The Video Game Revue

SNK on PS2

It's a shame to admit, but my SNK fan-dom goes through phases, while my Capcom fandom remains rock-steady. When it comes to those domain where the twain shall meet (eg. the ever significant realm of Capcom vs SNK 2), part of me wants to walk the hardcore path of the SNK fan, but the draw of the Capcom side is too much for me to resist. I grew up with 1943, Mega Man, and Street Fighter II. I continue to love Resident Evil and Devil May Cry. The Capcom Classics Collection, and vol 2 thereof, are among my very favourite retro game compilations. By comparison, my affection for games like Samurai Spirits ("Shodown"), Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, and Metal Slug is aptly described as wannabe.

It's because of this that when I saw the $60 price tag on Metal Slug Anthology for PS2, my desire for the title crumpled and I left it on the shelf at the store. Even now, this isn't really a decision that I regret, although I will likely yet end up purchasing this title at some point when the SNK fanboy wannabe within me wells up sufficiently. Since, while my affection for Capcom remains more steadfast than what I feel for SNK, when the pangs for SNK action strike, they strike hard.

Cue my having taken notice of a recent Scott Daylor blog entry on 1UP.com. It turns out that SNK has some exciting new titles in development, including an American release of Neo-Geo Battle Coliseum. Holy shit!

In addition to the Art of Fighting Anthology that was recently released, we're also going to be seeing Fatal Fury Battle Archives this summer, and King of Fighters XI is in the works. That's a whole lotta SNK fuel for the PS2. I'm bracing myself for the onslaught.

As an aside, I'm also excited about future Guitar Hero releases, particularly Guitar Hero III. In conversations with some friends about Guitar Hero, the subject of the music involved comes up. Yes, it would certainly kick ass to be able to play my favourite rock songs on Guitar Hero, and yes, it would make the game much better. One point that seems to often get lost in the discussion is that Guitar Hero is still loads of fun even when the music sucks; I can barely stand to sit and listen to stuff like Boston or Dire Straits, but playing their hit songs on Guitar Hero is not the same experience by a long shot. This is relevant because I'll certainly be picking up Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s even though I'm actively disinterested in a lot of the tracks that it contains. These days I'm so eager for new Guitar Hero stuff that I'll gladly play tracks ranging from annoying to mediocre just for whatever challenge those tracks has to offer.

posted by Parappa @ 11:32 AM