by norm stovall normstovall@gmail.com
Downloadable, for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3
When I found out about a re-mastered version of Puzzle fighter coming to Next Gen consoles, I couldn’t believe it. This is one of my favorite games of all time, being re-mastered, rebalanced and souped-up for my new favorite game consoles. Well, now that it is finally here, how does it stack up to the originals? It stacks up quite well, actually. If you aren’t familiar with the Puzzle Fighter formula, it’s really quite simple to learn. In Puzzle fighter, you and a rival are pitted against each other, much like a two-player Tetris match. (If you don’t know about Tetris, don’t bother) Your selected characters face each other in the area between the two playing fields, simulating a Street Fighter-style battle, though the only way you can really defeat the opposing player is to outwit him or her in the playing field using colored gems that drop in twos.
When organizing your gems, your goal is to connect as many of the same colors together as possible. When gems are assembled in a 4x4 pattern, they become a larger gem. Once you have your colors all in a row, you can crash (or break) all the gems of the same color that are connected by using a matching-colored circular ‘crash gem’. The more gems you break, the more gems get dropped onto your opponent’s playing field. When these ‘attack’ gems drop, they are unusable for five ‘drops,’ or until that player uses five dropping gems of his own. Of course, if you are being attacked, you can easily counter a big move by crashing gems of your own, so the game really gets heated up when you learn strategies such as holding the big crashes till your opponent sends one your way, and then following up with another. Even more things come into play when you get into attack patterns that vary depending on which character you use to battle with, but I suggest you look into that yourself-I don’t want to spoil the fun.
Maybe I’ve made this game sound overly complicated, but it really isn’t. Much like Othello, it really only takes a few minutes to learn, but you may be compelled to spend the rest of your life mastering it.
I would probably be here telling you all about how much I am enjoying the new online patch for Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection for Playstation 3 that is available via the Playstation Network, but I’m not going to. Why? Because of some glitch, Sony took the 30 dollars from my wallet (20 for the game, 10 for the online patch) and gave me nothing. Not only do I not have the game or the ability to download it, I am also 30 dollars lighter in my wallet. I’m not sure how big of a problem this is, but thank you for reading my sob story- On to Tekken 5 DR online.
What is great about the online patch for T5DR is that, not only do you get online play via the Playstation Network, you also get a robust training mode to learn combos and techniques. While unfortunately my technical issues with my PS3 have kept me from experiencing online play personally, online forum goers tell me that the game plays great for the most part, once you get used to the occasional lag spikes. But until I get my PS3 issues worked out, I’m going to be doing all my Tekkenin’ at Tilt in the Regency Square mall. Maybe.
For those of you interested in competitive gaming and or fighting game tournaments, be sure to check out what’s going on next weekend in Kingsland, GA (just a short drive North of Jacksonville):
When: Sat Sept 8th 2007
Cost of entry: $5 at the door, $20 entry for singles, and $10 for the Team Tournament. Teams consist of 3 players for a total of $30. Tourney will be held on the Playstation 3 console, so you are responsible for using your own controller/joystick. Registration starts from 10am to 12pm. Singles will begin around 1pm, and then the Team tourney afterwards. All other games will also start at 1pm.
Prizes for the Singles and the Team tourneys:
70% of the pot for 1st
20% = 2nd
10% = 3rd
Where: Ramada Inn & Suites, 1215 East King Ave, Kingsland, Georgia, immediately West of I-95. (912) 729-3000
For more details, please check the Tournaments section in the forums at TekkenZaibatsu.com and shoryuken.com.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
