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.
No comments:
Post a Comment