So this week I challenged myself with playing at least one game a day for five days.

I went 3-2, which is pretty good considering I was trying the other two races. Up until now I’ve always been a Terran player. Even in StarCraft 1 I was pushing for the human race. But I’d like to spend some time talking about the other races in the sequel.

Zerg

The Zerg aliens are cheap and quick monsters. These units are easy to amass but don’t have too strong a bite. This play style encourages quantity over quality. The photo above showcases a zergling rush. These dog-like aliens are easy to produce and are used to try to swarm and destroy opponents before they get a chance to build any defenses.

Protoss

The Protoss are the Zergs’ complete opposite. Protoss units are expensive and slow but Protoss players use their advanced technology to dominate opponents. These units include invisible-ninja units and powerful cannons for defense.

Terrans are between these extremes.

What I’ve learned is that I’m going to continue playing as zerg. I don’t have the patience to play Protoss and there is something terrifying about being overwhelmed by zerglings. Sorta reminiscent of the film Alien. The hardest part about playing zerg is that players need to be quick. The whole time you’re racing against your opponent to build even the most basic defenses.

So here’s to better endeavors.

And we’re back!

After a four week hiatus I played a round of StarCraft II for the second season. The new season means that all players had to do another placement match to be ranked.

My match on Saturday was a 3v3 match with all myself and my teammates playing the Terran race and including the exact same strategy. We all tried to marine rush the opponents. When that failed they countered attacked and we got slaughtered. The reason the rush didn’t work is because I’m very slow. The rush strategy is to build cheap units quickly and rush down the opponents before they get a chance to build their defenses. It’s a strategy I like because it’s efficient, quick and pretty dirty. The reason it’s called a marine rush is because marines are the Terran’s cheapest unit.

So I’ve been watching videos for practice and strategy.

I ended up being placed on the Silver League again. I honestly don’t know what I’m doing right but I wish I could be placed in Bronze and dominate.

In the first game most of the community was pretty nice. If you let people know you’re new they helped. Every game I’ve been in I’ve given a heads up that I suck and the replies usually are “GET OUT!”

Is it just community now or what?

It’s been a good three weeks of Marvel vs. Capcom 3. But what killed the beast is the game’s online connectivity problems (It takes several minutes to get a good game). Also bugging the game is the community. Let’s say you finally get into said game, your opponent will probably choose the character Sentinel. Who’s cheap because of his high strength and health points.

Look at that beast.

So I’ve given up on it. So I’m going to end on a happy note with this neat infographic made by the lovely people at raptr.com

Basketball players need the perfect sneakers.

Tennis athletes need the perfect racket.

Professional video game players need the perfect hardware.

Now I’m not saying that Air Jordans were the reason that Michael Jordan could do the amazing things that he did. Someone that’s good at games can still perform well but he/she become only better with the right equipment.

That’s why when I play Marvel vs. Capcom 3, I use my Mad Catz Tournament Edition fight stick.

The joystick has recognizes 8-directions, think a compass rose. This allows player movements to be a lot more precise. When field movement and commands require directional movement, precise is everything.

The same thing goes for the eight face buttons. These are quick, responsive Sanwa buttons. My favorite part about these buttons is that they click when pushed down and don’t feel mushy.

Recently I’ve been playing with PDP’s new fightpad.

The same Sanwa technology in the fight stick is shared. In addition the joy stick is a concave pad with the 8-way directional recognition.

What makes this controller sexy isn’t the Marvel inspired art, instead it’s the asymmetry (it’s noticeable along the bottom of the left and right side). This allows users to use the right hand with the palm facing down, much like one would at an arcade cabinet. This allows for quicker button inputs because players can use three-to-four fingers rather than a thumb.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t played any StarCraft 2 this week.

Yeah it was a busy academic week. Yeah work was rough. Yeah Cal Ripken Jr. was cool. But…

It’s Marvel vs. Capcom 3 baby!

So RTS games, like StarCraft aren’t really my thing. But I am a sucker for fighting games. What I like about MvC3 is that it hits all the gaming points on my checklist.

Video Game Checklist

1. Deep fighting mechanics

2. Super Heroes

3. Capcom characters

The best part about the Marvel vs. Capcom community is its rich culture. <- Video is not safe for work.

Some of you are thinking: I know Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man and Captain America but what is Capcom? Capcom is the video game company behind such hits as Street Fighter, Resident Evil and Devil May Cry.

The game feels like a comic book through not only the art style but also by it’s over-the-top action. Fights are 3 on 3 so choosing the perfect team is half the battle.

What makes this game so wonderful is that it’s easy to do awesome looking moves/combos. Launching opponents into the air and following that launch up with air combos is easier. It now only takes one button to switch characters in mid-air for ridiculous combos.

Ex: I launch my opponent into the air and throw about 10-15 punches and kicks on him. As we’re falling I press the exchange button to uppercut him further into the air and another one of my team members continues the assault.

I’d hate to change to topic of my blog but I’ve already sunk more time into MvC3 than StarCraft 2.

I’m still experimenting with characters so I don’t have a set team yet but I really like Chris, Magneto, Dr. Doom and Phoenix.

Challenge me —

Xbox — dussssstin

PS3 — xScribbleHero

I’ve added a picture of Boxer, a professional StarCraft 2 player, to my desktop. Hopefully this will inspire me to push harder in the coming weeks.

Doesn’t he look like a pop star? That’s what a lot of Korean professional players look like. They get treated like pop stars too.

I’ve been playing StarCraft all week and have made some progress, at least I’m now placed in a ranked league.

Here’s how it works:

Ranked matches are separated into game types. 1v1 (one versus one), 2v2…4v4.

Players receive different rankings for each game type. For the purposes of this blog I’ve started playing in 3v3 just so friends can join me and what not.

So the game first has players compete in 5-placement matches for each game type. So I’ve played five 3v3 games and won two. Based on a player’s performance in those matches, the game assigns said competitor to a league.

I was placed into Silver League. It’s better than Copper and Bronze but not as good as Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Masters.

I’m actually very surprised because in my two wins, I didn’t do much. Except for get lucky and have good teammates.

What else:

Tory asked if I’ll be recording my matches. Unfortunately, my hardware can barley run the game so recording as well wouldn’t go so well.

I’ve been playing as the Terran race, which is pretty much humans. What can I say, I’m a loyalist.

Training Plans:

To improve for next time I’m going to work on my build order, or the strategy of what buildings to make and when to make them.

In addition, I’m also going to work on my APM, or Actions Per Minute. That’s something I’ll get into another time.

Detours:

Unfortunately for my progress. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 comes out on Tuesday and that’ll take a lot of my time. In fact, if I had any foresight I would’ve rather blogged in my progress with that game. Why you ask? Let me show you.

For this class I’ll be taking y’all along on my journey from StarCraft II newbie, to champ.

What is StarCraft II?

It’s a Real Time Strategy Game (RTS) where players gather resources to build armies, which are then used to destroy opponents.

The game is very competitive and is even considered the national sport of South Korea.

Why Do You Want To Be a Champ?

I like games, I like StarCraft II. It’s called a modern day chess and I can’t agree more. Games are won by outsmarting and outstrategizing your opponent.

How Will You Get Better?

Practice. Practice Practice.

There are also websites dedicated to the game. Players give tips and strategies and even schedule matches.

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