Evolution 2008 Part 5

Well, since JK is back, then so am I. As you may have noticed I haven't written anything for a while since when JK stops writing, I do too. Most people probably don't come across this anyway, so it's usually JK and Matt who reads this. I'll start the new season of writing by finishing something I started a while ago. My Evolution 2008 articles.

I originally was going to have two more parts, one covering Tekken 5: Dark Ressurection, and the other covering Super Smash Bros. Brawl. But I got lazy, and since then Evo has come and gone. So I'm going to combine the two and briefly touch on each game. I will not go into the history of the games, since both are recent enough that most people have a good idea of the games' respective origins (especially for Brawl).

Tekken 5: Dark Ressurection is an update to Tekken 5. Aside from tweaking the balance it adds three characters. One is a returning character, Armor King, the Jaguar Masked wrestler who trained King (although the AK in this game may not be the original). The other two are brand new. They are Sergei Dragunov, a Russian government agent who uses combat sambo, and Lili, a wealthy young girl who uses a unique fighting style.

T5:DR is not the most recent game, since Tekken 6 is out for arcades. But Evo is a console tournament, and there is no console version yet. Also, this year's tournament had low numbers for the game. T5:DR can be purchased for download from the Playstation Network.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl had a lot of controversy surrounding it this year, since Evolution adopted a new rules set that was uncommon for the game. Traditionally, Smash is played with no items. However, a number of players who played Brawl said that many of the items were good for competition. The tournament organizers then charged the players on both sides to test the items and provide video proof as to whether items were broken or not broken. The "pro-items" players tested items extensivly, and found that most items could be countered effectivly, including poke' balls, assist trophies, and final smashes. Most "anti-items" players merely objected to the ruleset and took no effort to test the items. Instead they opted not to show up. Despite the "boycott" (I'm using quotes like crazy) there was still a large turnout for the game.

One other thing to note, was this year's tourney had four games that are coming out soon, and gave players a chance to ....well play them. They were Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo: HD Remix (It got pushed back, so the tournament used the original ST), Street Fighter 4, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, and Blazblue. From what I have heard, it was great this year.

There is another blog, by a mister James Chen, that writes about Evolution. It's a good article, mainly because he was actually there. I reccomend reading it, since it shows what the community is all about.

I'll end this article with a video, the Evolution 2008 mini-trailer, also made by James Chen. Look out for a new column that I'm going to start called Comix Zone, where I review comics, graphic novels, and manga. And yes, I did name it after the Genesis game.

Later.