Ten Games to Watch from E3 2017

Like previous years, the 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo showed us several video games to look forward to in the near future and while some may complain about the presentations themselves (in some cases, rightfully so), the games were still present. Here, we’ll look at some of the games that grabbed the public’s attention. 

For this list, we’re focusing on games that were shown at the convention, and that we know a good deal about. While it’s good to know that Metroid Prime 4 and a new main series Pokemon game are coming to the Nintendo Switch, no one outside Nintendo’s circle knows much about them other than the fact that they exist.

Here are Ten Games to Watch from E3 2017.

1. Anthem

Most of EA’s press conference was a prime example of the fluff that gamers don’t like when watching E3 presentations. Not enough gameplay shown, too much extra stuff shown. Of the games that were shown, very few of them caught much attention, but one of the ones that did was the game Anthem. A new sci-fi title developed by BioWare, Anthem revolves around the Freelancers, a group of soldiers exploring a lush and dangerous new environment. The game looks to be a multiplayer co-op game where players can work together to fight monsters and bands of marauders while exploring the jungles of this new world.

2. Far Cry 5

After already stirring up some controversy before the show even began, more information was revealed about Ubisoft’s latest entry into this first-person shooter series. The game is set around the area of Hope County, Montana with the main antagonist of the game being a religious extremist preacher named Joseph Seed, who seeks to force everyone in the county to join his militaristic doomsday cult, Eden’s Gate. The player takes the role of a sheriff’s deputy assigned to arrest Seed after a previous attempt to take him down resulted in the deaths of several officers. Players can customize their appearance with a new custom character creator, the game will have several weapons to use (with an increased emphasis on close-quarters combat), and local people and wildlife (as seen in Far Cry Primal) can even be recruited to help your character.

3. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

After their partnerships with PlatinumGames, Koei Tecmo, and Namco Bandai working on Nintendo franchises, Nintendo is now letting Ubisoft take a crack at one of their franchises. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a turn-based strategy game and a crossover between Ubisoft’s Rabbids series and Nintendo’s Super Mario series. Players control Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, and four Rabbids dressed like the four Mario characters as they go to stop a swarm of mischievous Rabbids from terrorizing the Mushroom Kingdom. With gameplay that has been compared to series like XCOM, the eight characters can move around the map, fighting enemies with different weapons, including laser cannons resembling the arm cannons used by characters like Samus, Mega Man, or the Mii Gunners from Smash 4. 

4. Monster Hunter: World

Capcom announced during the show that the latest entry in the Monster Hunter franchise would be coming to PS4 and Xbox One in early 2018 with a PC release sometime afterwards. (Sorry, Nintendo fans.) Players take the role of different hunters tasked with killing or capturing large monsters around the village they are staying at. To accomplish this all weapon types from previous game Monster Hunter Generations are available, along with some new equipment like ghillie suits and the grappling hook-like Slinger. The game is said to have large open environments with no loading screens between zones, four player co-op, and will allow players from Japan and Western regions to play together.

5. Destiny 2

After a lackluster launch, Bungie’s hybrid shooter-RPG Destiny has managed to gain traction as a worthwhile game. So, when a sequel was announced to be released in September 2017, a lot of people were actually looking forward to it. Like the original game, players can play both with and against each other in PvE (player vs. environment) and PvP (player vs. player) game modes. Players can also level up their characters by gaining experience points through combat, complete quests from NPCs to receive rewards or further the main story, and customize their character’s attributes, including species, gender, and skin color. Weapons and armor have also been reorganized in this new game, from Primary, Special, and Heavy weapons to Kinetic, Energy, and Power weapons.

No big overhauls here, but you know what they say about something that’s not broken.

6. Call of Duty: WWII

After a long period of setting their games in the modern era or the future, Activision is taking the Call of Duty series back to its roots by making a World War II game, with players will control soldiers from the Allied nations fighting against the Axis powers. Several mechanics are being changed with this installment. Health regeneration has been removed, so players must rely on the medics in their squad for health packs. They will also need their squad to provide extra ammunition, the unlimited sprint mechanic from previous games has been removed, and the campaign mode has no difficulty settings, with the game automatically set to “Hardcore Mode”. The game’s multiplayer also shows a back-to-basics approach with several features from previous games removed and more of a focus put on “boots-on-the-ground” combat. 

And yes, this game has a Zombies mode.

7. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

More information was shown about Capcom’s latest collaboration with Marvel Comics with their crossover fighting game series, including a new trailer. The game draws a lot more cues from the Marvel Cinematic Universe for their characters and story and several characters from the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy are included in the roster. Though notably, characters from X-Men or Fantastic Four are absent from the game. The story itself revolves around the heroes’ fight to defeat Ultron Sigma, a fusion of Ultron from Marvel Comics and Sigma from Capcom’s Mega Man X series, and looks to include a full story mode with cut scenes.

8. God of War

One of Sony’s biggest franchises, God of War, will soon be getting a new installment in the series and more was shown about this new game at this year’s show. Taking place after the events of God of War III, the setting has changed from one of Greek mythology to one of Norse mythology and series protagonist Kratos is now taking a second shot at raising a family, taking care of his new son Atreus. He will now have to fight against a new stable of monsters and warriors, while raising his son and trying to master the rage that has driven him for so many years. Kratos’s signature dual chain blades have been replaced with a magical battle axe and a folding shield and a button on the controller can be used to control Atreus to hep Kratos throughout the adventure.

9. Marvel’s Spider-Man

Developed by Insomniac Games as their first licensed game, this title is not tied to any movies or comics and is instead an original story set in the Spider-Man world. The game is an open-world action-adventure game where players will be able to fight criminals and super-villains as the web-slinger himself, traversing the city through different methods including parkour, web-swinging, and wall-crawling. At this point in the story, Peter Parker is close to graduating from college and has been Spider-Man for about eight years, so he’s gotten the hang of being a superhero by this point. But after defeating Kingpin at an early point in the story, a new gang called the Inner Demons starts taking over Kingpin’s turf and now Spider-Man must deal with this new threat.

There’s also a cameo in the E3 trailer from Miles Morales, but no word yet if he’s playable in any way.

10. Super Mario Odyssey

Finally, here is the game leading the charge for the Nintendo Switch. While this game was revealed earlier along with the early lineup of Nintendo Switch games, a new trailer was shown at E3 along with new gameplay and several new mechanics and worlds. The game is a 3D open-world adventure game, inspired by titles like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, where players can guide Mario through large expansive environments. The main driving mechanic in this game is Cappy, a ghost-like top hat creature that takes the form of Mario’s signature cap after it is seemingly destroyed. Mario can use Cappy to grab items, fight enemies, manipulate the environment, or even possess different enemies, objects, or characters and use their abilities for himself.

=

Of course, this is far from a definitive list. Several games were shown at this year’s E3 and these were only a few of them. So, what do you think? Are you looking forward to any of these games? What games caught your eye at this year’s E3? Make your voice heard in the comments below and have fun gaming once these titles come out.

Thanks for coming!

5 Overwatch Characters that Could Get Second Ultimates

Overwatch is a game filled with possibilities, regarding everything from the different media to the locations to the actual characters that can be played.

Since Symmetra’s rework including new abilities and, most notably, a second Ultimate with her Shield Generator, characters able to have two Ultimates are now a possibility. Giving a character a new ability to work with can change the game in new and interesting ways and some characters may be a bit easier to brainstorm abilities for than others. These are just a few of them.

Here are 5 Overwatch Characters That Could Get Second Ultimates.

1. Mei

I know a lot of people don’t want to see this ice demon get more powerful, so consider this more of a warning if it does happen, because technically, she already got a second Ultimate.

In Overwatch’s Holiday 2016 event, Winter Wonderland, Mei was the star character of the event’s special brawl, Mei’s Snowball Offensive. Among the other gameplay changes in the brawl, Mei’s normal Ultimate, Blizzard, was swapped out for a new one called Flurry. This move would give Mei an unlimited number of snowballs to shoot for five seconds, and since the brawl was a 6v6 snowball fight where snowballs could one-hit-kill a player no matter where they hit, this could be a very powerful move depending on its usage. Even if it were changed to something like five seconds of instant-freeze snowballs, this could prove to be a powerful move if brought into the main game.
 

There’s a Game of Thrones pun here, but… no, too easy.

2. Zarya

This Russian heavy-hitter already kind of has a second Ultimate, but not courtesy of Overwatch.

Zarya is one of currently three characters to be made playable in Blizzard’s crossover MOBA title Heroes of the Storm, along with Tracer and a third character we’ll get to in a minute. While Zarya mostly plays like she does in Overwatch with her passive trait and normal abilities being her abilities in HotS, she also has two Heroic Abilities in this new game. The first is her Ultimate from Overwatch, Graviton Surge, which draws in nearby opponents toward one central location, bringing everyone she wants to pick off to one convenient location.

The second is a new move called Expulsion Zone, which is basically the exact opposite of Graviton Surge, pushing opponents away from a central point. If brought into Overwatch, this could be a good tool for keeping opponents off a point or payload in clutch moments or blocking off a certain pathway and forcing enemies to take an alternate route.

3. Lucio

That’s right, a second Ultimate for everyone’s favorite healer.

After being the highest rated support character in the Overwatch cast and being considered a must-pick for a very long time, Lucio is the third character from the series to enter Heroes of the Storm, after Tracer and Zarya. While Tracer wound up with only one Heroic Ability (her Pulse Bomb), Zarya and Lucio both got two Heroic Abilities, their Ultimate from Overwatch and a completely new move.

As far as Lucio goes, in addition to his Ultimate, Sound Barrier, which provides a strong but momentary shield to himself and his allies, HotS gives Lucio a second Heroic Ability called Reverse Amp. When activated, Reverse Amp casts the opposite effect of whatever effect Lucio currently has active on his opponents. If he has his Speed Boost song on, it slows down enemies. If he has his Healing Boost song on, it deals a steady stream of damage. This is addition to keeping active the effects the songs have on Lucio and his teammates.

And suddenly, Lucio Plays of the Game become a bit easier to see.

4. Reaper

And now that the easy ones are out of the way, here’s where things start to get more speculative.

The thought that Reaper might get a second Ultimate comes from his appearance in the first cinematic trailer for Overwatch. As Reaper and Widowmaker fight Tracer and Winston, when the fight goes against the villains, they decide to retreat. As they do, Reaper drops a bunch of grenades to cover their escape. While this may have just been an element of Reaper’s kit that was ditched in development, this doesn’t rule out a potential return of this element, possibly as his second Ultimate.

Here are two possible ways this could be done.  The first is simple in that Reaper could shoot out grenades similarly to his current Ultimate, Death Blossom, however, the bombs either travel in an arc or have a delay so that potential victims have a chance to get away. However, this would have to be balanced perfectly as it could ride a thin line between being useless and being overpowered.

The second way this could work is Reaper simply tosses away his shotguns (as per normal) and pulls out a grenade launcher. It would probably work similarly to Junkrat’s, but being an Ultimate-exclusive weapon, it could afford to have a bit more power. Using Reaper’s normal clip size of eight shots, this grenade launcher could have more damage, more range, and a bigger blast radius. Again, balance should be taken to not push guys like Junkrat even further back in pick rates.

5. Torbjorn

Always count on the gadgeteer to make better weapons.

The idea for this one comes from the latest Overwatch comic Binary, staring Torbjorn and Bastion. In this comic, we not only find out that Torb may not hate Bastion as much as it seems in game, but he also has a few other gadgets in his inventory. In the comic, he throws out a device that activates with a remote button press. Once activated, the device opens and traps nearby targets in a mess of cables against any nearby surfaces.

If this were included in the actual game, he could throw this device out like one of his armor packs or one of Junkrat’s traps. Then, when he triggers the trap, the machine opens and any nearby enemies get stuck against a wall or some other surface, completely open to an attack from your team.

That’s bringing some power to the defense class.

=

What did you think about this list? Are there any Overwatch characters you think could get a second Ultimate? Do you think they should just focus on bringing more new characters in before adding to current ones like this? Whatever you think, make your voice heard in the comments below.

Thanks for coming!

The Arsenal: The Heroes of Overwatch

Welcome to The Arsenal, where the best weapons and items from across media are put on display. In this entry, we’re looking at the best weapons used by the various characters in the popular hero shooter, Overwatch, and determining which ones are the best fit for different categories. Also, we are only looking at characters playable in the main game, so characters currently being tested on the PTR won’t count here. (Sorry Orisa.)

(You'll be in the action soon enough.)

What different niches can be filled by these (currently) 23 heroes and villains? Let’s find out.

Here is The Arsenal of the Heroes of Overwatch.

=

Best Melee Weapon – Genji’s Dragonblade

Even in a first-person shooter, melee weapons can still carve out their own niche, literally in this case. Genji’s Dragonblade katana is so powerful, the game only lets him use it as his ultimate and when he draws his sword, he is an almost unstoppable fighting force. He can take down most opponents with only one or two strikes and his agility and quick reflexes only aid him in quick kills while wielding this blade.

Best Pistol – McCree’s Peacekeeper

It may have the smallest clip compared to other pistols, holding only six shots, but this revolver is an example of quality over quantity. One well-placed headshot can down most foes and even body shots can still do heavy damage because of the power behind each of these bullets. McCree can even fan the hammer to quickly unload all his current bullets into a target, which is great for shredding targets up close. If your aim is on point, using the Peacekeeper will make taking down targets look easy.

Best Shotgun – Roadhog’s Scrap Gun

Two characters best known in this game for wielding shotguns are Reaper and Roadhog and of those two, Roadhog’s Scrap Gun is the more versatile of the two. The Scrap Gun holds the same amount of shots as Reaper’s one of Hellfire Shotguns, but it can be loaded with just about anything. He reloads the gun by opening it, shoving a handful of scrap metal pieces inside, then closing it up, so he technically doesn’t have to use bullets. Also, when he uses his ultimate, Whole Hog, he attaches a grinder to the gun, which turns it into a machine gun, rapidly firing scrap metal to damage and push away enemies.

Best Automatic Weapon – Soldier: 76’s Heavy Pulse Rifle

With the variety of different weapons that the characters in Overwatch use, only a few characters have a primary weapon that could be considered automatic, with characters like Bastion, Sombra, and Tracer being some of the ones that come to mind. Perhaps the best automatic however would be Soldier: 76’s Heavy Pulse Rifle. This gun carries heavy damage with a decent rate of fire and its alternate fire allows it to fire Helix Rockets, explosive shots that travel quickly and deal a high amount of damage.

Best Thrown Weapon – Ana’s Biotic Grenade

From McCree’s flashbangs to Junkrat’s traps to Genji’s shurikens, there are a lot of thrown weapons used by the characters in Overwatch, but perhaps the most versatile one would be Ana’s Biotic Grenade. As a support character’s item, the Biotic Grenade is more than a weapon for dealing damage. It will burst heal any allies caught in its blast radius and also increase any healing they get for a short time afterward. Meanwhile, for enemies, in addition to damage dealt, it also prevents damage from healing up for a short time.

The healers can’t save them then.

Best Sniper Rifle – Ana’s Biotic Rifle

Along with the Biotic Grenade, Ana has another strong support tool with the most unique sniper rifle in the Overwatch roster and possibly one of the most unique in all of gaming, the Biotic Rifle. Unlike other snipers, Ana can’t get headshot kills with her gun, but in addition to damaging enemies, Ana can heal her teammates by shooting them. Used with the Biotic Grenade, Ana’s rifle can bring her allies back to full health with just a couple of shots and she can use her scope to focus on a target when she needs more accuracy.

Best Non-Firearm Long Range Weapon – Hanzo’s Storm Bow

Hanzo stands out from the crowd by using a bow and arrows when almost everyone else in the roster uses some kind of gun, but his skill with it shows that he can keep up just fine. As one of the (currently) few snipers in the game, Hanzo needs pinpoint accuracy to score a kill and it shows when that accuracy is there as the arrows can hit hard and do a lot of damage. Hanzo even has a few trick arrows to use. The Scatter Arrow can split into several different arrows and ricochet off of surfaces and the Sonic Arrow allows him and his teammates to see approaching enemies, even behind walls.

Best Explosive Launcher – Pharah’s Rocket Launcher

Junkrat may be the character known for being obsessed with explosives, but the slot for this category goes to Pharah with her rocket launcher. While the grenades that Junkrat launches can bounce off of walls, the rocket launcher encourages more accurate shooting. The rockets do a lot of damage even to surrounding targets and they can push targets back, making it a good zoning tool as well and with Pharah firing from the skies, she has a good view of the battlefield to shoot them off.

Best Heavy Weapon – Zarya’s Particle Cannon

Of all the large or heavy weapons that are used in the game, the most versatile one would be Zarya’s Particle Cannon. If you’re strong enough to wield this monster of a gun, it allows the wielder several options in combat. It can fire a beam of energy or explosive blasts of energy for offense or project barriers around yourself or allies for defense. With Zarya’s Ultimate, the cannon can shoot out a gravity bomb that can suck in opponents into one central area. If we take Heroes of the Storm into account, it can also shoot a different gravity bomb that can repel enemies from a central area.

Best Energy Gun – Symmetra’s Photon Projector

Given the setting, several weapons could count for this category, but after Zarya’s Particle Cannon (which is already listed above), perhaps the best fit here would be Symmetra’s Photon Projector. While it’s debatable if Symmetra’s other abilities are linked to the device, the actual weapon packs a decent amount of power. After taking some time to focus on an enemy, the Photon Projector does continuous damage to them as long as Symmetra is close to them. She doesn’t even have to aim because the beam from the weapon follows the target. As an alternate fire, she can charge up a ball of energy to fire off. It does a lot of damage, but it moves slowly enough that someone paying attention can easily walk out of its way, so it is best used when teammates are firing in the same direction.

Best Unique Weapon – Mei’s Endothermic Blaster

This category covers weapons that don’t function like any of the others and can’t easily be categorized with other kinds of weapons. In that regard, Mei’s Endothermic Blaster is one of a kind among the cast of Overwatch. This gun’s primary fire is basically a freeze ray, doing damage to opponents while freezing them in place in ice, but this gun has many other features as well. With its alternate fire, it can create large icicles and shoot them off towards a target, which works especially well if that target was just frozen still. Then, with a press of a button and a pull of the trigger, the blaster can also generate walls of ice that block all projectiles and damage and keep enemies away.

Best Gun Turret – Bastion’s Configuration: Sentry

While Torbjorn and Symmetra are known for their turrets, special mention in this category was given to the character in this roster who can actually turn into a turret. When Bastion switches into Configuration: Sentry, he becomes a large stationary minigun that can fire several bullets at a rapid speed. In this mode, he can dry up a tank’s shields and health in a matter of seconds and weaker targets can get shredded in seconds, especially if they are up close. He can also rapidly switch out of Sentry mode if he needs to move and repair himself to recover from damage taken.

Watch out for surprise Bastions hiding around corners.

Best Healing Device – Lucio’s Sonic Amplifier

Setting the offensive capabilities to the side, Lucio’s Sonic Amplifier may not be the quickest acting healing device, but it is possibly the most effective. While set on his healing boost song, Lucio’s Sonic Amplifier gives off an aura that heals a steady amount of damage to multiple allies at once. He doesn’t have to do anything other than stand near his allies for the healing to take effect, so he can attack and heal at the same time.

The healing effect continues if Lucio’s teammates are close enough to hear his music and he can even increase the volume of his music (with his ability Amp It Up) to increase the amount of damage it heals for. Finally, with his Ultimate, Sound Barrier, Lucio uses the device to generate a large amount of sound shields for his teammates and while they don’t last long, they work for withstanding an enemy assault in a pinch.

Best Power-Up – Ana’s Nano Boost

Ana once again makes a contribution to The Arsenal with her power-up Ultimate, the Nano Boost. Using a wrist-mounted dart launcher, Ana can super-charge one of her teammates, dramatically increasing their attack power (and at one point, their speed). This could allow a strong teammate or one about to use their Ultimate to charge in and take down a large chunk of the defending team, potentially fueling a push towards an objective or stopping one from the opposition.

Few things strike fear into an Overwatch player like a nano-boosted Genji using his Dragonblade.

Best Power-Down - Zenyatta's Orb of Discord

From the best power-up to the best power-down, we now take a look at the best item for weakening someone, Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord. After Zenyatta shoots this out, the opponent it gets attached to takes more damage from any attack that hits them. Teammates can then use it to focus on and quickly take down a problem target. While the orb itself doesn’t do any damage and returns to Zenyatta if nothing is done with it, it is a powerful tool for those that can utilize its strength.

Best Armor or Worn Weapon – D.Va’s Mech

 To some D.Va’s mech may only loosely count as armor, but it encompasses her body and protects her from damage, so here, it technically counts. Aside from providing protection, her mech is also equipped with Fusion Cannon shotguns, boosters for short flight, her Defense Matrix Shield which can essentially delete projectiles that hit it, and has a self-destruct button which can blow away any enemies in its vicinity. D.Va can even summon a new mech using a wrist device after her previous one has taken enough damage or she used its self-destruct feature. This thing is a powerhouse.

And as some added perks, her emotes show that it’s also equipped with a music player, a link to whatever game account she uses so she can play video games on the go, compartments for snacks and drinks, and there is probably a video camera somewhere in there; how else would she livestream her battles?

Best Shield – Reinhardt’s Barrier

While a few characters, most notably tanks, use a shield of some sort, none are as useful or as highly regarded as Reinhardt’s barrier. When activated by this futuristic knight, this energy shield can take up to 2000 points of damage, easily the most of any shield currently in the game, and allies can shoot through the shield, making it a good rally point for teams to make a good play. It also regenerates its energy whenever it’s not in use, so if it breaks, Reinhardt just needs to wait a few moments before he can go back to the front lines to protect his team. It doesn’t protect against everything however and it won’t stop inattentive teammates from running through the shield and getting blown up afterwards, but other shields have the same problem.

=

What did you think of these picks? What is your favorite Overwatch weapon? Who else do you think has an arsenal worth watching? Make your voice hear in the comments below. Thanks for coming!

Top 10 Platform Fighters

Known as just Smash clones by most gamers, platform fighters are a little known sub-genre of fighting games that has been growing in recent years, the term itself created as way to distinguish itself as a genre of non-traditional fighting games, but still, fighting games nonetheless. The genre’s mechanics differ from traditional fighting games by focusing on placing the characters in stages with differing sets of platforms and sometimes special effects or hazards for each stage, giving them unique elements that are more than just cosmetic. Instead of health meters, the characters have damage counters and the more damage the character has, the easier they can get knocked around. The object of a match its to knock the opponent out of bounds of the arena.

While most well-known for Nintendo’s Super Smash Brothers series, there are several different games in this fighting sub-genre. For this list, we’re highlighting the best games it has to offer. Only one game per franchise will be included on this list and only officially released titles or open betas will be included, which means no fan-made Smash Bros. games or mods.

10. Onimusha: Blade Warriors

If you’re not familiar with this series, you’ll be forgiven for thinking this looks like a Soul Calibur game.

Releasing in 2003, Onimusha: Blade Warriors is a 4 player platform fighter for the PlayStation 2. A spin-off of Capcom’s strategy RPG series Onimusha, this fighting game takes several of the series characters and places them in a platform fighting arena. The characters have health bars instead of damage meters like in a standard fighting game, but each stage has its own unique layout of platforms to create a plan of attack around.

The story takes place between the second and third game in the main series with the heroes of the series teaming up to take down the villains, who have also teamed up. A simple story, but the gameplay does make up for it. The game has fast paced action and the characters, both major and minor and from different parts of the series, all have several flashy moves reminiscent of their appearances in the main series. MegaMan.EXE and Zero from Mega Man X even appear as unlockable guest characters.

9. Battle Stadium D.O.N.

With the “D.O.N.” in the title standing for Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto, this 2006 GameCube and PS2 game is a crossover between these three shonen anime series. There is no real story here; this game is purely about seeing the martial artists of Dragon Ball, the pirates of One Piece, and the ninjas of Naruto facing off against each other. Characters and locations from each series are integrated as opponents fight to collect orbs that you knock out of the other characters by attacking them. Collect them all or collect the most before time runs out and you win. Characters could even enter a burst mode by collecting enough orbs, which increases their speed and attack power.

However, like a lot of anime crossover games, this one was only officially released in Japan, so unless you live there, good luck finding a copy of this.

8. Digimon Rumble Arena 2

While the Digimon franchise is known for a very successful anime series, its video games don’t get nearly as much attention, which would explain how this hidden gem was passed up. Digimon Rumble Arena 2 places several Digimon from the first four series of the anime (Adventure, Adventure 02, Tamers, and Frontier) in different stages with their own hazards, which can be turned off if you don’t feel like bothering with them. Like Battle Stadium D.O.N., attacking your opponent can knock orbs of energy out for you to collect. Collecting enough of them will cause your character to digivolve to a more powerful form and use more effective attacks.

Despite being a bit slower-paced than most games in the genre, fans of Digimon or the platform fighter genre will definitely find something to like here.

7. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

This game may make some people wonder what an Xbox All-Stars game would look like.

Released for the PlayStation 3 in 2012, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale was released to be direct competition to Nintendo’s popular Super Smash Brothers series. The game is a platform fighter featuring characters, worlds, and other elements from some of Sony’s most well-known series including God of War, Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted, Infamous, Sly Cooper, and even third-party games like Tekken, Metal Gear Rising, and Bioshock.

It seemed like it could be a serious contender to Smash, but some criticized it for its lack of content, lack of real cutscenes during the game’s story mode, and the game’s meter system in matches, using opponents K.O’d by Super Moves  to score points instead of normal health or damage meters. The game is still fun to play despite these flaws especially if you have a bunch of other friends who are classic Sony fans.

6. TowerFall Ascension

The first indie game on the list, TowerFall Ascension is actually more of a platform shooter than a platform fighter. Players control different archers that jump around a 2D maze-like battlefield trying to shoot each other with arrows. Players have a set number of lives and arrows and getting hit by an arrow means one life lost, which leads to characters running, jumping, shooting, and racing to pick up arrows as they try to be the last archer standing. The campaign mode has your character traveling across a medieval world, going from castle to castle to free them from invading monsters.

Matches are very fast paced and the retro art style brings to find the difficult but fun two player games of the 8-bit era. Just watch out for falling arrows.

5. Brawlhalla

One of the highest rated indie fighting games on the market, Brawhalla is a free-to-play fighting game for PC and PS4. The game plays similarly to other platform fighters with several of its mechanics, including K.O.s by ring-outs and items falling onto the stages for characters to use. Competitive focus is placed on 1v1 game modes with other modes added for more casual players. The characters themselves are given themes of warriors throughout periods of history or fiction as the world of Brawlhalla is stated as a sort of gathering place for warriors throughout time and space to duke it out.

The game is currently in open beta with a full release planned for 2017, but a tournament for the game was recently held in 2016 with a $50,000 prize pool. For a game that’s not even technically finished yet, that’s impressive.

4. Power Stone 2

Capcom did a lot of experimenting during the Dreamcast era and one of its results was this 3D fighter. Picking up where the first game left off, Power Stone 2 follows several treasure hunters from different parts of the globe searching for a powerful wish granting artifact called the Power Stone. Only this time, the treasure hunters are all trapped within a mysterious castle and are now trying to fight their way out as well.

Up to four players can enter a match with two players being declared the winner. Players fight on different stages that change and move as the battle goes on so players need to remember to move when the stage decides to change. Several items can be picked up during the match including three Power Stones which, when collected, change a character into their super form and let them unleash powerful attacks.

This franchise has received very little attention after the Dreamcast era but many fans are hopeful to see it make a return.

3. Rivals of Aether

Get ready for a wild time with these animals.

Rivals of Aether is an indie platform fighter with an original cast of animalistic characters, created by indie developer Dan Fornace, who previously worked on the Super Smash Brothers fan game, Super Smash Land. Inspired by Super Smash Bros.: Melee, Rivals of Aether is a game with a focus on complex mechanics with dodging taking the place of blocking with shields and no items in matches. With eight characters in the game, each with their own unique movesets, fans of the genre will feel right at home here. The game has also managed to create a large following on Steam, with players using the game’s forums on Steam to exchange strategies, talk about tournaments, and even share fan art.

The game technically isn’t finished yet, with it still being in early access and some of the game’s features, like the game’s story mode have yet to be added in, but for the game to have gotten this far and developed such a community around it at this point shows how strong it looks to be.

2. Jump Ultimate Stars

All those people saying to add Goku to Super Smash Brothers may want to take a look at this game.

Released for the Nintendo DS in 2006, Jump Ultimate Stars is a crossover platform fighter featuring several anime and manga characters that were featured in the monthly manga magazine Shonen Jump. This means characters appear from series like Dragon Ball Z, Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, Yu Yu Hakusho, and even sports titles like Slam Dunk and Eyeshield 21. The game utilizes a system designed around manga panels to aid players during matches with different pictures added to the panels affecting a character’s special attacks or providing support characters to help during a match.

The game is filled with fast paced action and several references to every series involved as well as references to manga in general. The game hasn’t officially been localized from Japan however, so some translation is required.

=

Before revealing the number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

-Duck Game – A fun indie platform shooter with several weapons available. You’ll have a lot of fun blowing the competition away, literally.

-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash Up – This may not have the fastest pace, but with a couple of developers of the Smash Brothers games at the helm, this TMNT title still makes a good addition to the genre.

-One Piece: Grand Adventure – Based on the first few arcs of the One Piece anime, this game lets you play with several characters, places, items, and moves from the series in quick and fun battles.

-Guilty Gear: Dust Strikers – To those that haven’t played a Guilty Gear game before, this little known platform fighter is a good introduction to the series and its characters.

-DreamMix TV World Fighters – A crossover of Konami, Hudson Soft, and Takara Toys, this game is a weird but fun party game with several characters you wouldn’t expect to see in the same game.

And one dishonorable mention…

-Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion – This could have been something great, but poor controls, a slow and boring pace, and lack of content (except for one surprise character) make this a big wasted opportunity.

=

1. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

It was a given that a Super Smash Brothers game was going to make the top of this list. Started by Nintendo in 1998, the Super Smash Brothers series is the one that popularized the platform fighting genre, to a point where a lot of people simply refer to other platform fighters as “Smash clones”. The game has a simple premise; bring up to 4 people together to pick from a roster of Nintendo’s all-star characters from Mario to Link to Pikachu and many, many more, put them in a stage from one of Nintendo’s many games, and fight it out. Players can even include items from the different involved series to up the chaos or customize the rules to their liking.

The only question was: which Smash title to put at the top?

The original game was the one that started it all and laid the groundwork for the other games in the series. The second game, Melee, is a preferred pick for competitive players due to the faster pace, capability for combos, and countless intricate mechanics (intentional or otherwise) that players can make use of to stay ahead of their opponents. Not to mention, it had more than double the characters of the original. The third game, Brawl, changed several mechanics from Melee and slowed down the pace to appeal more to casual audiences, but it introduced Final Smashes (the super moves for each character), a cinematic story mode in the Subspace Emissary, and the inclusion of third-party characters with Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake from Konami’s Metal Gear Solid.

In the end though, the top spot went to the fourth entry in the series, for striking a sort of midpoint between Melee’s competitive gaming and Brawl’s casual appeal. The fourth game, released for both the Wii U and 3DS and known by fans as Super Smash Brothers 4, has the most characters in the roster to date, including more third-party characters than Brawl, and downloadable content opened the doors for even more characters to be added. The online play introduced in Brawl was revamped and is more stable than before, allowing players to battle each other from across the world. While some modes were removed from the game, others were added, including 8-Player Smash, which, as the name implies, allows eight players to fight in a match at the same time.

=

What did you think about this list? What is your favorite platform fighter? Make your voice heard in the comments below. Thanks for coming.