I Love Capcom (for now)

It may be hard to believe these days, especially with my limited time due to nonfun adult duties, but I am a gamer.

And though my latest gaming rig still includes an unHDTV, minor surround sound, and a slim PS2, I still drool and dream of upcoming games. Yet I must admit, it’s rare lately that I’ve found myself enamored with any gaming company.

Back in the day, I use to be a Nintendo cultist. I bled freaking Mario Bros. blood. Then Nintendo dropped their “newborn drunken prom mistake” known as the N64.

Dark times indeed.

Square–before they became RPG conglomerate Square Enix–had me like a heroin addict straight out of Trainspotting. Creepy babies on the ceiling included.

Then they dropped Final Fantasy VII. Oh no, there was nothing wrong with it. It was the second best RPG ever created right next to Chrono Trigger. It’s just that they spoiled me and never created another drug just as potent as those gems. Say what you will. But in my eyes, Square still hasn’t created a game that even comes close to matching up to those titles.

And then, there was Capcom. Ole trusty Capcom.

Now that’s a love/hate relationship.

I have an encyclopedia like knowledge of the Street Fighter series. No really, I could tell you obvious things like Balrog is known as M. Bison in Japan, a clear allusion to real life boxer Mike Tyson. Or I could tell you that yes, while Dan is a stab at certain SNK characters from the Art of Fighting series, his story is a little grim, as Sagat killed his father, after his father managed to snag an eye.

But I digress.

My number one t-shirt is of the blue bomber Mega Man.

Killer 7 is a cult hit worthy of the same praise given to films like Run Lola Run, I don’t care what anyone tells you.

And Rockstar’s The Warriors is only a brilliant evolution of the first Final Fight game.

I love the big “C.” But then they turn around and decide to beat the shit of me like a trailer trash couple, or Lionel Richie’s wife.

They dropped Clover, the special team behind last year’s sleeper hit Okami. A new Street Fighter game usually means the addition of words like “Super,” “Hyper” or “Turbo.” And I can forgive Devil May Cry 2, but still want the balls of whoever was behind Final Fight Streetwise. Sons of bitches.

But after the recent Capcom Gamer’s Day in London, I may find myself in a forgiving mood.

Dude, Street Fighter IV!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew, sorry about that.

But you can’t deny that this is the biggest surprise to come from the Capcom camp in a long time.

The trailer, which you can check out again, again, and oh yeah again below, makes Ryu and Ken look so freaking cool. But it was missing a little something.

Oh yeah, GAMEPLAY!

What the hell?

My guess, is that the series is going 3-D, just like the trailer, with cel-shading but no artistic splashes. I want it to move like the trailer, but all bets are off on that hope. The best I can hope is something that’s closer to the Soul Caliber series.

Street Fighter II HD Remix is looking pretty cool with the Udon update. But I would rather they just give the HD effect to Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, the best in the series. I’d love to play my Chun-Li, Ken, Ryu, or Yun all over Xbox Live.

In other news, Capcom is deciding to give older titles new life, as they decide to release Bionic Commando and Commando 3. I’m a little iffy on those two, even though swinging around an apocalyptic city like Spider-Man is very appealing. I’m not that impressed by character design or graphics for that matter. And the over-top style of Commando 3 is cool, if I’m playing on my SNES. I don’t know, I’m not one to knock old school gameplay. I mean to this day I’ll still dust off a copy of Contra III Alien Wars any day of the week. Maybe I’m just too psyched for the pushed back Army of Two.

There’s a new title in the mix called Dark Void, which does look like an interesting attempt at Gameplay with a jet pack and gravity. Need to see more.

Devil May Cry 4 is looking awesome. Graphically, there’s a noticeable improvement over 3. And my fingers have been itching for some over stylized action. I’m still weary of the character Nero though, as I’m thinking that Capcom might be pulling a Metal Gear Solid 2 on us. If I have to suffer any “Oh Jack, Oh Rose” soap opera during my devil slaying, I swear I’m gonna nutshot or every employee that works at Capcom.

Wear your cups.

Okami is being ported to the Wii, by a different development team. I don’t know. I kind of view this one like Twilight Princess. If you played one version, what’s the point of getting the other? Is the Wii-mote that crucial?

No new news on Resident Evil 5. This disappoints me, as I have questions. Are those zombies in the traditional sense since the game takes place in Haiti, the country that birthed the whole myth on zombification? Where is Jill? And how much steroids did Chris take? Did it shrink his genatalia? Does that last question make me gay?

All the other games at the event, either don’t exist to me or don’t matter.

–Sleepy Out.

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