Marvel Vs Capcom Infinite - 5 Of The Best Recent Fighting Games

As originally published on Set The Tape

The fighting video game has always been successful, with its simple formula of one to two players fighting in an enclosed arena, making it a series that works well in the arcade, the home, and online.

As such, the beat-em-up is a genre that continues to be popular even after 40 years; but with the genre having been around for so long, what are some of the best games of recent years? Let’s take a look.

Mortal Kombat

Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PS VITA, Windows

The 2011 release of Mortal Kombat was a game that not only revamped the MK series, but also showed a lot of other fighting games just how the genre could be expanded and built upon.

The NetherRealm Studios fighter retold the stories of the first three Mortal Kombat games, though this time there was a major emphasis on story, with cut scenes and fights that made sense as part of the larger narrative. This was one of the first times that a beat-em-up had put serious effort into telling an actual story, and the game benefited from this immensely.

The addition of the battle tower and a series of unlockable bonuses and rewards made sure that there was plenty of content to the game, content that meant that you’d keep playing long after you’d completed the story and mastered the online multi-player.

Street Fighter 4

Platform: Arcade, PS3, Xbox 360, Windows, 3DS, iOS, Android, PS4, Xbox One

Street Fighter may not be the original fighting game, but it is the series that will come to most people’s minds when you mention the genre. Street Fighter 2 was one of the most popular and successful games of the genre, and Street Fighter 4 did its best to replicate that same popularity.

Street Fighter 4 is an immensely enjoyable game, with a number of new additions to the combat mechanics and character roster that made the entry stand out. It also has an art style that makes it stand out from a number of the more realistic games in the genre.

As with previous entries of the Street Fighter series, there would go on to be multiple versions of Street Fighter 4, such as Ultimate and Super, but the first is possibly the most challenging, as they had yet to lower the difficulty of what is one of the most frustrating final bosses ever.

Injustice 2

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Android, iOS

Injustice was a fighting game that few expected to be good, so its success was a welcome surprise, and Injustice 2 builds on the positives of the first game in spades. It gives us a better story than the previous entry, a more diverse variety of characters, and a new online challenge system and reward mechanic that provides a hugely enjoyable replay value.

The game also features customisable character level-ups, along with upgrades and equipment. This not only gives you something to work towards, but means that you can create your own versions of your favourite DC characters.

Super Smash Bros.

Platform: 3DS, Wii U

Nintendo have access to some of the most colourful and family friendly characters in video games, and seeing them beat the hell out of each other is surprisingly fun. Super Smash Bros. gives players the opportunity to pit classic characters such as Mario, Link, Pikachu, Samus and Pac-Man against each other in crazy combat.

Whilst it’s not as serious a game as others on this list, it’s one of the most eclectic, with characters, arenas, and power-ups drawn from the whole of Nintendo history that really shouldn’t work together, but does in magnificent style.

The additional use of Amiibo’s as a way of storing character data and unlockables means that it’s never been easy to take your character with you to fight your opponents without using online connections. A system that even worked on the handheld 3DS version of the game; a version which may be the best portable fighting game ever.

Mortal Kombat X

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, iOS, Android, Windows

Is it a cheat to have two Mortal Kombat games in this list? Maybe, but it does go to show just how good the series has become.

Building upon their innovations from their previous entry, Mortal Kombat X gives players more of what’s come before, but this time with a whole new original story and a host of new characters.

The game also gave players some great horror themed DLC characters, including Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, and both the Alien and Predator, all of which they managed to seamlessly fit in, in game-play, style and tone.

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Pokemon Gold and Silver Review

As originally published on Set The Tape

Originally released in Japan in 1999, with releases in the rest of the world a year later, Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver are the first entries in the second generation of Pokemon games. Set in the Johto region, the games introduce a new story, new characters, and one-hundred brand new Pokemon to collect.

Much like the previous games, Pokemon Red, Pokemon Blue, and Pokemon Yellow, Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver are played in a top down third-person perspective, with players navigating around the land of Johto. The player is given their first Pokemon by Professor Elm, a choice between Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile, before being sent on an adventure to find every Pokemon in the world and become the Pokemon champion.

Just as with previous Pokemon games you can search for new Pokemon in the long grass, caves, and water, though Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver introduces a new ‘headbutt’ mechanic, where you can headbutt certain trees to knock Pokemon out into the open.

The game introduces other new elements, including a day and night cycle, with certain Pokemon only coming out at certain times of the day, as well as genders for the Pokemon, introducing the ability to breed Pokemon for the first time. These new features change the game in huge ways, though they don’t feel jarring to the gameplay experience, or forced into the game, but rather feel like a natural progression to the series.

Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver also introduce audiences to the first group of new Pokemon, with a hundred new monsters added to the franchise. Some of these Pokemon are added evolutions to existing creatures, including pre-evolution ‘baby’ Pokemon, whilst others are brand new species.

Many of the new Pokemon introduced for Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver are still some of the best that the series has given us, and played an important part of shaping the series for the future by introducing three new ‘types’ to the game.

The game also expands upon the standard story of a Pokemon game in exciting ways. Yes, you still explore your region, fight an evil organisation, challenge the gyms and eventually become the champion, but this time once you have become the champion in Johto you are able to travel back to the Kanto region from the first set of games to fight your way through their gym leaders.

Despite being almost 20 year old, this hasn’t been repeated since, and Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver remain the only games that contain more than one region, something that fans have wanted in every generation since.

Yes, Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver are fairly simple compared to some of the later games; there’s no battle tree, secret bases, or Pokemon contests to take part in. However, having expanded upon the original generation and fixing many of the issues that plagued those games, Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver are still some of the best Pokemon games because of how simple they are.

The re-released games haven’t been touched or altered in any way, the graphics are the same as when they were first released, and the bugs that players found in the original will still be here, but this doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the game at all.

The one addition to the game is the ability to transfer Pokemon from Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver to the Nintendo 3DS Pokemon Bank, enabling players to transfer their Pokemon into later games. Once a Pokemon has been removed from the game into Bank, however, it cannot be returned, so make sure that you really want to transfer it before you do so.


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Power Rangers Legacy Wars Reveals Gold Zeo Ranger

Power Rangers Legacy Wars has revealed the latest character to be added to the games ever expanding roster, Jason Lee Scott as the Gold Zeo Ranger from Power Rangers Zeo.

The Gold Zeo Ranger will be a Legendary character, and will come in both a Leader and an Assist version.

The Leader version is a Balanced Class, and has two strike and two breaker attacks. The Quadruple Kick strike has a powerful knockback effect. The Golden Pulse strike is a ranged attack, and can be used in both long distance and up close. His Leg Sweep breaker move allows the chance to juggle attacks, and the Lord's Assault breaker launches enemies into the air, allowing the opportunity to juggle.

The Assist version of the character utilises a breaker attack called Gold Rush, where he runs across the screen at the opponent.

The Gold Zeo Ranger will be available through special Morph Boxes starting tomorrow.


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Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battle Review

As originally published on Set The Tape

Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battle is the first Super Mario game to arrive on the Nintendo Switch, and it’s brought the characters of the Ubisoft Rabbids franchise.

After a scientist creates a device known as the ‘SuperMerge’, technology that can combine two separate objects into one new creation, the Rabbids arrive and get their hands on the device. Chaos then ensues as the Rabbids enter the Mushroom Kingdom, using the ‘SuperMerge’ to create hilarious fusions. When one of the Rabbids merges with the device, becoming ‘Spawny’, Mario and the rest of the Mushroom heroes must team up with a group of good Rabbids in order to stop him.

What plays out from there is an amusing, though somewhat challenging combat game, a mixture of Worms/XCOM style turn based combat, and a Mario title. Whilst at first this might seems like a strange blend, it’s actually one that works brilliantly well.

The bright and colourful environments of the Mario series are used to create some varied and interesting combat arenas, with items like pipes allowing from different travel options and tactics, and Bow Wow’s creating deadly hazards that can affect both sides in a battle.

The enemy teams themselves are made up from a combination of Rabbids of varying types, including some that have been merged with recognisable Mario characters, such as Rabbid Kong. Meanwhile, the heroes are a group of four, with the player able to choose from Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, or the Rabbid versions of them.

The interactions between the Mushroom heroes and their Rabbid counterparts are often amusing, and help to build a shared universe. The way that Rabbid Peach inspects the real Princess Peach and judges her appearance with evil glares is a particular highlight.

The gameplay is very enjoyable, with beautiful environments to explore between combat sections, many of which are filled with easter eggs and hidden jokes.

Combat itself makes use of the varied weapons and abilities of each character to create a playstyle that makes it stand out from other turn based combat games. Whilst some titles such as XCOM will have you keeping your squad close together, Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battles encourages you to split your team up whilst using them to enhance each other with combat and movement boosts.

Whilst the smaller arena and team size makes the combat simpler than other games of this particular genre the difficulty curve is quite steep, making later combat something that can be incredibly challenging, even after unlocking new weapons and upgrading abilities. The game does allow you to tackle the combat on ‘Easy Mode’, which gives you extra health with which to tackle the fight, unfortunately there’s no normal or medium difficulty, leading to some hard decisions on how you intend to approach fights.

Unlockable abilities and extra challenges also means that there’s a lot of replay value in the game, with players able to go back to retry missions once they’ve progressed further in order to get a better ranking and unlock more rewards.

Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battle offers players a variety of combat and encourages dedication and replay in order to hone your skills. Whilst some gamers that are veterans of the genre may find the game on the simple side there’s enough content to keep people entertained for hours.


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Gotham Season 3 Review

As originally published on Set The Tape.

Season 3 of Gotham, just as with previous seasons, manages to tell a varied story across its twenty-two episode run. Whilst a lot of series with seasons this length will stick to telling adventure of the week stories with the occasional dabble into mythology, Gotham embraces the serialised nature of its comic book source material, telling one large story across several months. Because of this there are a lot of story elements to the third season, and all of the characters end up in completely different places to where they began.

The season begins with the escapees from the Indian Hill facilities still on the run in Gotham. Having left the GCPD, Jim Gordon has become a bounty hunter, tracking down the escapees. With Fish Mooney amongst the escapees, Penguin also joins the hunt for the Indian Hill inmates, resulting in him receiving huge public popularity. Using this popularity, Penguin runs for mayor of Gotham.

When Jervis Tetch arrives in town looking for his sister Alice, who was one of the escapees from Indian Hill, he hires Gordon to help find her. Unfortunately, Alice’s blood contains a virus that sends people into a violent psychosis. With Jervis revealed to be insane, and Alice’s blood a deadly threat, Gordon rejoins the GCPD.

During this same time Penguin wins the mayoral election with the help of Edward Nigma. Working closely together, Penguin begins to develop romantic feelings for Edward. Unfortunately, Edward meets someone else, whom Penguin has killed. This creates a rift between the two of them, and as Edward embraces his identity as The Riddler, he hatches a plan to destroy Penguin’s mayoral career before killing him.

The season begins with these what seem to be fairly simple and predictable storylines, though as the season progresses it soon develops new layers and mysteries, including the Court of Owls which had only previously been teased in the previous season.

Jim’s story line begins in a strange place, with his reluctance to rejoin the GCPD feeling somewhat out of character for a man who has previously been desperate to be a cop. Unfortunately, with this being the third or fourth time that he’s lost his job as a police officer it does feel a little stale at the start of the season, especially as we all know that he will be a police officer again at some point.

Fortunately, the relationships between Jim and Leslie Tompkins, and he and Captain Barnes, keep your interest for the first half of the season. Due to the Alice Tetch virus both of these relationships are almost completely destroyed, with Barnes becoming infected and shifting from an upstanding police captain to a twisted murderer, and Leslie ending up hating Gordon for his killing of her infected husband.

It’s sad to see two of the purest characters of the show become corrupted over the course of the season, with Barnes sinking into madness and rage, whilst Leslie has her life torn apart, not to mention made a widow on her wedding day.

The second half of the season sees Gordon going on to infiltrate the mysterious Court of Owls, discovering his secret family connections to the villainous group. Whilst this second plot does move the plot forward, it lacks the emotional and personal drama that the first half of the season has.

The development of the Penguin this season also has some of the best moments for his character, with the reveal of his romantic feelings towards Riddler being handled surprisingly well. The altering relationship between the two of them is one of the more entertaining elements of the season, and the shift in fortunes for the two of them.

The shift of Edward Nigma to The Riddler is some of the most interesting episodes in the season, and pairing him up with Lucius Fox as his foil makes for interesting watching, carrying on from the confrontation between the two characters at the end of the second season.

Elsewhere in the show, the supporting characters have a lot to do throughout the season. Poison Ivy ends up falling victim to one of the Indian Hill escapees, whose powers accidentally age her into a young woman. Barbara and Tabitha open their own night club, The Sirens, and attempt to regain power within the Gotham underworld. Selina gets thrown out of a window and gets her own version of the Batman Returns Catwoman alley scene.

Most importantly, Bruce’s story makes some huge steps across the season. His investigation into the Court of Owls and their involvement in his parents death leads to him coming even closer to his future role as Batman, as he falls under the tutelage of The Shaman, who works for the man behind the Court of Owls, Ra’s al Ghul.

Bruce goes further along his path to becoming the vigilante hero we all know and love this season, with some clear connections to his comic book counterpart. Perhaps the most enjoyable of these is the short three episode story involving the return of Jerome (possibly a future Joker), culminating in an incredible confrontation between the two characters in a circus tent, with Bruce beating the psychotic Jerome in a fist fight. Despite Bruce being a boy still, and looking nothing like Batman in these scenes, it feels so much like watching Batman and Joker fighting in the comics. It especially brings images to mind of the finale of The Killing Joke.

Gotham has a lot of things happening in the season, and as such it’s hard to try and summarise everything that happens or all of the changes that the characters go through, but where many seasons of this length tend to dip in quality towards the middle of the season, or lose their way towards the end, having so many storylines across the twenty two episodes means that Gotham doesn’t feel stale at any point.

Despite not knowing if they would be returning for a fourth season, and as such bringing many elements of the season to a close at the end of the season, season 3 does set up some exciting elements that will carry across into the next year, including Bruce clad all in black stopping a mugging in an alley.

A strong season that introduces more characters and elements from the comics, season three of Gotham manages to build upon what had already been done with the previous seasons and improve its characters. Yes, there are some major differences between the show and the source material, which might be a problem for some, but Gotham is forging its own version of the Batman mythology to great effect.

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Power Rangers Green Ranger Statue Revealed

The statue and bust company Pop Culture Shock have revealed a brand new Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Green Ranger statue. The company have previously created life sized busts of the Red Ranger and the White Ranger, also from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

The 23 inch statue depicts the Green Ranger holding his iconic weapon, the Dragon Dagger, whilst standing on top of the Dragonzord Power Coin.

The statue will be released late 2018, and is currently available for pre-order a Pop Culture Shock's website for $499.99.


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Tomb Raider Trailer Released

The first trailer for the upcoming Tomb Raider film has officially been released. Starring Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, alongside Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, and Dominic West.

'Lara Croft is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished when she was scarcely a teen. Now a young woman of 21 she hopes to solve the mystery of her father's disappearance.

'Lara embarks on a perilous journey to his last known destination - a fabled tomb on a mythical island off the coast of Japan. The stakes couldn't be higher as Lara must rely on her sharp mind, blind faith and stubborn spirit to venture into the unknown. If she survives this perilous adventure it could be the making of her, earning her the name tomb raider.'

Tomb Raider is released on March 18th 2018.


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Loot Crate Reveals New Alpha 5 Figure

The online subscription box service Loot Crate has revealed an exclusive new Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Alpha 5 figure that will be released in an upcoming Loot Crate DX Box.

Recoloured in black and gold, and standing in front of the Command Centre console, Alpha holds an ice cream cone with a stack of five ice cream scoops in the colours of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

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Jamie Lee Curtis To Return To Halloween Franchise

It was announced in February this year that a new Halloween film was in production, and that the film would not be a part of the Rob Zombie reboot series.

After comments made by the studio that Jamie Lee Curtis would be featured in the new film, Curtis herself tweeted an amazing photograph of herself with series antagonist Michael Myers, along with the caption 'SHE'S BACK! See you guys October 19th, 2018.'

Despite having died at the hands of her killer brother Michael in Halloween: Resurrection the statement of 'she's back' does seem to confirm that Curtis will indeed be reprising the role of Laurie Strode, rather than playing a new character.

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