A NIGHT AT THE FIGHT CLUB

by Eduardo Zacarias AKA Tyler Burping

You are not your pre-shrunk Gap jeans.  You are not the double decaf latte with whipped cream on top or the fancy Sketchers sneakers you just bought at the local mall.  You are the all seeing, all playing, game fanatic that happens to know that the key to true satisfaction comes from fighting games.  We are legion, us fanatics of fisticuffs, and our ranks have grown so considerable that we are part of a secret club that gathers together around the glow of our television sets.  Want to join?

I guess I should lay the rules down then, shouldn’t I?  The first rule of Video Game Fight Club is Tell everyone about Video Game Fight Club.  The second rule of Video Game Fight Club is . . . tell everyone about Video Game Fight Club.  I mean, it wouldn’t be fun if it was just you and your controller, right?  So while my game-hungry alter ego, Eduardo, is off playing Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, myself, Tyler Burping (Ed Norton might see himself as Brad Pitt but Eddie Zacarias sees himself as Screech from Saved by the Bell), will take you through a list of great fighting games. 

1.  SOUL CALIBUR II (ALL CONSOLES): In a world filled with fighting games galore, nothing, so far, comes close to matching the overall beauty and addictive nature of Soul Calibur II.  While the game has a decent arcade mode complete with an individual fighter’s ending story, the real story comes from playing the game’s Weapon Master mode.  The game also has a number of weapons to choose from and purchase and literally hundreds of bonuses to unlock.  Namco also creatively inserted three different characters for the three different consoles (the Xbox gets Spawn, the PS2 gets Heihachi and the GameCube gets Link). Yes, this one is that good.

TYLER SAYS: Color me impressed!  Here’s a fight game with dozens of extras, awesome characters and intense fight modes.  My personal favorite version of this game is the Xbox version because Spawn has a cooler haircut than Heihachi and doesn’t wear a dress like Link.  If you don’t already own this, you either don’t like fighting games or are allergic to fun.

2.  VIRTUA FIGHTER EVOLUTION (PS2): Basically an addition to the wonderful Virtua Fighter 4, Evolution just adds enough extras to make fans of this fighting series leap for joy.  This one adds various new backgrounds and even a look back at earlier Virtua Fighter games.  While the Tekken series puts up a good fight, it’s Virtua Fighter that comes up on top thanks to this Must-Have title.  And, to make this an even sweeter deal, its part of the Greatest Hits package so at the bargain price you really can’t go wrong.

TYLER SAYS: Throw in the towel because if Tekken got into a fight with Virtua Fighter, its Virtua Fighter that comes out of this with a few bruises and the championship belt.  Evolution is like a thank you gift Sega decided to give the series’ fans and if you love fighting games and cool characters, this is the fighting game to buy.  It’s also under twenty bucks so what are you doing standing around here, IKEA boy?

3.  MORTAL KOMBAT: DEADLY ALLIANCE (ALL CONSOLES): Ask any arcade-loving gamer what fighting game they surrendered their quarters to back in the days and they’ll most likely say Mortal Kombat. While everyone will fondly remember the pure, bloody nature of the game‘s final fatalities, it’s the challenging combatants and super cool power combos gamers loved.  Deadly Alliance brings all that goodness back and also includes plenty of extras plus weapons to the mix.  Want a new costume for Sonia?  You have to earn the Koins to buy them.

TYLER SAYS: My earliest and most fondest memories are of ripping out Sub-Zero’s spine as Scorpion and dangling it like a blood-splattered trophy.  Deadly Alliance keeps the tradition alive but it’s modern spin just makes things like Fatalities all the more memorable.  My personal favorite, Scorpion, is just totally rad now that he’s got weapons.  This is one of the coolest Mortal Kombat game the series produced so don’t miss this one.

4.  DEF JAM VENDETTA (PS2): The minute rap artist DMX steps into the urban ring, you know you’re not playing an average wrestling game.  Vendetta puts you in the ring as a young brawler attempting to get back your respect and the girl you love and in order to do that there is a long laundry list of colorful grapplers (including some really well-known rappers like Ludacris and Redman to name a few) you must defeat first.  With great controls and neat signature moves, this is fighting at its most def.

TYLER SAYS: Def Jam Vendetta mixes two of my favorite things in the world: catfights and hip-hop fused wrestling.  The moves are outrageously stylized to lay the smack down like a true hip-hop and rap artist would if he ever decided to give up the music business and just get in the ring battle it out.  And, to top it all off, the ladies battle for your attention in a face-off that’s just as memorable as the story of revenge and redemption in the game’s story mode.  This one is pure hip-hop joy and I can’t wait for the sequel.

5.  DEAD OR ALIVE 3 (XBOX): This is the game that launched a thousand (and more) Xbox consoles to showcase the big black box’s graphical capabilities.  More than just a pretty face, DOA 3 has a nice collection of characters and environments that allow gamers to take the fight to other areas.  While this game isn’t innovative, there’s just something about its style that just doesn’t seem to grow old.

TYLER SAYS: This game is easy on the eyes and I don’t mean because of the highly detailed backgrounds and animated cut scenes.  If I ever got into a fight with ladies like that I’d be picking up my broken teeth off the ground because I was too distracted by their beauty to block their lethal blows.  All in all, DOA 3 doesn’t bring anything new except for sex appeal and addictive gameplay.  I’ll happily be in line for the DOA Ultimate, which will have Xbox Live support.

6.  EA SPORTS FIGHT NIGHT 2004 (ALL CONSOLES): This year EA Sports has been hitting nothing but home runs with every sports title they’ve been releasing and the sport of boxing hasn’t been left out thanks to the release of the stellar Fight Night 2004.  Not only can you create your own pugilist, but you can also train him and take him to title bouts against real pros like Roy Jones Jr.  This is, by far, the best boxing simulator so far.

TYLER SAYS: My alter ego, Eddie, still recalls the joys of playing Mike Tyson’s Punch Out on the NES when he was a kid and still thinks back fondly of what he feels is the best boxing game this side of Knockout Kings.  Well, that might be fine with him but my heart belongs to Fight Night 2004, clearly one of the best boxing games to mix fun with simulation-styled boxing.  Climb the ranks as an amateur and make your way to a title bout against the world’s greatest boxers.  Did somebody ring a bell?  I can’t put this game down! 

7.  TEKKEN 4 (PS2): Some might argue that despite its smoother controls and improved visuals, Tekken Tag is still far more superior than Tekken 4. Well, while the tag team element of the game does add more punch to the gameplay, this fourth installment just adds so much more replay value thanks to its bigger lineup of characters plus the new Tekken Force game mode.  If you had to make a choice, Tekken 4 is the game to get.

TYLER SAYS: Eddie just can’t stop admiring the tag team action of Tekken Tag but nothing is more entertaining than taking on armies of armored thugs in the Tekken Force game mode.  I have to go with this one because of all the extra characters and their assortment of fighting styles. On a negative note, though, there are just some things that should never be seen . . . like Heihachi wearing a diapered thong. That is so wrong.

8.  MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 2 (XBOX): Fans of this old-school arcade classic will find lots to love about this port with a lot to offer fight fans. There are plenty of characters, including some pretty obscure ones thrown into the mix of well-known Marvel Comics characters (Captain America fans aren’t left out) with Capcom characters such as Megaman and Chun-Li.  While Capcom promised online multiplayer action and didn‘t deliver, this is still an excellent fighting game.

TYLER SAYS: My fantasies of seeing Resident Evil’s Jill Valentine trade punches and kicks with the X-Men’s Rogue has finally come true.  I gladly surrendered buckets of quarters playing this game at the arcades and gladly surrender my thumbs to this Xbox version. This game would have been higher up on the list had it included Xbox Live support.  This game was made to be shared with other fans and nothing brings fight fans closer together than the Xbox Live.  I am Jack’s sense of patience as he waits for Capcom to release an updated, Xbox Live enabled, sequel.

CONCLUSION

I see you’ve decided to join the club and will seriously consider the games on this list the next time you head out to that favorite store you like so much (just skip the IKEA, okay).  Remember, if this is your first time at Video Game Fight Club . . . you have to fight.  Enjoy!

EDDIE SAYS:  I should apologize to Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk and actor Ed Norton who did a magnificent job in the now cult classic film version but I have absolutely zero control over alter ego Tyler Burping and his blatant rip-off of the film and book.  I’ll say one thing about him, though, he does know a good fighting game when he sees it.

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