Probably one of the most boring things you can do is watch someone play a great video game. They are having all the fun and you are stuck watching said fun. Sure, it can be entertaining (certainly there are some games worth watching...), but in the end, it gets dull. Especially dull if you also never get to play yourself. That's a one way ticket out the door for me. However, there is always a exception to the rule. The exception for me is M.U.G.E.N...
Superman vs Thor
If you are unaware what Mugen (as I will write it for the rest of the post), it is a gaming engine for computers to allow characters from most 2d beat-em-up/fighting franchises to be put together for a battle royal. Think of it as a customizable fighting game where you control the roster. I am way behind this in all ways; conceptually, thematically, everything. It feeds my desire for cross-overs and fighting games. So far, all that I have seen has been most impressive. Characters I never would have guessed to be in a fighting game can be in there. Odd examples:
-Ash from Evil Dead...
-Strong Guy...
-The cast of Family Guy...
-An escape key (huh?)...
Now, it's a fact that I don't exactly do a lot of research before I post on this blog. It pops in my head and I write. So, what has puzzled/intrigued me about Mugen is the (what I consider) truly unique characters and what they can do. Step back a moment: I understand repainting previous characters to look like the ones you want. I understand uploading dialogue from a variety of media for the voices. What I haven't been able to grasp is (to me) creating unique characters with unique attacks with lines I don't know where they came from. Take, for instance, Thor. He has only appeared as a support character in previous game, so there isn't a lot to work with. An amature programmer figure how to do him, and he has a graphic intensive move set. It just impresses and astounds me what people can do...
Wonder Woman vs Jean Grey
Someday, I'll download the program for Mugen and make my own roster. If it has online multi-player, more the better. I do hope that one day (and maybe that day has come) Mugen can be ported to a Wii or an Xbox or whatever the current popular game system is (and that I already own [c'mon, Gamecube]). If you are a fan of fighting games, customizablity, or even seeing a specific character or franchise in a video game, check out some of the online Mugen videos. Just make sure to watch the ones with the sound effects and not the ones with the metal or techno music. I love video game sfx...
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