Are you a gamer? Do you live in the Vegas vicinity? Then, by God, get your balls to Caesar’s Palace.
EVO 2010 is this weekend, a convention hall full of all the glory that is 2-D fighters (and maybe just a smidge of 3-D). Head in, follow the trail of nerds to the convention hall escalator, and take that thing all the way to the top. At the peak of that stairway to heaven, you’ll one of the greatest assortment of fighters from the last 2 generations ever assembled, and maybe even a few besides…
All hyperbole aside, this is a cool way to spend a weekend. First off, unlike so many other gaming conventions of the summer season, this one is open to the public. Second, also unique, this one’s completely free. Arguably different than pretty much any other gaming con today, is that this one is populated almost exclusively by hardcore, old-school gamers. It takes a certain determination, and a certain appreciation, to really get your blood pumping for some Street Fighter, or to compete in Guilty Gear. And that’s what everyone is here to do, so many gamers clutching for life onto their own personal gaming arcade sticks, their good luck charms, their general nerd gear. If you’re a gamer, you’re among friends.
The big attraction here is the World Street Fighter Championships. The main even itself is Super Street Fighter 4, and there are also events for Super Street Fighter 2 HD Remix, if you prefer a touch of the older-gen fighters. Two tremendous, golden trophies await the winners. Less extravagant, but still worth some bragging rights, are 3v3 championships for Guilty Gear and Blaze Blue held by Arc Entertainment. Really, you can find different tournaments for about any fighter you can imagine at different times over the weekend.
Are you willing to compete?… I’m not. I’m an old man and my reflexes aren’t what they used to be. I would probably go in with my boy Ken and get taken down by some 17-year-old playing Rufus and never live it down.
That said, for those not wanting to risk their pride on the main stage, there’s still plenty of entertainment. Capcom is there in force, demoing Marvel vs Capcom 3. The same rules apply as E3’s MvC3 battles, feel free to jump in, try a free game. If you get on the big screen, and win ten matches straight, you get an awesome T-shirt. The shirts go for about $100 on e-bizzle, so you can consider it an investment.
Other fighters on display include Capcom vs SNK 2 (on the Dreamcast!), Tatsunoko vs Capcom, the entirety of the Street Fighter series, X-Men vs Street Fighter, Tekken 5, and obscure gems like Time Killers and one I didn’t know for sure, but it really looked like Ace of Hearts: Touhou 12. Strangely enough, missing from his menagerie were Soul Calibur and Samurai Showdown. I spent about three hours myself on Tatsunoko which, damn, is a fun and simplified little fighter. Mega Man’s sister, Roll, is a hardcore bitch, and my new favorite.
So if you can, get down there and show your support. If its too far away, at least check out the live feed of the matches on the main stage. The event runs all weekend long, and is second in intensity only to a no-rules Muay Thai deathmatch. And its close.
Live streaming video by Ustream
Live streaming video by Ustream
