Back in the early-to-mid 90’s, gamers (including yours truly) crowded the arcades with quarters in hand, reaping the benefits of a thriving social scene. These days, that scene is still alive, well and larger than ever, but the forum has moved into cyberspace. As we continue to move through history, the gaming industry continues to evolve with its technology. The popularity of various genres come and go with the times, and while developers and industry pioneers are consistently creating new ways to dazzle us, one thing remains the same – consumers love video games.
One genre that has seen the light of better days – in fact, when arcades were at the peak of their success it was arguably the most popular genre – is the fighting game. Countless fighting games have been part of the rise to prominence for video games, and they have led us in incalculable hours of enjoyment. Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat were just a couple of the first fighting games that took arcades by storm. I remember waiting on long lines just to get the opportunity to play Mortal Kombat II at my local arcade, and when I finally played, it was love at first uppercut.
Killer Instinct, The King of Fighters, Virtua Fighter, Marvel Vs. Capcom, Tekken and Soul Calibur were all extremely different takes on the fighting genre, and they attracted legions of fans with their appeal. Never before had it been so much fun to learn a few special moves and duke it out with a friend blow-by-blow on a video screen.
Sadly, as this decade gets ready to draw to a close, a superb fighting game is a rarity. In 2008, we’ve had the release of Soul Calibur IV, which focuses on beefing up its create-a-character mode rather than evolving basic gameplay. Before that, it was Dead or Alive 4 in 2005 (which, I should mention, is one of my personal favorites of all time, but still doesn’t re-invent the genre).
Aside from these two juggernauts, what else have we seen on the current generation of consoles? Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe is poised to take center stage in late 2008, and some are holding high hopes for it. Others are dismissing it as a silly idea in a world where slapping a gimmick on a fighting game just so it can sell has become commonplace (Darth Vader, Spawn and The Legend of Zelda’s Link in Soul Calibur, anyone?).
The truth is, we haven’t truly seen anything fresh or innovative in the fighting market in years. Is it because developers believe the fighting game was a genre of the arcades, which are now all but defunct? Is it because of the consumer’s love affair with first-person shooters? Whatever the reason may be, a developer needs to step up to the plate and give this genre the much-needed attention it deserves. Until then, we may be forced to endure another five years of the fighting game drought – and what fun is it not beating the crap out of all our buddies with super-cool special moves?