Good evening all! Sorry I'm posting this so late! between waking up late, an impromptu dinner date, and literally being glued to EVO Coverage, it's been quite the busy day! While most Esports fans and coverage these past few days have had all eyes and ears focused on the formidable Dota 2 TI4 coverage, this weekend is also home to the largest fighting game tournament of the year, the 2014 EVO Championship Series.
Every year, thousands of fighting game players and enthusiasts embark of a pilgrimage to fabulous Las Vegas to either compete in or spectate in this Mountain Dew-fueled, heart-racing weekend of round after round of the top level of competitive fighting game play. Featuring Ultra Street Fighter 4, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma, and of course Super Smash Bros: Melee (amongst others), EVO is that one special time of year when the rest of the gaming community gets a front row seat to some of the most passionate video game communities in existence.
Men of Heart, I promise.
There's something about watching fighting and playing fighting games that gets the blood racing. Between the blistering pace of the games, (whilst writing this I've seen at least 6 entire rounds cycle through, as opposed to MOBAs where we *may* have been out of champion selection by now) the commentators who practically eat, sleep, and breath fighting games, (most of whom were/are pro players themselves) and the massive cat calls and hollers every time a player lands an unbelievable reversal or combo, it's hard not to be mesmerized by a fighting game tournament. The Super Smash Bros: Melee community alone is notorious for their high energy commentary, and let's face it, when shit like this happens:
it's pretty easy to see how deserving they are. I've already lost track of how many times this weekend I've had to turn down the speakers (or at least pretend I'm watching the World Cup) for the huge amounts of hype these players command.
I myself am no stranger to fighting games, as I've enjoyed more than my fair share of Smash Bros over the year, as well as Soul Caliber and Dead or Alive 2 growing up. Fighting games are not for the weak of heart, as playing online in nearly any popular fighting game these days will teach you. Between the dizzying reflexes and physical skills/timing needed to perfect combos, and the insane amount of 'reading' or predicting your opponents moves and strategies that need to be mastered, being a fighting game pro might as well be a full time job. So if you find yourself getting bored with endless World Cup coverage, or TI4, you'll know where to find me this weekend!
-Madjawa
No comments:
Post a Comment