Street Fighter: Alpha Anthology
Throughout my life, I've seen arcades crumble and fall. There was a time when you knew the local arcade as well as you knew the local comic book shop. It was a place of unending din, where you would go completely insane if you were over a certain age and not completely absorbed in a game. Over the years, as home consoles grew in popularity, arcade traffic waned, until they became a hangout for drug dealers and child molesters with a pocket full of quarters. The local arcade became the Chuck E Cheese, the Pizza Hut, and the AMC. Their selection was poor at best, but because of the sheer rarity of an arcade, you played the shit out of the Simpsons game, even if you always got stuck with Marge and her freaking vacuum.

One series always dominated every arcade installation: Street Fighter. I loved the character design, the beautiful sprites, and the sheer fun of the fighting system. Everybody played different; you had the "Hadouken Whores", the jumpers that always played as Chun Li and never stayed still, the blockers who kept their joystick in a constant sate of back, and the button mashing kiddies who usually greased the controls up with their messy little kid fingers. Pizza grease + sticky soda/candy + arcade cabinets = bring a freaking wet-nap or you'll get hepatitis.

The Alphas, next to Marvel vs Capcom had by far the best cast of characters. I always picked Cammy, and to this day I play as her or any other lanky character with a powerful pair of stems (that means you, Elena). Alpha Anthology brings a flawless translation of the arcade classics to the Playstation 2, and completely succeeds in its purpose. I'm not going to be a big queen like other reviewers and knock it for not having online play (on PS2, ugh), I'm simply scoring it based on its contribution to the PS2 library. Finally we have all the Alphas on one disc, along with the surprisingly good chibi Gem Fighter, with no frame rate drops or ugliness (unlike PSP's Alpha Max). Although the PS2's d pad is extremely uncomfortable for fighting games, the joystick is perfect. It's almost better than the original cabinet's. Anthology has the choice of Alpha, Alpha 2, Alpha 2 Gold, Alpha 3 and Super Gem Fighter to satisfy Street Fighter fans. It's more than worth a purchase, seeing as how you can get it for $30 just about anywhere. With its great cast of characters, gorgeous sprites, fighting system complexity and nostalgia factor, this game is a must for your collection.

Niche: 2D Fighter
Gameplay: 9.5
Graphics: 8.5
Art: 9.0
Sound: 7.5
Music: 6.0
Replay Value: 9.5
Verdict: 9.0; You like Street Fighter? Buy it.


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Point Blank DS
Moving a light gun game to the touch screen was a risky decision, but after playing PBDS, it's only natural. I bought the original Point Blank for the PS1, rented the sequels, and changed my freinds' minds about it. The beauty of the series (over the games you bought the light gun for) is the addictive pick up and play value; like going to a carnival, without the smelly carnies and giant tweety birds. After taking too many shots in Time Crisis for the umpteenth time, not yet ready to ditch the gun, Point Blank was a welcome diversion. It also introduced my parents to the Playstation; instead of blowing away terrorists or zombies, they shot at targets, clay pigeons, and other friendly, familiar inanimate objects. The screaming of generic enemies is never as inviting as a metallic "ping."

I rented Point Blank DS via Gamefly, and after playing it for three days, I'm ready to buy it. It's a worthy addition to any DS library. The game responds remarkably well to the touchscreen' s commands, making it the easiest controlling point blank yet. Instead of aiming at inch high targets from across the room, most of the time your stylus is a millimeter away. In response to this, Bandai upped the ante. This is easily the most challenging Point Blank yet: I dare you to get an "A" in Insane mode. --Speaking of modes, PBDS has them aplenty. Arcade mode is pretty standard: you choose a difficulty, one of 4-8 stages, and try to complete them in a limited amount of time. The games range from shooting cardboard cutout bad guys to whacking plastic crocodiles. Other features include single cart multiplayer and a neat brain training mode designed to sharpen your reflexes and improve your attention span. It works, too.

The more I play Point Blank DS, the more I want there to be more light gun ports on this platform. Hopefully we'll see Time Crisis: Double Shooters (with WiFi co-op), Silent Scope: Dueling Snipers (with WiFi multiplayer) or House of the Dead: Death Strike (what, you think we haven't figured out your naming conventions?).

Niche: Variety/Mini games
Gameplay: 9.5
Graphics: 8.0
Art: 7.0
Sound: 5.5
Music: 3.0
Replay Value: 8.5
Verdict: 7.5; Find a good deal and go for it.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 at 7:18 AM.