ABRA, KADABRA (POKEMON)

Pokemon as a series has always embraced its whimsy, and that is constantly reflected in the way it names its eponymous monsters. One of the funniest examples of this is the entire line of Gen 1 Psychic Pokemon Abra, which evolves into Kadabra, showing no subtlety in its Abracadarba reference.

The world’s biggest fighting game tournament is back, and it is being headlined with some good, big games this year- the organizers of EVO have selected a very diverse bunch to be represented this time around, including Capcom’s Ultra Street Fighter IV, the unreleased Mortal Kombat X, and even the arcade version of Tekken 7.

The big news for everyone here is probably going to be that both, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U will be played at EVO this year; Melee, of course, is the biggest game at the tournament, drawing in more players, viewers, and counts than anything else, and, fourteen years after release, still has a thriving competitive screen. The excellent Smash Bros. for Wii U, on the other hand, is also a competitively viable game that distinguishes its style of play enough from Melee, and is popular and nuanced enough to warrant its inclusion.

The full lineup includes:

• Ultra Street Fighter 4
• Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
• Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
• Super Smash Bros. Melee
• Guilty Gear Xrd Sign
• Killer Instinct
• Mortal Kombat X
• Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
• Tekken 7

That’s a very nice and varied lineup, though of course, EVO notes that it is subject to change.

Still, I can say I am very happy, and that EVO will be getting a lot of my viewership this year.

EVO 2015 will take place July 17-19 at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

If you are curious or worried about the upcoming new addition to Arc Systems’ hyper technical 2D fighting game series, Guilty Gear- Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- then you are in luck, as these two new gameplay videos, taken directly from the PS4 version of the game’s demo that was released recently, show us a lot of how the game really is in motion.

As expected, it looks pretty great- the franchise’s distinctive art style seems to have made the cut to the PS4, and looks better than ever, and the gameplay looks every bit as challenging and as frenetic and technically demanding as we would expect from a new game bearing the Guilty Gear moniker.

Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- launches on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 on December 16. If you are still not sold on it, you can always head on over to the PSN Store and download the demo for it for yourself and see if it does anything for you.

If you are looking forward to Arc System’s upcoming Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign-, which is due to hit the store shelves (both retail and digital) next month, then you’re in luck, as we just got a ton of new information on the game. This new information includes the confirmation of a new DLC character for the game, who will be exclusive to the consoles version, LEO = WHITEFANG, although the update didn’t go too in depth about him. We’re going to have to wait to learn more about him, including what kind of fighting style he uses (which will basically single handedly make him or break him amongst the fighting game community). Arc Systems also confirmed the inclusion of online lobbies that will support as many as 64 players at a time.

All of this aside, the existence of a companion app for the game was also confirmed. Yes, we are now at a juncture where a hardcore, niche, Japanese 2D fighter that requires frame perfect input precision will also get a companion app.

This app works only with the PlayStation 4 version, and seems to be pretty full featured, allowing you to create tournaments with full custom rules, check tournaments out, check out fixtures and standings, and so on.

Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- launches on Playstation 3 and PlayStation 4 on December 16. Stay tuned for more coverage.

First, we’ve got Kadokawa Game Studio’s Natural Doctrine which will be arriving for PS4, PS3 and PS Vita. Described as a fantasy RPG with natural selection – the strongest species serving the basis for evolution – it will support multiplayer and cross-play.

Then there’s Arc System Works’ Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- was next, and it will be arriving for the PS4 and PS3. Though announced some time ago, this is the first confirmation of a PS3 release we’ve heard since its initial announcement.

Finally we have Dynasty Warriors 8, which will be arriving in Japan for the PS4. It will be launching on February 22nd 2014, the launch date for PS4 in Japan, and is truly the eighth game in the series. We don’t know who would care outside of Japan, but the series is still big there at least.