Street Fighter 4 Goodness

I love SF4!!! It's been too long since SF3 3rd Strike came out and I've been waiting for a sequel almost ten years. The fact that I can play online with friends many states away ( friends that I use to play SF2 with back in '91) is awesome.

I use to play Sagat in SF2:CE but in 4 he is too good, considered to be top tier, so I stay away from him and main my favorite character since SF2...Guile!!! I've liked him since the beginning. My main rivals ( the two characters my friends mastered ) back then were Ken and Chun-Li. Guile was great back then and had the advantage over the Shotokans. Chun-i was a tougher match but Guile usually got the W. Now, Guile is only average at best but I still use him. I would say I'm above average on SF4, I still have many of the new mechanics to fully implement in my game. If your an Old School Street Fighter player like me, the latest game is easy to pick up and feels like a natural progression. If you enjoy fighting games, this is a must have! Get it for Xbox 360 and hit me up for a couple rounds.

My Top Ten Shooters on Xbox 360

Well, for fun today, I thought I would talk about my favorite Xbox 360 shooters so far. Nothing fancy, just a top 10 list. Here we go.

10) Jericho -- I played the demo a couple of years ago and thought it was pretty fun but never picked it up until recently when I bought it new at Best Buy for five dollars. Good not great, but five dollars well spent.

9) Team Fortress 2-- Part of the Orange Box, this long awaited sequel was a lot of fun. With cartoon like graphics and over the top characters this shooter is still packed with serious action.

8) Shadowrun—I love this game. There is just too big negatives with it however. No single player story mode and the company that made it went out of business! That means no DLC, no sequel, no updates, nothing. It’s too bad really, because this game is a lot of fun. It mixes magic and high tech gadgets with katanas and firearms. Plus, you have four races to choose from, each with their own pros and cons. This game came out two and a half years ago, and I still see people on my friends list playing now. Probably because you can pick it up for $10.

7) Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2— This is a game I didn’t play enough of because I was using a borrowed copy. If you like the realistic shooters this one is right up there with the best.

6) Rainbow Six: Vegas 2—I have been playing Rainbow Six since the very first one. The series has come a long ways since it’s PC only versions. This is my favorite anti terrorist shooter.

5) Half-Life 2—the very first shooter I played on PC was the original Half-Life. It had a great story and a great game engine. The sequel and its subsequent chapters hold up to the standards of the original with much improved graphics and continued excellent storytelling. One of the best single player games out there.

4) Gears of War 2— One of the most visceral experiences you’ll ever have is the first time you chain someone with your chain gun. The sequel to the first Gears of War continues with the first one left off, lots of blood, lots of action and truly impressive HD graphics. My favorite third person shooter, easily.

3) Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare—When Modern Warfare came out right after Halo 3, it truly raised the bar for graphics and action in a realistic shooter. A very impressive game.

2) Bioshock— This game really took me by surprise. This game has it all in terms of graphics, story, action, originality and game mechanics. It is my favorite single player shooter on the market today. It is only lacking a multiplayer mode, which I hear is going to be added to the sequel.

1) Halo 3— When this came out, I only played it for about two months. There was incredible competition for my time in the forms of Bioshock and Call of Duty 4. Then there was Gears 2 a year later and several other games. But, about two months ago, I noticed a bunch of my friends were still playing Halo 3 and I thought I should get in on that action. So I went and downloaded all the new maps and I’ve been having a blast ever since. Halo was the first shooter I played on a home console and I love the characters and enjoy the storyline. Sure, graphically it’s not as impressive as some of the games out there nor is it as violent and bloody as some. But for me, there’s a greater sense of nostalgia and attachment to the characters. Bottom line, I have the most fun with this game and that’s what counts the most, having fun. Especially when you have good friends to play with also. It’s kind of like when I was young and I would go outside and play guns or army or war or whatever you may call it with the neighborhood kids. Now we have the comfort of our air-conditioned homes, HD graphics on a widescreen TV and a comfortable chair to sit in but we are all still just playing guns with our friends. Bring on ODST and Reach!!!

Okay, here we go...

Okay, I didn’t want to start this on a down note but I am sick of quitters online. When are some people going to realize that quitting is cheating and makes them look foolish, immature and cowardly. They try to avoid having a loss recorded yet they do the first thing a loser does…quit, give up. It’s pathetic. Like their ranking on xbl truly matters. I’m not talking about pro players, I’m talking casual to hardcore gamers like you and me. Yeah, I know this shouldn’t matter that much to me but it does. There’s no honor in quitting, you might as well not play the game. And, if you can only win by cheating, then those are hollow victories. Now I’m not the best gamer but I’m competent in most games I play and I don’t cheat or quit. I never give up.

Here’s what set me off today:

Playing MTG: Duels of the Planeswalkers, I decided to try a little ranked match. Having played two player matches already ( I won the first, the second guy quit on me ) I figured if they’re going to quit in player matches I might as well play ranked. My first game I get an opponent with the GT: MCJB775
Long story short, I get an excellent draw and proceed to crush his head ( in a Magic kind of way ). Right as I’m about to deliver the killing stroke, he quits. So I sent him one of my usual messages to quitters:

WavyFLATLINE: ha ha ha… Really, you quit… That’s pathetic, like your rank in Magic even matters. Loser.

MCJB775: all I got to say is no cards for

WavyFLATLINE: Everybody gets Mana screwed sometimes, but you shouldn’t quit.

MCJB775: shut up u wanabe wise ass think u know it all loser at life
WavyFLATLINE: As if I’m the guilty one here. You can’t defend your actions so man up and apologize.

MCJB775:apologize ha ha I did you a favor by quitting u didn’t get ur stupid card for ur deck and now u think ur all high and mitey because u think u so good people leave the match erly but that wont work with the ladies u loser

I did not respond further as I knew it would be pointless. I didn’t really expect to get an apology out of him, just trying to take the high road is all. It was obvious that telling him anything further would bear no fruit. But I did think it would be good to tell the people on his friends list that he likes to quit early on ranked games. I know if you told my friends that I quit early (if I actually did quit on people) I would be more than a little embarrassed. Just one problem I encountered after looking at his friend’s list, he has no friends on his friends list! It’s kind of funny how this guy calls me a loser after he quit early on me. Who’s the real loser here? I’m a happily married Marine Corps veteran with two beautiful kids. He’s some DB that sucks at video games, yet he claims to be pro… Yeah, right. If you quit and/or cheat, you are not a pro, you are just a worthless meatbag.

If you read this and you are a quitter, stop. It’s just not worth it. I don’t expect everyone to have some sort of Way of the Warrior samurai code of honor, that would be extreme. But the friends and people I play with and enjoy the most do have a gamer’s code of ethics. Oh we might trash talk a little before a round and that’s fine but after a good round of Street Fighter 4, Magic or other games, it is very common to send a message to the opponent whether you won or lost “GG” (good game) or even praise an opponent that is very skilled and invite them to be on your friends list. Yes it sucks to lose but better to lose with honor than to cheat, quit and give up. That’s what I think.

-WavyFLATLINE