This isn’t an actual game per se (although if you’re reading this Capcom, don’t let me stop you from making it), but rather it sums up one of the first North American attempts to make action figures based on Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. These figures made use of Gi-Joe molds. In fact, the original series of Street Fighter action figures were advertised as being part of Gi-Joe, with M. Bison and his Shadowloo grandmasters being part of Cobra.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

In a few days, the ball drops, and the book closes on 2011. No doubt, many of you are planning on having huge New Year’s Eve parties. And many of you will drink during these parties. And for a few of you, this will happen:

(Of course there is a good chance that neither Chris nor Liam Hemsworth will be involved)
2011 was a banner year for the fighting genre. With [Ultimate] Marvel vs Capcom 3, Mortal Kombat 9, Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, King of Fighters XIII, and Dead of Alive Chronicles all hitting storeshelves this year, the genre has came back in full force. With Dead or Alive 5, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Skull Girls, Soul Calibur 5, and Street Fighter X Tekken hitting next year, the genre is only moving forward. This sequel to last year’s Christmas beatdowns will take a look back at the best (or at least underrated) and the worst of the fighting genre’s golden era. So without further ado, lets get to the beatdowns!

[Read the rest of this entry…]

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we certainly have a lot to be thankful for, such as our friends, family, jobs, health, and fortune. We as gamers especially have cause to be thankful. With all the games being canceled throughout the years, we’ve had several classic games that have made to store shelves. On the flip side, we should also be thankful for all the crappy titles that were not released. This is a follow up to this past summer’s article about canceled games. As you read this list, be thankful for all those triple A titles you enjoyed that were released.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Let it be said that one of my favorite games of the previous console generation was the original Manhunt. It was one of those games that people either loved or hated. While critics of the game decried its slow pace and repetitiveness, I enjoyed the tense stealth action gameplay, the 8mm-style atmosphere, and the lunatics that made up the game’s adversaries. So, when I heard that Rockstar was developing a Wii-based sequel that utilized the Wiimote for motion-controlled killing, I was ecstatic. Then the controversy came. You see, the game received an AO (Adults Only) rating from the ESRB, and both Sony and Nintendo would refuse to allow an AO-rated product to be released for their consoles (and just for good measure, Microsoft also would not allow an AO-rated product to be released on its console, although there were no plans to bring the game to Xbox 360). I was worried that I would never get to see Rockstar’s vision. Then miraculously, the game was green-lighted for release after some censoring. Sadly, to finally play the game after the controversy was akin to dying, going to heaven, and finding Jesus strung out on heroin. Yes, the game was that bad.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

At the end of last August, this countdown went up, and the gaming scene went crazy. Sure it wasn’t exactly Marvel vs Capcom, and granted, these companies have worked together before, particularly on the Dynasty Warriors vs Gundam franchise (which just saw its third title released this past summer), but this could potentially be huge. What could this signify? Could Taki and Mitsurugi be joining Samurai Warriors’ Yukimura Sanada and Magoichi Saika on the battlefield, killing thousands of enemies? Could Soulcalibur 5 be seeing Ryu Huyabusa stepping onto the stage of history? Could Dynasty Warriors 8 see Lu Bu weild the dreaded Soul Edge against the three kingdoms? Could DOATEC be sponsoring the next King of Iron Fist Tournament, allowing Hayate and Kasumi to do battle with the Mishima Zaibatsu? Could the Fatal Frame 2 sisters be teaming up with Rick and the Terror Mask to discover the secret of Splatterhouse? Could the secret agent duo from Rolling Thunder be teaming up with Rygar and his mighty diskarmor? Could Paul Pheonix and Marshall Law be hitting the field in Tecmo Bowl with Nina and Anna as cheerleaders? Could we be getting a sequel to Winback featuring Gituaroo Man? Could that douche from Winback join with that guy from Time Crisis to thwart the mother of all terrorist attacks? Could the ladies of Tekken and SoulCalibur be joining the DOA girls on the beach? It would be a week before gamers would find out.

Then a week passed.

And boy, was it a letdown….
[Read the rest of this entry…]

8 Eyes, developed by Thinking Rabbit and published by Taxan, can best be described as the lovechild of Mega Man and Castlevania. Just like Mega Man, you select stages and have to proceed in a certain order, while it’s graphics and gameplay are vaguely reminiscent of Castlevania. However, it can’t do either right, and is better off being given a $10 million bribe to remain out of all out lives.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Recently, Duke Nukem Forever was released. As everyone knows, this game was in development for so long, that it was feared to be canceled at one point. With the lukewarm reception the game has received, it might as well have been canceled. However, not all games are fortunate enough to see a release, let alone after this long. The following is a list of releases that never made it off the cutting room floor. BTW, this list does not include ports or translations of games that were canceled, just games that were canceled completely, so you can miss me with the emails about why the Dreamcast version of Shenmue 2 isn’t on here.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Bill Laimbeer may have been a douchebag in the eyes of many Basketball fans, but after a few brief stints in Italy and with the Cleveland Cavs, he was a somewhat significant part of the Detroit Pistons franchise throughout the 80s and early 90s, until his 1994 retirement (his jersey number 40 was retired as well). He gained a reputation for hard physical fouls and his attempts to bait officials into calling fouls against his opponents. For what it’s worth, he is the franchise’s all-time leader in career rebounds. Still, why a developer in their right mind would make a game starring him given the dozens of more popular and established stars at the time is anyone’s guess.
[Read the rest of this entry…]