The Darkness – Jackie Estacado

Jackie Estacado seems to be your average, run of the mill gangster. That is, until he’s possessed by The Darkness, an ancient malevolent entity that wreaks havoc and rips people apart, among other things. The Darkness has inhabited Jackie’s family line for generations and wars with him for control. While considered a demon in the games, the comic books reveal The Darkness to be the embodiment of chaos and evil, the void before the light and other such discomforting terms.

Fatalities

Let’s start with Fatalities in Mortal Kombat. We’re not against the inherent concept of finishers or even players outright killing their opponents. It’s just weird to see some fighters absolutely brutalized and then return in the next game. Unless they were killed “in storyline,” because cutscene deaths are always lethal. Mortal Kombat 11’s Story Mode did address this somewhat by not having every fight end with the opportunity for a Fatality but it’s still weird in other games.

Capcom’s flagship fighting game Street Fighter 5 will be free to play on Steam and PS4 for the next two weeks. The developer has announced that the free period will start tomorrow at 1 PM PT and end on May 5th. During this time, players can try out 20 different fighters and several of the game’s modes.

Since this is the Arcade Edition, players will have access to Arcade Mode, Extra Battle, and Team Battle. Along with the base game’s 16 characters, you can also play as Akuma, Blanka, Juri, and Menat, who were made available in the base game as DLC. Unfortunately, those four will only be accessible in modes like Ranked, Casual, Training, Challenge, and Battle Lounge.

You can check out GamingBolt’s official review for Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition here. This isn’t the first time that Capcom has had a free period for the game (one took place from December 11th to 19th). But the overall length and amount of content on offer means that anyone can spend enough time with the game before deciding whether they want to fully purchase it.

I’ve been saying this for a while, but Capcom is back. They have been on a roll for a while now—they turned Street Fighter 5 around with Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition, Resident Evil 7 was amazing, Monster Hunter World was a fantastic game that is also their most successful in history, Resident Evil 2 stands a legitimate chance of being declared the best game in its series, and now, Devil May Cry 5 has been received overwhelmingly well.

None other than Capcom themselves have decided to chant the rallying cry of their return now. In a new tweet posted by Matt Walker of Capcom, Capcom USA’s CEO Kiichiro Urata exclaims “Capcom is back!”, followed by a “Yeeeeeaaaah!” of agreement from Walker. It’s really hard to disagree with them.

I cannot wait to see where Capcom plans to go next—presumably they will reveal their big game for 2020 at E3 this year (as they have been doing for the last few years); plus, even their smaller projects like Mega Man 11 have done well, so I assume they will continue putting those out too. I’m glad Capcom is back. The industry feels lesser without them.

A message from Capcom USA CEO Urata-san: pic.twitter.com/pf9oXaqKZy

— Matt Walker (@retroOtoko) March 6, 2019

EVO, the premier fighting game tournament, revealed its lineup for 2019 in a live stream yesterday. This lineup will have nine games, as has been the case of late, and will see the return of Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition, which should have been expected as this has been the case for the last three years straight.

More interesting is the rest of the lineup—Mortal Kombat 11 will be a part of the lineup, as will Dragon Ball FighterZ and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. SoulCalibur 6 gets a peek in as well, as does Tekken 7. On the more niche side, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, Samurai Showdown, and Under Night In Birth have all been confirmed for the stage as well.

Are you noticing what’s missing? For the first time in years, Super Smash Bros. Melee will not be a part of the main lineup. For years, it has continued to be showcased at the event, even alongside Super Smash Bros. 4. However, this year, it has finally been retired in favor of Ultimate, which suggests that there is a push to make Ultimate the successor to it all around.

For those of you who are curious, Street Fighter 5, Dragon Ball FighterZ, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be the Sunday games this year.

A few days ago, Capcom announced that Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition would be free to play from December 11th to 19th. It also announced something called Sponsored Content, which would emblazon logos on different fighters. Said logos would advertise upcoming costumes, bundles, and the Capcom Pro Tour.

The Sponsored Content is now live though, and it’s pretty interesting to see the reaction. Fighters like Guile have their iconic tattoos replaced with Capcom Pro Tour logos, while Blanca has awkward bands on his biceps for the same. The tweet from PRO7OTYPE below illustrates how strange other fighters, like Urien and G, can look.

The Sponsored Content can be switched off via the in-game settings. However, switching them on rewards bonus Fight Money, which players can use to purchase DLC. As such, there’s a gameplay incentive to view these ads, and that has some players less than pleased. It’s worth noting that the Sponsored Content doesn’t appear on alternate costumes, and in-stage ads are limited only to the three e-sports stages (with proceeds supporting the Capcom Pro Tour).

Going into training mode YOOOOO LOLhttps://t.co/OaO4oOoRPy pic.twitter.com/Ds0CBJjaP1

— PRO7OTYPE (@prototypeoflife) December 11, 2018

Capcom has announced that Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition will be free to play from December 11th to 19th. This is to celebrate the Capcom Cup 2018 – the trial can be downloaded at 9 AM PT and goes live at 1 PM PT on December 11th. It ends at 9:59 AM PT on December 19th. You won’t need PlayStation Plus on PS4 for anything except multiplayer. PC players simply need Steam to take part.

Along with all 16 original characters – including newcomers like Rashid, Laura, and F.A.N.G. – players will be able to try some DLC characters during the trial period. These include Guile, Akuma, and Sagat, though keep in mind that they can only be played in Ranked, Casual, Battle Lounge, Training, and Challenges.

Interestingly enough, December 11th is the same day that Sponsored Content will be introduced to the game. This is essentially content that will be displayed in-game, telling players about the Capcom Pro Tour, along with different costumes and bundles. Three types of Sponsored Content have been described:

• Costumes: Ad Style – Every character will have an Ad Style costume where the sponsored content will appear somewhere on their clothing or model
• Loading Ads – A sponsor will appear in the versus screen before a battle – this will not affect loading screen times
• Stage Ads – Some tournament stages feature a sponsor like the Ring of Power

With Sponsored Content turned on, players can earn bonus Fight Money in Ranked and Casual matches. If you don’t want it enabled, then you can head to the Battle Settings and adjust each type accordingly.

DriveClub

Evolution Studios’ DriveClub had a pretty rough start with server issues and glitches making a lot of the content inaccessible. Nevertheless, the developer stuck with it, improving the experience, adding more content and branching out into different ideas (like bikes). By now, DriveClub stands as one of the better racing experiences out there, even if it isn’t as hyper-realistic as, say, Gran Turismo Sport.

To celebrate the Evolution Championship Series (aka EVO) 2018, a special weekend has been announced for some very big fighting games on Steam. Six games are available to play for free until August 6th, 10 AM PST, while also being discounted until the same time for those who wish to purchase them permanently instead.

The games in question include Capcom’s Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition, NetherRealm Studios’ Injustice 2 and Bandai Namco’s Tekken 7. Arc System Works’ Dragon Ball FighterZ, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and Guilty Gear Xrd – Revelator – are also free. Given that BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle is a fairly recent release and critically acclaimed, this is your chance to try the game out and see if it’s for you.

Purchasing any of the above games in question will see save progress transfer over as well. EVO 2018 starts today and ends on August 5th. Though exhibition matches will be held for the upcoming Soulcalibur 6 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, pools for games like Injustice 2, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U are the main attraction. The finals, taking place on August 5th, will include these games as well.

Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition has seen Capcom get back on many a hardcore player’s good side with its variety of new mechanics and modes. Its Season 3 character pass continues to deliver on the fan service as well with Cody Travers from Final Fight. The legendary fighter arrived in Street Fighter Alpha 3 roughly 20 years ago and he’s now coming to Street Fighter 5.

Check out the trailer below which features New Japan Pro Wrestling star Kenny Omega playing Cody in a live action segment. Cody is now the mayor of Metro City and sports a snazzy new suit. He can also don Haggard’s classic suspenders (though they appear slightly oversized) while utilizing a knife and steel pipe with his two V-Triggers.

Cody will be available in Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition on June 26th. He’s the fourth character in the character pass and joins the likes of Sakura, Blanka and Falke. G and Sagat are the two remaining characters to come.