The Overdrive continues unabated. This time Doug is looking at the king of all fighters, the Street Fighter series. Other entries in the Retrospective category can be found here.

This month is the 20th anniversary of Street Fighter II. Let that sink in for a while; how old were you 20 years ago? For how much of your life have you used a joystick and six buttons to try and beat up your opponent?

For my money, the most amazing thing about the Street Fighter series is how such a simple core concept has proven to be both flexible and timeless. I’m not going to do a full, detailed analysis of the history of the series — 1up has done a decent job of that in recent weeks, including an excellent SF-centric episode of the revived Retronauts podcast — but instead point out a couple of games in the series that have meant quite a bit to me and my appreciation of the greater series. It’s a high-quality franchise, but some of the titles mean more than others.

Street Fighter Alpha 3

I never quite could figure out how best to use Street Fighter Alpha 3's "Variable-ISM" super meter mode.

Back when Street Fighter II and its infinite 16-bit revisions (Championship Edition, Turbo, Hyper Fighting, Super, etc) were new, I was way too young to appreciate what was going on; pick the girl, mash buttons to get her to kick forever, be amazed when something cool happens or pick the red karate guy, reel back and wonder how you got him to throw a fireball or spin like a top in the air. It was still fun though, which is something of a testament to the mechanics of Street Fighter, but I was approaching the game as an ignorant kid.

Fast forward a few years and a couple of console generations, and Street Fighter Alpha 3 was the one where I learned what the hell I was doing. I rented it once for PlayStation and then, when I found it cheap at a Hollywood Video for Dreamcast, I knew I had to buy it. I’d already spent an inordinate amount of time learning a fighting game, Soul Calibur; now, this great-looking 2D fighter was available, and it was time to figure out what I’d missed before. EGM said it was an arcade-perfect port, and that was really all the prodding I needed.

What a re-introduction. Alpha 3 was worlds ahead of what I knew from the SFII era; with three different ways to control a super meter, alpha counters, and more nuanced combos, this was a distinctly evolved product from what I knew on the SNES. However, it allowed me to dig deep and learn characters and the fighting system at the heart of the Street Fighter series. I learned shotokans and shoto-clones, the intricacies of charge characters, and the fine balance between speed, power and health presented by the game’s wide selection of characters. Even within the various shotos, you have four characters with subtle differences, and then Dan for when you’re drunk or want to challenge yourself. I also learned to hate the standard Dreamcast controller, but that’s another matter for another time.

It still holds up, too, of course. Alpha 3 remains my favorite true 2D fighting game, partially because it was the first I dug into, but also because of the wide variety of characters and great, balanced action.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2

MY GOD IT'S FULL OF STARS!

And from the technical styles of Alpha 3, we uncork the madness of Marvel vs. Capcom 2. If it hadn’t been re-released on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, I would perpetually be trying to track down a copy of this for the Dreamcast. There’s a reason brand-new sealed copies go for more than $300: It was published in somewhat limited numbers for the Dreamcast, but is also one of the best-remembered 2D fighters of all time.

Fire the game up and hold on. While the previous “versus” games stayed close to the established Street Fighter formula, MvC2 was the first that really broke away and differentiated itself. From six buttons down to four, the controls are simplified, but it’s not just a game for beginners — streamlining just allows easier access to insanity. Make no mistake, because that’s what the game is: unbridled 2D insanity — fighting game sprite-porn. Everything is over the top, and the super combos are indicative of this.

Seriously, MvC2 is absolutely bananas. In a good way.

I’ll also take a second to tip my cap to another Street Fighter game you can go out and download right now, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. This recognition is not just for having the most Street Fighter-est game name of all time, but for being an incredibly good remake of 16-bit Street Fighter II. It’s SFII as we want to remember it, but with slight rebalance tweaks to perfect the fighting and an amazing graphical and musical remastering to make the game stand out in the HD era. Seriously, I fired this up the other day for the first time in a long while and it almost made me feel like the dude in that old hi-fi ad, totally blown away.

Plus, it was the first contemporary Street Fighter game to “get” online play, with the online lobby system allowing eight people to spectate and quarter up at a time. Doing this with friends online is awesome fun. GIVE ‘EM THE GIEF!

Super Street Fighter IV

Super Street Fighter IV – Return of the king

Street Fighter on the cover of a video game magazine? It was like the mid-90s had never left a couple years ago when Street Fighter IV came back. Super took it up another level, adding characters and gameplay twists — and coming out for $40 brand new! — and is a worthy heir to the throne. Yes, I know, this isn’t an old game — but I love it. There’s a lot to learn in the game, but it’s still open to newcomers who can pick up the gameplay and have fun.

Not gonna go into too much about Super Street Fighter IV, but let me put it this way: while it does have solid online play, before Nick left to work in Texas we would get together on the regular to throw down, old-school same-couch style. Few other games in the current, networked era inspire that sort of competition.

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

With December and its myriad holidays out of the way, everybody’s got something to keep them busy. Doug’s back to work on his master’s program, Aaron has transformed into a job-applying machine, and I’ve thankfully found a job once again. Unfortunately, that means we all have a whole lot less time to be playing games, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to turn a blind eye to our sacred obligation to Silicon Sasquatch. Don’t worry! We’ve got a couple great articles that are almost ready for publication, and we’re anticipating a full run of content next week.

In the meantime, here’s what we’ve been keeping ourselves busy with.

Aaron wouldn't say 'I ain't afraid of no ghosts': he has much less bravado toward specters than you might think.

Aaron:

Now, the game I actually have something say about is Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Maybe it’s because I only paid a meager $12.99 at GameFly’s used game store (with free shipping), but I can’t help but like what I’ve seen. I’m perhaps halfway though the story now, and while the camera and controls are a bit rough around the edges, Ghostbusters is pure fun for fans of the movies. It’s by no means perfect, and that’s fine. The humor is there, the attention to detail in the firehouse headquarters is there, the proton packs are spot-on and the thrill of catching a ghost in a trap still makes me giggle just like my 6-year-old self used to with my toy Nerf proton pack and authentic jumpsuit. Ghostbusters is simple fun layered over a strong IP, and I truly hope Atari gives Terminal Reality another shot in future sequel. Maybe when the third movie finally (maybe) sees release next year, a tie-in game could coincide with the film’s debut.

In case you'd like some added context, here's what's happening. Man on the left: "Colonel! What have you been hiding from me!?" Man in giant robot: "Snaaaaaaaaaaake!"

Doug:

Much like Aaron, I’m just going to list out most of what I played over our holiday break because, being a degenerate graduate student, I had almost nothing productive to do between Thanksgiving and this week, when classes re-started up in earnest. Because that means a lot of time to play games, I’m just going to cut the fat and go list-happy.

I finished Brütal Legend (which seemed like it lost its storytelling steam a bit at the very end) and am close to finishing Batman: Arkham Asylum (trap-laden gargoyles are my kryptonite right now). I almost have what the gentlemen at Giant Bomb would term an “S-rank” (or 1000/1000 achievement score) on Forza Motorsport 3, which I also did a lot of online racing on during the break. I was definitely happy to hit Level 50 in that game and get the last gifted car.

The only game really worth the meagre Xbox Live sale over the holiday break was Marvel vs. Capcom 2, which was marked down to almost 60 percent off the regular list price and is worth every penny. Better than arcade-perfect, with every character unlocked from the start and online multiplayer capable? Yes, please. I also received a kind gift in the form of Shadow Complex, which scratches my Metroid-vania itch in so many ways. Definitely one of the best Xbox 360-only games of last year.

Lastly, my sports game fix has come in two forms — first, as part of multiple trips to downtown Portland old-school arcade Ground Kontrol, I’ve fulfilled my basketball jones by playing a bunch of NBA Jam. Nick and I (and friend of the site Andrew) went to GK on New Year’s Eve, and besides crushing the X-Men 6-player arcade game, the most fun had was running the two-man game with the Blazers on NBA Jam. The other sports game I picked up was, finally, Pro Evo Soccer 2010…which definitely lives up to the expectations I had for it based off my playtime with the demo. It may not be as pretty as FIFA 10, but it provides a much more challenging and fulfilling soccer experience. Crank the difficulty all the way up and enjoy smart AI in a sports game for once.

The story of a witch, her hair, and gratuitous almost-nudity. This is gonna be awkward.

Nick:

As a test to see who’s interested in the blog, I offered up a vote on our Facebook page to ask people which game they’d rather see me purchase and review first: Demon’s Souls or Bayonetta. Although there was support for both, Bayonetta got the nod and I picked up a copy last night. While I’ve only had time to play about ten minutes of the game, those ten minutes were extraordinarily promising. I just hope the game’s rampant, bizarre sexuality doesn’t weird out my friends and loved ones.

The majority of my free time has been spent on — yeah, you guessed it — Dragon Age: Origins. I keep thinking I’m getting close to the end, and then another 15-hour sequence of quests pops up. I’m absolutely enamored with the game, so I think I won’t have any complaints if it turns out the game just never ends.

Rough-and-tumble actor Mickey Rourke, most recently nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his stellar performance in The Wrestler, is set to star in Rogue Warrior, based roughly on the real-life experiences of Navy SEAL Richard “Demo Dick” Marcinko. Developed by Rebellion Developments and published by Bethesda, the game places the player in Marcinko’s shoes as he investigates a North Korean ballistic missile program and unearths a conspiracy of some sort. Rebellion’s track record is relatively spotty, having been tasked with a number of high-profile game ports and adaptations to platforms like the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, but the potential for a game based on such a hard-hitting true story and portrayed by a talent like Rourke’s is high.

Capcom announced Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is coming to Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network this summer, and while it shouldn’t come as a surprise, it’s great news nonetheless for the fighting game enthusiasts. Arriving sometime this summer for a paltry 1200 Microsoft Points/$15 on PlayStation Network — a steal compared to what its previous console releases sell for on eBay — the classic brawler will feature online play and come with all 56 characters unlocked. Perhaps the best-known crossover fighter that Capcom ever made, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 plays host to dozens of classic comic book characters like Spider-Man, Wolverine and Gambit and pits them against videogame legends like Mega Man, Strider Hiryu and the gang from Street Fighter Even better for the fighting elite: this downloadable version of MvC2 is based off the Dreamcast version’s code, which is the definitive version of the game according to Capcom’s Unity blog. Capcom even brought in two of the game’s biggest devotees in the fan community to test out the port and iron out every little nuance to make the game as authentic an experience as possible. PlayStation 3 users will get a special preview this Thursday in the form of a playable demo; Xbox 360 owners, it seems, will unfortunately be forced to wait until the game launches.

And while this isn’t news, it’s probably the first time a game was designed to announce an employee’s decision to quit his job. An employee at 2K Australia (famous for working on BioShock) named Jarrad designed this Super Mario-like Flash game to announce his decision to leave his job to focus on indie game development. If the creativity involved in building this goodbye-game is any indication, Jarrad’s got good reason to pursue his interests.

For those that don’t know, the NPD Group is the data analysis group that keeps track of video game sales data, which they then release to the masses on a monthly basis. While in some seedy parts of the Internet the NPDs may be nothing more than “troll food,” providing console crusaders proof that THIER CONSOLE IS TEH BEST EVAR for message board flame wars, the sales data are useful to show a few things we can dig into and analyze.

Resident Evil 5 was the sales leader in March, nearing 1.5 million total copies on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Image from residentevil.com.

A full list of console and game sales totals for March can be found at 1up.com’s news article on the topic. Salient analysis? Resident Evil 5 was popular – selling more than 900,000 copies on Xbox 360, and 580,000 on the PlayStation 3. On the console side, the Wii just keeps selling – moving more than 600,000 units in March, and 700,000 in February. Yowza. RE5 360, Pokemon Platinum on DS, Halo Wars, RE5 PS3 and Wii Fit are the top five games for March, and Wii Fit, Street Fighter 4 360 and then PS3, Wii Play and Killzone 2 are the top five for February.

Also from NPD land: In an article on Joystiq, a survey conducted by NPD suggests that, despite the economic downturn, game sales will continue to stay at around the same level this year – with 65 percent of the people surveyed saying they are planning to spend as much or more money on games this year than the year gone. It makes a certain amount of sense – in talking about this topic before, many gaming pundits have said they wouldn’t be surprised if sales stay strong because of the escapism and value-per-dollar offered by gaming. People may not get as much out of their extra cars, homes, meals out, or vacations, but they certainly can get the extra mile out of their games.

Adding on to a leak that Destructoid got, Giant Bomb puts together the puzzle pieces and deduces that it appears a current-gen downloadable version of classically chaotic fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom 2 may be inbound. Destructoid received a listing for a MadCatz-made MvC-branded arcade stick, which lists the game title by name in the release. There was previously an ESRB rating put out for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, and – to add fuel to the fire – a Giant Bomb commentor adds that MvC2 achievements have been spotted at xbox360achievements.org. MvC2 – which originated in arcades on the Naomi board, allowing a direct, perfect version on the Dreamcast – was previously ported to the PS2 and Xbox. All three still command a premium online, especially the Dreamcast version.

Left 4 Dead is getting an update next week, and the developers say the new Survival mode won't just ask for teamwork – it will demand it from players. Image from l4d.com.

Numerous sources point back to the Left 4 Dead developer blog, where the game’s creators at Valve detail the new Survival mode that will come to the game next week. The popular online multiplayer shooter, which pits players against waves of zombies (as well as placing them in the tattered shoes of the undead), will soon have a new mode that the developers say focuses on communication and teamwork.

Survival Mode draws on the planning and communication aspects of a successful Finale or Crescendo event, while taking it to another level. It rapidly hits a fever pitch that only a well coordinated team will be able to successfully survive. Everything from simply covering a reviving teammate, to making every shot count to minimize reloads becomes crucial in Survival Mode.

Valve says that even trying to take advantage of runs for ammo will be dangerous for players and fits in with the theme of necessary teamwork. See for yourself when the DLC drops next week.