscenes, though the storyline plays out the same way for each character in that faction. Some of the more interesting routes include Hellboy's (as a reluctant soldier in God's army, though he still plays by his own rules), Lucifer's (as a neutral baddie who at first tries to act like he's going back to God's side but really just wants to cause chaos), and Iris (who sides with the Four Horsemen because the Apocalypse would make a hell of a news story).
The game is released on June 2009, for all three current HD consoles. It would eventually be ported to the handhelds in early 2010. To say it's controversial would be a MASSIVE understatement. The inclusion of the actual Biblical God in the game (and thus the ability to brutally kill him via the various fatalities each fighter has) causes the game to be condemned by a number of religious groups. It's the most controversial game to be released in quite some time, perhaps even moreso than Grand Theft Auto II. However, most of the people who are going to pick the game up have been enjoying its irreverent blasphemy for many years, and so the controversy does nothing to harm the game's sales... it only increases them, with new players buying in to see what all the fuss is about. As for the game itself? Reviews are excellent, though not quite on the level of the previous game or of fellow HD fighter Killer Instinct 4. Its graphics are extremely impressive, it boasts a very talented voice cast, and the fighting itself is actually considered to have improved from that of the previous game, with the new fighter specialization helping the game's strategic balance. It would become one of the more popular online fighting games as well, and sales for all three of its release consoles are quite strong, making it one of the year's best selling fighters. Divine Wrath 4 would ultimately see the series surpass Mortal Kombat as Acclaim's best known and best loved fighting game franchise, though Acclaim was already working quite hard on a proper HD Mortal Kombat game. Future DLC packs would bring ten new fighters, including a couple of returning fighters from Divine Wrath 3 and guest characters such as Solar, Man Of The Atom and, in a surprising crossover with Image, Man of Miracles. Though Street Fighter V is a sales success, Divine Wrath 4 easily wins the "battle" between the two games both critically and commercially, cementing its place as one of gaming's premier fighters.
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EVO 2009 Lineup
Street Fighter Omega
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Super Smash Bros. Clash
Virtue And Vice 2
Soul Calibur III
Killer Instinct 4
Divine Wrath 4
Street Fighter V is the fifth mainline game in Capcom's acclaimed 2-D fighting game series and the first for the seventh generation consoles. It's released for the Nintendo Sapphire and the Apple iTwin, and would eventually be ported to the iPod Play and iPhone. It continues the storylines from Street Fighter IV, with a new "Legends" mode that allows players to experience a more in-depth single player story where they can choose any fighter they wish to play through a multi-chaptered quest. Other than that, the game features the typical slate of versus modes and online play, building upon what Street Fighter IV started. The game features fleshed out 3-D graphics that are significantly improved from those of the previous game, still retaining a slightly cel shaded style but with smoother textures and more detail. It also builds majorly upon the roster of 20 characters that Street Fighter IV utilized: Street Fighter V includes 24 playable characters from the very beginning, including all of the characters from Street Fighter IV and several returning characters, including Sagat. Many of these returning characters appeared in Super Street Fighter IV, which brought back some (but not all) of the characters dropped for IV. Street Fighter V brings mostly everyone back and adds numerous new characters, ultimately featuring 37 characters in the base game, with others available via DLC. Characters new to the series include Flora, a beautiful woman/plant hybrid, Delgo, an expert in Krav Maga, and Nolan, a former cop who took up street fighting to avenge the death of his partner. These characters join a roster full of classic fighters, including a few who have some new tricks up their sleeve. M. Bison returns as the game's main villain, having augmented himself with cybernetic parts. Dataka and Mitsue from Shadaloo Wars make their main series debut as the first two DLC characters, sold as part of a "Shadaloo Wars" pack that fleshes out the main story and brings events from that game into the world of Street Fighter V (because of the game being set in an alternate continuity, the DLC tells the events of that game a bit differently). The main plotline, however, sees a returning and powerful Bison manipulating the governments of the world using a cyborg army. One of these cyborg soldiers, Codek, is Bison's new lieutenant, replacing Sagat, who is furious at Bison's betrayal (he's not a "good guy" in the game, but he does hold a major grudge against Bison). Bison also attempts to kidnap several fighters and augment them with robot parts. Ryu and Chun-Li are captured, and Ken and Cammy lead the effort to save them. Nolan plays a major role in the game's story (it's Bison who was responsible for the death of his partner), and the story itself brings back numerous storylines from past Street Fighter games, though in somewhat of a disjointed way.
Street Fighter V is released in April 2009, a few months after its debut in Japanese arcades. The game's storyline is for the most part decently received, but is seen by some, especially casual fans, as a bit of a mess. The game itself would ultimately receive mixed reviews: the graphics themselves are good, but not groundbreaking, and once the Apple handheld port is announced, it's rumored that Apple asked Capcom to deliberately tone down the graphics to make an iPod Play port easier (Sapphire owners in particular are not pleased, comparing the game to Killer Instinct 4, Rare's fighter looks MUCH better). The gameplay is probably what gets the coldest reception: it's seen as being a bit too derivative of Street Fighter IV, and a number of updates and character balance changes are also received somewhat poorly. The game seems to play a bit "slow" in comparison to Street Fighter IV, and a lot of the new characters are also seen as being bland, boring, or just plain weak. The general fan reaction is that the game is a "mess", and critics aren't extremely kind to it, giving the game an average score of around 7/10. The game is a definite critical disappointment, but early sales are strong, and it does extremely well on the iTwin, becoming one of the best selling iTwin titles of the year. The game's flaws aren't so glaring on Apple's system, and it actually doesn't play quite as slowly, leading to accusations of the Sapphire version being neutered somewhat. The controversy over the game lights up gaming news sites and message boards during the spring of 2009, though the news would become somewhat lost in the face of two other much more well received fighters being released. Street Fighter V is a controversial but ultimately successful entry in the series, and fans are confident that Capcom will pull it together the next time around.
-
(Authors' Note: The concept for the Divine Wrath series and several ideas for the game were given to us by the reader HonestAbe1809!)
Divine Wrath 4
Divine Wrath 4 is the fourth game in Acclaim's popular fighting game series featuring gods from different pantheons battling it out with each other for control of the souls of all living beings. This is the first multiplatform release in the series, after the original game was exclusive to Ultra Nintendo and the second and third games were exclusive to the Xbox. It's the first HD entry in the series, and the first to include both guest fighters and eventually DLC fighters. Divine Wrath 4 features a massive graphical improvement over its predecessor, and an increased focus on counters and playing up individual character strengths, with more distinct character niches to give each character in the game their own unique feel, strengths, and weaknesses. It makes matchups and finding a "main" much more important than in previous titles, and allows certain characters who were somewhat underplayed in previous games to have their chance to shine. The game has ditched a third of the roster from Divine Wrath 3, dropping 15 of that game's 45 character roster. However, in their place are 12 new characters, including one very controversial new addition and for the first time ever, characters from actual other media (however, most of the guest characters would show up only in DLC).
Here is the game's initial 42 fighter roster, before DLC:
Thor
Odin
Loki
Zeus
Hercules
Hades
Apollo
Athena
Medusa
Shiva
Vishnu
Lakshmi
Ra
Horus
Anubis
Gabriel
Lucifer
Amaterasu
Izanagi
Hachiman
Artemis
Hephaestus
Pele
Poseidon
Osiris
Uncle Sam
Mammon
Exmachina
Santa Claus
Iris
War
Famine
Pestilence
Death
God
Constitution
Enki
Enlil
Shango
Cu Chulainn
The Mask
Hellboy
Iris originally appeared as Media in Divine Wrath 3, but has shed her disguise, fully embracing her original identity (but retaining some of her newscaster traits). The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse make their debut here and serve as the villains of the game's main storyline. Death is fairly self explanatory, appearing in his classic form as a skeleton in a black robe, but his personality is somewhat of an homage to the Death from Discworld, and he's voiced by Ian Richardson. War is very similar to Kratos from OTL's God Of War, but much more manic and bloodthirsty. He's voiced by Terrence Carson. Famine appears as a pale, beautiful, but very skeletal thin supermodel-like figure, voiced by Grey Delisle. Pestilence appears as a classic plague doctor, able to spread disease via insects and syringes, and is voiced by Tobin Bell. God is, of course, the most notable new addition to the game, and is indeed the Judeo-Christian God, appearing in his classic "old man in a robe" form and utilizing attacks with a lot of power while having his wrathful Old Testament personality. Constitution is a woman based off of the classic naval ship legends and is stylized like a human version of Old Ironsides, using cannon and water based attacks on foes (she takes Lady Liberty's place on the roster). Enki and Enlil are classic Sumerian gods, Shango is a deity from Yoruba legend, and Cu Chulainn comes from Irish lore. The Mask and Hellboy are classic Dark Horse comics characters acquired by Acclaim. The Mask utilizes darkly cartoonish attacks, while Hellboy (who, yes, is voiced by Ron Perlman) is a smartass who utilizes a variety of gadgets and brute force on his divine foes. The storyline of the game involves the Four Horsemen, led by Death, rebelling against God and coming to Earth before their time, wreaking havoc and destruction while God rallies a divine force to try and stop them. Lucifer slyly plays off both sides, while gods of various pantheons take various sides for various reasons. The plot is admittedly a mess, but is also a lot of fun, and is played mostly for laughs. The storyline mode, which is called Apocalypse, is playable from one of three sides: God's army, the army of the Four Horsemen, or a neutral faction, and plays out somewhat differently in each branch. Each side has 14 characters aligned with it, so whoever you choose places you on one of the three sides. Each character has their own unique cutscenes, though the storyline plays out the same way for each character in that faction. Some of the more interesting routes include Hellboy's (as a reluctant soldier in God's army, though he still plays by his own rules), Lucifer's (as a neutral baddie who at first tries to act like he's going back to God's side but really just wants to cause chaos), and Iris (who sides with the Four Horsemen because the Apocalypse would make a hell of a news story).
The game is released on June 2009, for all three current HD consoles. It would eventually be ported to the handhelds in early 2010. To say it's controversial would be a MASSIVE understatement. The inclusion of the actual Biblical God in the game (and thus the ability to brutally kill him via the various fatalities each fighter has) causes the game to be condemned by a number of religious groups. It's the most controversial game to be released in quite some time, perhaps even moreso than Grand Theft Auto II. However, most of the people who are going to pick the game up have been enjoying its irreverent blasphemy for many years, and so the controversy does nothing to harm the game's sales... it only increases them, with new players buying in to see what all the fuss is about. As for the game itself? Reviews are excellent, though not quite on the level of the previous game or of fellow HD fighter Killer Instinct 4. Its graphics are extremely impressive, it boasts a very talented voice cast, and the fighting itself is actually considered to have improved from that of the previous game, with the new fighter specialization helping the game's strategic balance. It would become one of the more popular online fighting games as well, and sales for all three of its release consoles are quite strong, making it one of the year's best selling fighters. Divine Wrath 4 would ultimately see the series surpass Mortal Kombat as Acclaim's best known and best loved fighting game franchise, though Acclaim was already working quite hard on a proper HD Mortal Kombat game. Future DLC packs would bring ten new fighters, including a couple of returning fighters from Divine Wrath 3 and guest characters such as Solar, Man Of The Atom and, in a surprising crossover with Image, Man of Miracles. Though Street Fighter V is a sales success, Divine Wrath 4 easily wins the "battle" between the two games both critically and commercially, cementing its place as one of gaming's premier fighters.
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EVO 2009 Lineup
Street Fighter Omega
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Super Smash Bros. Clash
Virtue And Vice 2
Soul Calibur III
Killer Instinct 4
Divine Wrath 4
Sad to see the Lakers fall... who did they end up drafting with those two first round picks? Shaq needs one more ring!
Happy to see Ken Griffey Jr getting a heroes send off, and a home run record without an asterisk. Did he ever win a world series, I can't remember.
As for Microsoft, are they going to be the Apple of this world? With an Apple focused more on gaming, maybe Microsoft is the one that breaks into mobile, with phones and tablets to boot. It would be ironic, given they got there butts kicked there in OTL.
Happy to see Ken Griffey Jr getting a heroes send off, and a home run record without an asterisk. Did he ever win a world series, I can't remember.
As for Microsoft, are they going to be the Apple of this world? With an Apple focused more on gaming, maybe Microsoft is the one that breaks into mobile, with phones and tablets to boot. It would be ironic, given they got there butts kicked there in OTL.
They took Jrue Holiday with the Hornets' pick in 2009. Their own pick was right around that range (two picks later) and they snagged Daniel Orton out of high school. They'll be getting Charlotte's pick in 2011 as well.
He's won three.
A bust and a midling talent, that's a rough loss for Iverson. Better luck in 2010 for the Lakers I hope.
Happy to hear KGJ has some rings to go with the records though.
Speaking of baseball, I know you're not a fan but do the Angels still win a World Series ITTL?
They also got a couple of decent players, I don't have exact names of who they got but they're borderline starter/sixth man level talent. Still not a great trade but it does shore up the Lakers' bench and makes them one of the deeper teams in the West.
I'd have to go check, I'll try to get that info soon.
You know, if the whole "guest characters of all areas" concept continues into the next game, I believe this could be a list of future candidates:
-Mario(Sapphire Version)
-Sonic(iTwin and iPod Play Version)
-Rover(iPod Play Version)
-Master Chief(Xbox 2 Version)*
-Spawn
-Sub-Zero
-Scorpion(This is optional.)
-Astro Boy
-Harbinger
-Voltron(However, this character would be an April Fools prank.)
*Unfortunately, I see the Xbox 2 port as one of many, many cancelled titles for the console.*
How does all this sound for guest fighters for "Divine Wrath 5" or later?
We appreciated our fans ideas and output, depends what happens at the time, i can imagine some discussion, thanks
I could see Harbinger, Spawn, the MK characters, and MAYBE Master Chief or Voltron.
No way Mario and Sonic ever get into this franchise
Ganondorf seems like a much natural fit for Nintendo, since he's dabbled with godhood. Not sure who would be there from the Apple side, maybe NiGHTS? I mean if Santa Clause is in it....
I could see Harbinger, Spawn, the MK characters, and MAYBE Master Chief or Voltron.
No way Mario and Sonic ever get into this franchise
Well, if you can let The Mask let his more cartoony side go nuts here, maybe you can actually see how gory Mario and Sonic's main attacks end up. I mean, who wouldn't want to see Mario actually burn his opponent into ashes by way of a player who easily spams whatever works best for him? Plus, you have biblical matters torn to ribbons in every which way already. Allowing Mr. Nintendo & Dr. Sapple himself there would just seem like a next step in that chain.
Surely, Mario is the Jekyll in this scenario, given his whole cutesy inoffensive "focus on the fun" thing versus Sonic's self-consciously "cool" denamor? Although, granted, as a Nintendo die hard, I always found it hilarious how, even though Sonic was marketed as hip, cool, and edgy, his actual games, at least in the 90s, are colorful romps saving baby animals from a fat dude with a walrus mustache. Also, Mario is actually a doctor, so...
If anything, Divine Wrath is TTL's Smite.Divine Wrath isn't TTL's Smash Bros. Smash Bros. is TTL's Smash Bros. Divine Wrath is shaping up to be what OTL Mortal Kombat has become, and we haven't seen Nintendo/Sega characters show up in that
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It was pure 90’s brand Attitude™ and people ate it up. I can say this as a Sonic fanboy.
What I remember of my initial pitch for the first Divine Wrath game was that it was a fusion of Smite’s concept and Mortal Kombat’s gameplay. That was back when I was into playing Smite. Medusa is in the first Divine Wrath game because she was my main back when I regularly played Smite.
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