Some advice on the controller: if you're going to get a 3rd-party controller, get an Intec. They make a damn good product and that product is a controller with programmable autofire.

RE: Fighting games, what's the general consensus between Virtua Fighter 5, Tekken 6, the new Street Fighter, and Soul Calibur IV?

Also, do Battlefield 2 and/or Modern Warfare 2 include two-player in the same room, or are the multiplayer modes online only? Are there any games like a Modern Warfare or Gears of War style FPS that include a mode where two can play in the same room?

Also: has FFXIII really been so disappointing that no one's going to try to convince me to give it a chance?

Army of Two: 40 Days is similar to Gears of War

FFXIII is worth a shot (rent it first!!). It's just that most gamers don't like it is all. And don't won't to mention it.

Street Fighter is full of uber-elite/cheapskate Ken/Ryu players who play the game constantly and have been for years and are virtually unbeatable/spam hadokens over and over and over again and think they're good players. Don't bother unless you're really good already or have a MASSIVE desire to be constantly frustrated.

Neither Battlefield or MW2 have splitscreen. The only games I can think of that do are Warhawk (3rd person online only, really awesome, but as I said earlier, not sure how busy the servers are these days), Unreal 3 (FPS, really good, offline and online game modes, though splitscreen is only offline) and Resi 5 (splitscreen co-op campaign, really awesome with a friend).

Personally I'd be wary of the first Army of Two, I found it to be utterly terrible. Playing felt like trying to dig my way through a river of quicksand it was so slow and awkward.


Can't comment on FFXIII because I haven't played it. It looks crap though.

But you can still play Street Fighter (and other fighting games, like Soul Calibur IV) on splitscreen offline, right? I'm more interested in the potential there then what the online scene may or may not be like.

Don't bother with SCIV if you're expecting a single player experience like, at all.

Edit: That said, the character creator is awesome. I pretty much just make up characters and then once in awhile play a game. Also if you punch a girl's shirt enough times, it shatters.

Good for you man. Only reason I haven't played Battlefield 2 is because I'm a poor motherfucker and I already have MW2.

Apparently the online is FUBAR given the fact that everyone abuses the glitches, so if you don't care about that and/or are already getting Battlefield 2, y'know, whatever.

I still highly recommend at LEAST Devil May Cry 4.

Modern Warfare 2 has up to four player splitscreen. HOWEVER! The coop modes and campaign mode are exclusive: you cannot play campaign cooperatively, but you can play certain retooled campaign missions in coop mode.

But the competitive multiplayer... 4 player splitscreen, and on one of the smaller maps... holy shit. Not to mention your offline profiles gain levels, and as you gain levels you unlock new equipment, achievements, etc. If you ever want more info, ask via PM, I don't wanna stretch this thread with unrelated drivel.

Can't say anything for Virtua Fighter 5 or Street Fighter since I haven't played them, but if you've played and enjoyed the older Tekken games you'll probably enjoy 6 because it's much the same, except for the Scenario mode, but don't expect to even try and play that more than once. As for Soul Calibur IV, BitViper was pretty much spot on. The shattering clothes part isn't nearly as exciting as it sounds though...

Not that it's horrible. I think it's a pretty decent game but there are just a lot of minor flaws that just dampen the experience and make it seem like more of a chore than an entertaining experience. I'd certainly rent before buying.

I like all of those fighters, I guess Tekken 6 if I had to pick one, but I haven't played Super Street Fighter 4.

Virtua Fighter 5 is kinda technical and hard to play casually, which is kinda silly since it has no online capabilities (at least not the PS3 one) so you can never really "test" yourself. It might be my favorite one of the ones you mentioned as just a raw fighting game. The "quest mode" in VF5 is huge though, you could play it technically forever I think. The AI is very good. There are some neat characters and the fighting styles feel relatively real, not glamorized like in Tekken or Street Fighter or SC4 (I suppose). Which is a plus to me.

However there's a lot more to do in Tekken 6 than SC4 and VF5, and Tekken 6 can be very slow and methodical if you choose it to be. One thing I did't like about the DOA games was they felt very spammy. Tekken 6 you can plan what you're doing and since some moves do a lot of damage a fight isn't really over till it's over. It makes it a lot more tense because even if you think the opponent is beaten a few good clean hits can turn it 180 degrees.

SC4 is pretty fun if you like those weapon based fighters. SC4 aside from a few things to do outside the main fighter is very thin. You have a very short story mode, a "quest mode" (which isn't that great), and that create a fighter mode, which is fun, but Tekken 6 sorta has that too (SC4 you can create one from scratch, T6 you simply play dress-up with fighters that already exist). The AI on SC4 isn't that great either, they're very vulnerable to throws and generally perform the same dumb tactics over and over again (I was practicing against Seong Mina on Hard and I swear she attacked low like 75% of the time).

Tekken 6 and SC4 have online capabilities tho.. which is a plus.

I also have a soft-spot for Tekken, Tekken 1 was the second game I got for the PS1 (Doom was the first) and so the series is just something that goes way back w/ me :)