Wow I guess this blog didn't really get the attention I meant to give it. Oh well.
I was responding to a post on facebook by a friend of mine who was talking about FPS games and camping. Someone commented that they should remove Sniper rifles from games because a Sniper is "a glorified camper." I have to agree with this, utterly and completely. There's nothing more annoying that some jackass that's sitting behind a tree and picking people off. If you're good at the game, why not come out fighting and get some actual fun kills? What, you'd rather just sit there? You know you're playing an online MULTIPLAYER game, right? So why would you just hide and pick people off? Oh its because you're an idiot.
Anyway, you know how your train of thought can change what you're thinking in a fraction of a second? One second you're thinking about changing a tire, which makes you remember a small portion of a memory of something else like a birthday party you attended when you were 13, then a few seconds later you're thinking about that time you accidentally saw your 3rd grade teacher's boob when she bent down to help you. That's kinda how this post got started.
For this post, it began with that facebook comment. I ended up on the thought of fighting game combo videos. I hate them. I think they are completely useless and an insane waste of time. But the worst thing about them is that they're impractical. Most of the combo videos you see involve one environmental variable. This very variable is what makes them - to me - completely pointless. That variable is PRACTICE MODE. Practice mode is meant for practice, and yes it is also meant for honing in your combos, timing, moves, et cetera. The practice mode is great for doing this because your opponent will not fight back. He just sits there taking the beating of a lifetime, shrugging it off after a few seconds and becoming ready for another pounding into oblivion just for you, over and over again until you master that crazy move set. A vast majority of combo videos out there use practice mode. The combos that are displayed are always these huge lavish things that are 30 or 40 hit progressions. But they rely on the opponent being in the corner and not blocking. Or jumping - and not blocking. Or dashing toward you - and not blocking. Or dashing away - and not blocking. Crouching - and not blocking. How is that even practical? Do you really think Daigo is going to sit there and not block while you try that 30 hit combo in Third Strike? The fact is you will never pull that combo off with a live opponent. Unless of course that live opponent says "go ahead and show me that combo." But if that happens, how is that any different than practice mode? You're not really accomplishing anything.
I would love to see a really solid, several - powerful - hit combo in whatever fighter is out there. I know there are a few of these vids out there, and they're great to watch. I love watching online matches that have been recorded by the players, or watching some of the EVO fights. Some of those are pretty cool. But these guys that post their 900 hit combo vids for game X while in practice mode are just boring and lame.
