SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters Clash review

Released: 1999

Genre: Strategy

Format reviewed: Neo Geo Pocket Color

Publisher: SNK

Developer: SNK

This review was originally published in Arcade issue 18, April 2000

SNK and Capcom deal a winning hand

Mental images can be funny things, but if you’ve always imagined card-playing sessions to involve a collection of knifescarred underworld hoodlums smoking cigars in the backroom of a seedy nightclub, then the bright, neon-lit, up all night world of Card Fighters’ Clash will fulfil your every fantasy.

It has to be one of the most addictive and original games ever to grace any console, with an engrossing mix of RPG and card game that gradually gets its hooks into you and won’t let go.

Basically, your character travels around the Card Fighters world collecting different cards, playing mini-games and battling other players with a pack featuring characters from SNK and Capcom games. If you defeat an opponent, you receive more playing cards to add to your collection.

Initially, the game can be daunting and quite bewildering, with a set of rules to learn and cards that have hit points, soul points and actions. But after a few battles you start to pick up the game and become determined to collect more powerful cards to build up a deck that can take on the hardest of Card Fighters.

The graphics are large, bright and colourful. All of the cards are plastered with comic book representations of videogame stars such as the lovely Jill Valentine from Resident Evil and gangly Dhalsim from Street Fighter 2.

The role playing game bit involves visiting numerous worlds, including Capcom Plaza, Neo Geo Land and Lost World, which features a very silly dinosaur exhibit that roars when you pull a switch. There’s even a spooky Resident Evil mansion in SC Park, full of cute zombies, hidden bonus cards and evil Card Fighter opponents.

The single-player game is superb, but also included is a twoplayer link-up, enabling you to battle against or trade cards with your friends. Card Fighters’ Clash is one of those rare titles that seems to appear from nowhere, but surprises you by delivering a game that’s fresh, fun and incredibly addictive. This is Top Trumps for the new Millennium.

Jamie Sefton

Uppers & Downers

Ace of Spades 

• Good graphics
• Tons of character moves
• Addictive

Two of Clubs

• Will take over your life.

Score

5/5

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Don’t miss this year’s PC Gaming Show

If you love anything PC related you might be interested in visiting this year’s PC Gaming Show, our annual E3 showcase that highlights great new games and hardware which will be heading to PC.

This year the show will be broadcasting via Facebook, YouTube, Twitch and Steam on Monday, June 11th at 3PM Pacific, so make sure you don’t miss it. You can either get all your updates at twitch.tv/pcgamer or you can catch all the best interviews, trailers and segments on pcgamer.com.

As usual, Sean “Day[9]” Plott will be hosting, and if you happen to be near Los Angeles or will be visiting E3 then you can visit for absolutely free. This year’s show will be held at The Wiltern, so make sure you reserve your ticket now by visiting pcgamingshow.com/tickets.

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Why Monster Hunter World has become Capcom’s best-selling title – Console Monster

New and old Hunters speak out

Monster Hunter World has been a tremendous success so far and has taken the gaming world by storm. The latest addition to the series is now officially the best-selling title in Capcom history with 7.5 million copies shipped worldwide. 

It has also smashed company records for being the first Capcom series to reach 5 million units shipped on the first three days of launch. On top of that, it’s become the fastest Capcom title to ship 6 million copies in the developer’s history.

Monster Hunter World has received critical acclaim from a variety of different reviewers:

IGN – 9.5/10

GameSpot – 8/10

Metacritic – 90%

It’s estimated that 7 million players are currently slaying and capturing the wide variety of monsters the game has to offer. 

BREAKOUT BOX #1

Best Selling Capcom Titles 

1. Monster Hunter World (2018) – 7.5*

    

2. Resident Evil 5 (2009) – 7.3
3. Resident Evil 6 (2012) – 7.1
4. Street Fighter 2 (1992) – 6.3
5. Resident Evil 2 (1998) – 4.96

    

Million Units Sold as of December 2017

*Million Units Shipped as of March 2018

Data from Capcom Investor Relations website 

But what’s made Monster Hunter World Capcom’s best-selling title to date? I asked a range of different hunters what they love about the game.

‘‘One of the biggest things I love about this game is the seemingly infinite replay value. Capcom has figured out a way to make killing the same monster over and over again incredibly fun’’ said Patrick, who’s a newcomer to the series.

‘‘What I feel makes this game truly great is that you really feel a sense of accomplishment when you overcome a monster fight that you weren’t really prepared for. Simply changing your preferred weapons literally feels like stepping into a whole new game.’’ Matt, partial newcomer, told me. MH World being his ‘‘first deep forray’’ into the franchise. He briefly played Monster Hunter Tri (2010) on the Wii, which was the last Monster Hunter game to release on home consoles prior to the latest entry.

‘‘Great multi-layered environments teeming with life and solid game mechanics make no two hunts feel the same. Hunting, tracking, gathering, fishing, cultivating, cooking, eating, capturing pets, the list goes on and on. Never a dull moment in Monster hunter world’’ said Joe, another new hunter.

I also spoke with a Monster Hunter veteran, Alex, who’s been playing since the first handheld release, Monster Hunter Freedom, on the PSP in 2006. I asked him what he felt Capcom have done differently with Monster Hunter World compared to previous entries in the franchise.

‘‘Monster Hunter World has refined its gameplay by removing all the unnecessary mechanics that were seen in previous titles. 

You used to have to buy bug nets, pickaxes and fish bait to farm for specific materials; that would often break, thus wasting time, and also take up inventory space – which has also been refined by having a ‘loot’ pouch, separating your equipment such as your drinks and supplies from your materials (something the old series failed to do). The crafting system is also much easier now. In Monster Hunter World it’s all at your fingertips.

As for information on monsters, the previous guides in games were more focused on the lore and descriptions of each monster, forcing you to look online for specific item drop rates, weaknesses and traits; whereas MH World has a Monster Field Guide book that offers all information and more.’’

BREAKOUT BOX #2 

Best Selling Monster Hunter Titles 

1. Monster Hunter World (2018) – 7.5*
2. Monster Hunter Freedom 3 (2010) – 4.9
3. Monster Hunter Generations (2015) – 4.3
4. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (2014) – 4.2
5. Monster Hunter 4 (2013) – 4.1

Million Units Sold as of December 2017

*Million Units Shipped as of March 2018

               Data from Capcom Investor Relations website 

The Monster Hunter team at Capcom has listened to its community and transformed the series over years of trial and error, combining good and unique aspects from each title, to create something beyond perfection. 

Not only this, but they have finally utilised the larger platforms and improved systems of consoles and PCs’’ (The PC version is planned to release in Autumn.)

He went on to say, ‘‘The game now purely focuses on ‘The Hunt’ by immersing the hunter into its magical and diverse worlds that are a feast to the eyes – something that was unachievable on its previous handheld systems. 

Now, there is an unlimited space for growth and development of the series. In addition to this, since it’s the first in the series on mainstream consoles, it is clear to see that the developers still pride themselves in their work, and it shows in their work; ranging from the smallest details to the grandest storylines. 

Much like they did with their handheld titles, I think Capcom will undoubtedly continue to improve the series, especially with its new-found popularity in the West.’’

By Reuben Bernal

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Retro Gamer Sponsors Retro Area At PC Gamer Weekender 2018

Our chums over at PC Gamer are throwing a big old bash on 17-18 February at London Olympia, called the PC Gamer Weekender. You’ve probably guessed that it will showcase the latest in computer gaming and technology, but did you know that it’s also host to a retro gaming section? We do – but of course, Retro Gamer is sponsoring it.

The machines you’ll have a chance to get your hands on include the 8-bit and 16-bit micros you see in our magazine like the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amiga 500, as well as a range of vintage PCs running games such as Theme Park, Half-Life and Dark Forces. For those of you with a competitive streak, equipment provider Replay Events is also bringing a good old-fashioned LAN setup, where you’ll have the chance to prove your superiority on Battlefield 1942 and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (a game that very nearly wrecked our Nick’s exams).

If you’re the type of modern PC gamer who ends up with an empty wallet whenever a Steam sale rolls around, there’s plenty for you to do too. As well as playing games and shopping for hardware, you’ll be able to meet the PC Gamer team, attend talks from developers, pick up valuable computer building and maintenance skills at hardware workshops, compete for glory in tournaments, and even take a break with some tabletop gaming.

If all of that sounds enticing, make sure you’re at London Olympia on 17-18 February. Tickets start from just £12.99, and you can get an extra 20% off by using the code RETRO20 when booking. For more information, click here to visit the PC Gamer Weekender website, or click here to go straight to ticket booking.

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Late Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Review

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Capcom Announces Mega Man Legacy Collection 2

After the success of Mega Man Legacy Collection and The Disney Afternoon Collection, Capcom has announced its latest retro compilation: Mega Man Legacy Collection 2. This release is comprised of four games, spanning the remainder of the Mega Man “classic series” that wasn’t on the NES – Mega Man 7 (SNES, 1995), Mega Man 8 (PlayStation/Saturn, 1996), Mega Man 9 (Various, 2008) and Mega Man 10 (Various, 2010).

As before, the games will include new features such as challenge remix stages for veterans, as well as boosted armour and checkpoint saves for newer players. Additionally, a gallery filled with artwork and production sketches will be available for fans to browse.

Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 will be available digitally in August 8 2017, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, with physical retail copies also available in North America. For more information as well as screenshots and video, take a look at the game over on Capcom’s official Mega Man website.

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Neo Geo Games Come To GOG

Classic PC game retailer GOG.com has just unveiled a range of 15 SNK Neo Geo games available for download, including classics such as Metal Slug, Fatal Fury Special, Baseball Stars 2 and Shock Troopers.

All of the games have official support for Windows, and about half have official support for MacOS and Linux. Almost all of the other  games do actually provide MacOS and Linux versions as bonus content, but be wary that you have no comeback if these don’t work as intended, as they’re not officially supported versions.

The games have been grouped together into bundles or can be bought individually, with regular prices at £4.89, though games are initially discounted to £2.49 until June 6th. To see what’s available, click here or check out the list below:

Metal Slug Bundle (£4.76):
Metal Slug
Metal Slug 2
Metal Slug X
Metal Slug 3

Fighting Classics Bundle (£7.14):
Fatal Fury Special
Samurai Shodown II
Samurai Shodown V Special
The King Of Fighters 2000
The King Of Fighters 2002
The Last Blade

Arcade Games Bundle (£5.95):
Baseball Stars 2
Blazing Star
King Of The Monsters
Shock Troopers
Twinkle Star Sprites

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Witcher 3 - The Wild Hunt (Game of The Year Edition)

Play the most polished and complete version of the most awarded game of 2015 - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Game of the Year Edition. Now available with all expansions and additional content.

Become a professional monster slayer and embark on an adventure of epic proportions! Upon its release, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt became an instant classic, claiming over 250 Game of the Year awards. Now you can enjoy this huge, over 100-hour long, open-world adventure along with both its story-driven expansions worth an extra 50 hours of gameplay. This edition includes all additional content - new weapons, armor, companion outfits, new game mode and side quests.

Features:

Play as a Highly Trained Monster Slayer for Hire
Trained from early childhood and mutated to have superhuman skills, strength, and reflexes, witchers are a socially ostracized counterbalance to the monster-infested world in which they live.
- Gruesomely destroy foes as a professional monster hunter armed with a range of upgradeable weapons, mutating potions, and combat magic.
- Hunt down a wide variety of exotic monsters, from savage beasts prowling mountain passes to cunning supernatural predators lurking in the shadowy back alleys of densely populated cities.
- Invest your rewards to upgrade your weaponry and buy custom armor, or spend them on horse races, card games, fist fighting and other pleasures life brings.

Track Down the Child of Prophecy in a Morally Ambiguous Fantasy Open World
- Built for endless adventure, the massive open world of The Witcher sets new standards in terms of size, depth and complexity.
- Traverse a fantastical open world: explore forgotten ruins, caves and shipwrecks, trade with merchants and dwarven smiths in cities, and hunt across open plains, amidst mountains and at sea.
- In a time of war, track down the child of prophecy, a living weapon of great power whose coming was foretold in ancient elven legends.

Make choices that go beyond good and evil and face their far-reaching consequences.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Game of the Year Edition brings together the base game and all the additional content released to date.
- Includes the Hearts of Stone and Blood & Wine expansions, which offer a massive 50 hours of additional storytelling as well as new features and new areas that expand the explorable world by over a third!
- Affords access to all additional content released so far, including weapons, armor, side quests, game modes and new GWENT cards!
- Features all technical and visual updates as well as a new user interface completely redesigned on the basis of feedback from members of the Witcher Community.

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Torchlight

Torchlight is an action role-playing game developed by Runic Games and published by Perfect World, released for Windows in October 2009. The fantasy-themed game is set in the fictional town of Torchlight and the expansive caverns and dungeons nearby, which adventurers explore to collect valuable loot and battle hordes of monsters.

Overview of Torchlight: 

Torchlight. A booming mining town that grew up around unbelievably rich veins of Ember, that rare ore with the power to enchant--or corrupt--everything it touches. It’s a powerful thing, and everyone knows power, well. Power can corrupt, too. You’ll set out into the nearby mountains and depths below to discover the full extent of Ember’s influence on the civilizations that have come before.

Choose from among three character classes, and venture from the safety of the town of Torchlight into randomly generated dungeon levels, with a huge variety of creepy monsters, endless variations of loot to find, and quests to complete. The endless randomization ensures that you’ll never be playing the same game twice. A fun, crunchy action-RPG, this one game that oozes style, care, and polish out of every single pixel and is a definite must to pick up if you like RPGs or just having some mindless fun.

What's cool about Torchlight:

• Over 30 randomized levels! Monsters, treasures, puzzles, and items are also different each time you embark on an adventure.
• Choose a pet that will level up, fight by your side, and even take items back into town to sell them for you!
• Includes TorchED for you to make your own Torchlight set dungeons, mods, and much, much more! 

Screenshots of Torchlight:

 Where to get a copy: Torchlight

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Knights and Merchants - A highly realistic RTS game

Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom is a medieval-time based Real-time strategy (RTS) game. It was developed by Joymania Entertainment and published by TopWare Interactive in 1998. The player takes the role of the captain of the palace guards and leads the soldiers and citizens to victory. The game did not receive a strong critical or popular reception in the US, but in Europe it was far more popular, consequently a follow up game was released called Knights and Merchants: The Peasants Rebellion which includes the original version.

The game's tech tree is simple and straightforward, and most new technology is accessed upon new building completion. To begin, the player can only build a school house that trains basic workers, but as the game advances more buildings and units become available. When playing a scenario or multiplayer mode, the player's technological advancement is not restricted, however in the single-player campaign some buildings cannot be built until the player progresses to later missions. The AI always begins with a technological advantage against the player, allowing them to develop at a higher level.


The economy is very complex in Knights and Merchants, more so than most other RTS games, with a greater range of resources and a need to combine basic resources in a number of ways to create a functioning economy. For example, in order to get loaves of bread, the player is required to first build a farm to get wheat, then a mill to get flour and also a bakery to bake loaves of the flour. The many different resources in the game require a large amount of corresponding buildings and units in order to fully utilize them requiring greater than usual micromanaging for an RTS.


Every citizen and soldier must eat in the game meaning that you need to produce a great deal of food creating a more naturalistic limit on army size. There is no population limit in game, instead population is limited by how much food you produce. If a unit is not fed for a sustained amount of time it will die.


The every day life aspect of this game is considered a notable feature. You can place many different structures, forcing the player to consider where and when to place each structure, this is also dependent on terrain and territory. However for new players this greater complexity can lead to a process of trial and error but once experience has been gained it becomes an interesting take on RTS economics.

Recently a group of fans has just released a remake of Knights and Merchants which includes tweaks and online playing. Details can be found on their site.

The KaM Remake mod is an attempt to reinvigorate the original “Knights and Merchants: The Peasants Rebellion” strategy game. Our goals are to make it work on today’s computers and operating systems, implement a fully featured online multiplayer system, as well as to fix the many bugs in the game engine. To do this we have started from scratch, writing our own code for the game engine but still relying on many original resource files. We assume that you own the original KaM game, (the installer checks for it) otherwise you should buy it – it’s available in a number of online gaming stores.
The KaM Remake executable is freeware and is built by enthusiasts. Applications used: Delphi 6, Delphi 7, FastMM4, Lazarus, OpenGL, OpenAL, zLib, PNGImage, MadExcept, libZPlay.

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Grim Fandango - An epic tale of Crime and Corruption

Grim Fandango is a dark comedy neo-noir Windows adventure game released by LucasArts in 1998, primarily written by Tim Schafer. It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics overlaid on pre-rendered, static backgrounds. As with other LucasArts adventure games, the player must converse with other characters and examine, collect, and use objects correctly to solve puzzles in order to progress.

Grim Fandango's world combines elements of the Aztec belief of afterlife with style aspects of film noir, including The Maltese Falcon, On the Waterfront and Casablanca, to create the Land of the Dead, through which recently departed souls, represented in the game as calaca-like figures, must travel before they reach their final destination, the Ninth Underworld. The story follows travel agent Manuel "Manny" Calavera as he attempts to save Mercedes "Meche" Colomar, a newly arrived but virtuous soul, during her long journey.


The game received positive reviews, praising its artistic design and overall game direction in particular. Grim Fandango was selected for several gaming awards at the time of release, and is often listed in publishers' lists of top games of all time. However, the game was considered a commercial failure and factored into LucasArts' termination of their adventure game development, contributing to the decline of the adventure game genre.

Review of Grim Fandango from Gamespot:

Grim Fandango is based upon Mexican folklore, set in the land of the dead. You play Manny Calavera, employee of the Department of Death and travel agent to newly dead souls who are just setting out on the treacherous four-year journey to the ninth underworld. Employees of the DOD, as it is called, are souls who must work off debts from their previous lives in order to earn their own passage to the final resting place. To pay off the debts, agents must accrue a certain number of premium souls, those of the virtuous who have earned more pleasant means of passage, the ultimate of which is the Number Nine, a bullet-train that makes the journey in a more desirable four days.


But the writing is where Grim Fandango earns the most praise. Parodying film noir cliches has become a cliche unto itself, and Grim Fandango thankfully avoids the obvious. This isn't just a faux Sam Spade mystery. Instead, the game draws upon darker and more complex sources, with Chinatown, Casablanca, and even David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross lurking in its shadows. And there are very few jokes in the game, but it is funny. It derives its humor from its situations and characters (such as Manny's oversized sidekick, Glottis) without making fun of itself, helping to create a believable world.


The puzzles help to maintain this believability. While traditional in nature, they are worked into the storyline well. And they are varied, both in style and difficulty. For the most part, you'll have a series of known objectives to complete before moving on to the next locale. These objectives are complex, though, and often the solutions will have multiple parts. You'll undoubtedly be stumped more than once, but the solutions are logical and subtle clues are plentiful.


Grim Fandango is not a typical LucasArts adventure. It's the first from the company to dispense with traditional 2D animation and move to the more cinematic 3D style made popular with Infogrames' Alone in the Dark games, and also utilized in Origin Systems' underrated Bioforge. It uses a keyboard-driven interface instead of the traditional point-and-click, and Manny signals significant objects by turning his head and looking as he passes by. Grim Fandango overcomes the major problems with this style, so only rarely will you be frustrated by disorienting camera-angle switching or feel lost because of an obscure exit.

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Tropico - Become El Presidente of the island

Tropico is a series of construction and management simulation computer games developed by PopTop Software and published by Gathering of Developers in April 2001. The games see the player taking the role of "El Presidente," the ruler of an island in the Caribbean during the Cold War era from the 1950s onward.

Overview of Tropico:

Tropico combines real-time strategy and simulation elements with a healthy dose of political intrigue and Caribbean flair to create a unique and critically acclaimed game experience.

Became the sole ruler of a remote banana republic. Fight against poverty, corruption and rebels, make your own people happy or enforce your rule through military strength. However, do not forget to set aside a few dollars for your own retirement on a Swiss bank account! But don't forget about natural disasters like tropical storms.

What's cool about Tropico:

• Become El Presidente of a banana republic or the King of a pirate island
• Win the trust of your people or crush them under the yoke of oppression

Screenshots of Tropico:

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