411 Games Fact or Fiction 03.24.09: 2D vs. 3D Fighters, Arcade Sticks, Resident Evil and More

Posted by Ramon Aranda on 03.24.2009

Does the Resident Evil franchise need to go back to its roots of killing zombies? Do you find playing fighting games more enjoyable with an arcade stick rather than with a standard controller? Are 2D fighters better than 3D ones? 411’s Jacob Lopez and Ty Huston discuss these topics and more in the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction: Games!



I'm sure 411 almost imploded yesterday when Fact or Fiction was visibly missing. Well never fear as only small difficulties got in the way as we now present this week's FoF. First up is Jacob Lopez, resident Nintendo fanboy who spends his time writing news articles, the occasional review/preview and bugging me about stuff. He's got a review of Resident Evil 5 for the PS3 coming up shortly so look out for that. Taking him on this week is Ty Huston, who's slowly worked his way back into the thick of things at 411Games. Ty helps out with news while also dishing out reviews. His most recent one is LIPS for the Xbox 360 which you can check out here. He's got some new ones coming up shortly.

On a side note, 411Games is now officially part of Gamerankings.com!

Now let's get on to this week's topics!



1. You think the Resident Evil franchise needs to go back to its roots of killing zombies.



Jacob Lopez: FICTION - As much as I really like zombies, I just gotta say no. The series has already shown us the evolution of the virus into something more parasitic. Dead Space and Silent Hill are not the creepy survival horror games, while Resident Evil has become the survival shooter. There are other things about the series that should change, however. I hate to bring it up again, but I still need to run and shoot! I would like to be able to hide from enemies.

I know that Capcom wants me to "aim and shoot" and "assess the situation", but we are talking about enemies that completely surround me and have superhuman strength. Anyone who has played RE5 already knows that the enemies are much, much faster and more aggressive than they were in any of the previous games. The controls and gameplay need to adjust to that. BTW, Capcom already has a great zombie title. Dead Rising. Which better captures the feel of being in a zombie outbreak anyway.

Ty Huston: FICTION - I enjoy a good zombie thrashing as much as the next guy, but the Resident Evil franchise has, as Jacob said, become more of a survival shooter than a "zombie killer" game. It's my opinion that the Resident Evil franchise needs to think outside the box and find more original and unique survival storylines than to just go along with shooting up zombies. Sure, killing zombies is awesome. Just look at Left 4 Dead. However, if CAPCOM really wants to bring RE back to the days of strictly hunting zombies, they've got a lot of games that have taken the "zombie" ball and gone much farther with it - forcing RE to outdo games such as Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead. Good luck with that.

Score: 1 for 1

2. You find playing fighting games more enjoyable with an arcade stick than with a standard controller.



Jacob Lopez: FICTION - can only speak for myself. I am sure that most gamers especially the core Street Fighter and any fighting game fan would much rather use the arcade stick. But me? I grew up in the Super Nintendo days. We had a D-pad and four buttons on the face of the controller, plus R and L. I played the hell out of those classic fighters on my SNES. Street Fighter II and all its spin-offs, Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat. I have tried going back to an arcade joystick, or even the analog stick. I just suck with it. Besides, I suck enough as it is.

Ty Huston: FICTION - I never liked the arcade stick, because I too am from the generation of Nintendo. I grew up with the classic D-Pad and button control scheme which means that, to me, any game is better with a standard controller. Fighting games aside, as I simply don't care for them anymore, I'd take a standard controller over an arcade stick every single time.

Score: 2 for 2

3. You think its wrong that sports titles aren't usually mentioned in Game of the Year categories, when there are some fine sports games from time to time.



Jacob Lopez: FACT - I am not a huge fan of sports games (except for Boxing), but a well-made game is a well-made game. Sure, Fight Night Round 4 may not win best story, but why not reward it for being a great sports game? The game has amazing graphics if the screens and videos are any indication of what the game is like. Lots of non-gamers pick up consoles just for the Madden series. That says something about the game.

Ty Huston: FACT - Like Lopez, I'm not a huge fan of sports games, but agree that a quality game is still deserving of being recognized for what it is. Some of the Madden games of the past were excellent, as were a few of the Winning Eleven games. I see no reason why an excellent game, whether a sports game or not, shouldn't be a contender for game of the year. Another game to consider would be WWF No Mercy for the N64. Depending on whether you consider the game a fighting or sports game, that is. Kind of a toss up there. Regardless, the game was an awesome game that anyone could pick up and play and have fun with. Even non-wrestling fan friends of mine bought the game because it was just fun to play. That says a lot.

Score: 3 for 3 - Well aren't we friendly?

~SWITCHAROO!~

4. You think it would be sweet for the original Mortal Kombat to be redone in the style of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.



Ty Huston: FICTION - I think Mortal Kombat should, at this point, be retired. Why? It's my personal opinion. The Mortal Kombat license has been so abused over the past ten years that I really don't see the need for another sequel or a reboot. Shelve the license and if in another ten years, once fighting games have made a bunch of new advances, and then consider rebooting the franchise. Until then, give it up. I was excited for MK vs. DCU, and that was saying a lot considering I put down fighting games after Tekken 2. This is coming from a kid who preordered MK2 from Radio Shack back in the mid-90s and was the coolest kid in school because he got it a week before release. Unfortunately, MK vs. DCU was a mediocre game in a worn out genre. Please, for the sake of whatever legacy this franchise has left, just put it away for awhile.

Jacob Lopez: FICTION - Street Fighter has always been the more cartoon-ish fighter of the two. MK has always had a more serious, darker tone. Even though some of Mortal Kombat's finishers are light-hearted (Do they still have Friendships?), the game overall has always had the more realistic graphics. The anime style just wouldn't work well for MK. However, it is a shame that the Mortal Kombat series is no longer taken seriously.

Score: 4 for 4

5. Speaking of fighters, you prefer to play 2D fighters than 3D ones.



Ty Huston: FICTION - Anymore, it really doesn't matter to me. I've enjoyed classic 2D fighters such as Street Fighter 2, and I've enjoyed both of the original Tekken games. I tried to enjoy MK vs. DCU, but the problem is with the genre and not the graphics. To me, there is only so much that can be accomplished in a fighting game. After spending hundreds of hours playing SF2 and Tekken 1 and 2, I've come to this conclusion - I don't prefer to play any fighting games anymore.

Jacob Lopez: FICTION - More like a hybrid. Street Fighter IV is a great example of awesome 3D graphics on a 2D plane, and the game is one of the most enjoyable fighters I have played in a while. Also, maybe it is just me, but a lot of the games I have played (the Soul Calibur series comes to mind) just don't quite capture the speed of games like Street Fighter. I somehow often times feel like I am fighting underwater. This was especially true in the much older games like the original.

Score: 5 for 5

6. FPS games are more enjoyable on the PC than on consoles mainly due to the controls.



Ty Huston: FICTION - Whoa, whoa, whoa. I may be in the minority here, but I actually bought a Windows Xbox 360 controller for my PC to play shooting games. I prefer the feel of the controller in my hands with all of the primary functions little more than an digit length away for my FPS. Many people will probably disagree with this, claiming that the ability to have all functions available via the keyboard is more important and that the genre has used virtually the same controls for the past ten years or so, and that because of that it is easier to use the keyboard because they've grown accustomed to it. To those people, I say good for you. Me? I find the console and controller feel to be more enjoyable.

Jacob Lopez: FICTION - For one simple reason. Most of my work involves sitting at a computer typing and clicking around on a mouse. Do that about 8 hours a day for a couple of years, and soon after, the last thing you want to do is play your games on that same computer. Aside from the control thing, I hate having to check my system specs and worry about all that crap. I just wanna play! I mean my PS3 installs are pain in the arse enough.

Final Score: 6 for 6 - Wow, a completely agreeable duo here. I guess they'd play nice on co-op titles or whatever. Yeah, I'd like to see if they're in agreement in level 3 of Contra for the NES though. As soon as one of them jumps up too quickly while the other one dies below, someone will start throwing slaps...guaranteed.


I said wait for me!

Now it's on you guys....Fact or Fiction? Let us know!