Pfft, who needs an MMO.

I was planning on starting Final Fantasy 11 this week, but because of some unfortunate circumstances I find my self playing a much better and much more addictive online game.

Guess what doesn't suck? Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online. I've seen David play and tried some myself in the past, and while that experience was a disappointment, I was surprised by just how smoothly it runs now.

I've been playing hours upon hours over the past week and it has been quite the awesome time sink. It sort of feels like my college days at the arcade all over again. There are some occasional lag hitches here and there, but when I'm able to play some of the best Tekken players in the country without leaving my apartment, the trade off is easily worth it (*cough* I beat the #43 ranked player in the world a few times). Though I do miss the feeling of beating someone senseless in person.

The fighting game genre is dying and I honestly don't believe online play will save it. At least this is the case for more serious fighting games. The genre thrives because of competition and casual fans just don't put in the effort to get the most out of the game... so they get bored and move on. The problem is serious fighting game fans are too niche to drive up sales. This is why only fighting games like Smash Bros actually sell...

...and why Yoda and Vader are going to now be in the once respected Soul Calibur series.


-Brad