The Fighting Hump

A repeating cycle usually happens to me when a new fighting game I'm interested in comes out. I'm excited for it because I failed to get good at any other fighting games and I think maybe this'll be the one. Arcade stick in tow (though the stick is a relatively new element in this cycle), I'll say to myself, "This is it. This'll be the one I get good at."

Except it's never happened. I'll get into it, learn the basics, think I'm getting good, and at some point, whether it be by Hard difficulty AI or an online opponent, I'll get trashed repeatedly. I'll look at online videos of people playing my characters way better than me and get dejected. Then I'll actually try some of that stuff, realize I have no idea what I'm doing, and settle for mediocrity.

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 at least offers the average player a glimpse of how the game would play if they were much better at it. Because the game treats its physics like it does its fictions -- very loosely -- characters dart around the screen, use screen-filling attacks, and call for help both on the ground and in the air. As a result, the average MvC3 match ends up looking like something between a light show and a war zone. I may not be very good at it, but after learning a few moves, I could pull off some pretty cool looking stuff. I just couldn't beat Galatctus on anything above easy.

Fighting games are a weird genre for me. I'm not very good at any of them, yet I love most fighting games to death. A lot of my interest was born by a bygone era of UFS, as well as watching matches online. I usually realize early on that I'll never reach the level of skill required to do most of the stuff I want to, but I usually give it an honest shot. I'm still trying to get learn both MvC3's systems and the arcade stick in general, and I'm hoping I don't burn out too quick. Here's hoping I can break out of this cycle.