The Evolution Tournament Series is back! Prepare to battle hand to hand in Las Vegas with these 9 fighting games at Evo 2016.
The Evolution Championship Series (Evo) is the biggest fighting game tournament in the world. Every year, players from all across the globe gather in Las Vegas to find out who is the best fighting gamer in the land. This tournament series is home to some of the greatest moments in esports history, one of them being Evo Moment #37…
The tradition of this tournament series continues with Evo 2016. Earlier this week, Joey “Mr. Wizard” Cuellar announced the 9 games that will be headlining the event. Here they are with a little introduction to familiarize yourself.
Evo 2016 Lineup
Street Fighter V
One of the most popular fighting game franchises in history is back with more than just a new coat of paint. Street Fighter V is set to come out February 16th and with more characters being released as soon as March. Thanks to beta tests, we know that the largest pillar in the fighting game community is as strong as ever and ready to be pushed to its limits.
Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3
Marvel vs Capcom has been become synonymous with Evo and it looks like Evo 2016 is no different. Very few games can pull off the character mash-ups that Marvel Vs Capcom provides, especially in such a chaotic fashion. While many doubted its return, Marvel Vs Capcom has proven itself to be a mainstay.
Super Smash Brothers Melee
15 years and this game is still keeping up the good fight. The fastest, most technical version of Smash Brothers makes a valiant return to the Evo stage. Perhaps this means good things can last forever…
Super Smash Brothers for the WiiU
One thing that can’t be denied is the appeal of Smash Brothers. Super Smash Brothers for the WiiU has provided a happy medium for the ultra-competitive and casual gamer alike. Also, this smash brothers will be entering Evo 2016 with its largest roster yet, bringing in Ryu, Cloud (yes, that Cloud), and Bayonetta.
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-
While Guilty Gear may be considered a niche title in the fighting game community, the Xrd series earned its return solely on this moment:
Poor Woshige. This has been played all over television, even getting its own segment on SportsCenter. Can lighting strike twice on Guilty Gear? One can only hope.
Mortal Kombat X
Mortal Kombat is not only back, but bigger and better than ever with a bloody vengeance. With an updated netcode and another round of new characters, Mortal Kombat players are motivated to show the world how to play. And I’m sure they can’t wait to spill their guts.
Killer Instinct
This game has been exclusive to Xbox One since launch. This has made it very difficult for the game to grow in popularity, despite how well-received it was. Luckily, Killer Instinct is coming to PC later this year, which will reinvigorate the franchise with new blood, sparks, and fireballs.
Tekken 7: Fated Retribution
The Tekken series has consistently represented 3D fighting games for many years at Evo. Despite its arcade exclusivity, Tekken 7 has managed to be a part of the world’s biggest fighting game tournament for a second year. The franchise blew everyone’s mind when they announced that Street Fighter’s Akuma will be a playable character at launch. They recently announced the return of Nina Williams and I’m sure many more characters will follow.
Pokken Tournament
This is unquestionably the most surprising entry in Evo 2016, and for multiple reasons. For one, this is the only non-sequalized game in the lineup. The lack of a track record makes this announcement very risky since we don’t know how much this game will be supported by developers after launch. Another issue is controllers. Pokken Tournament functions as both a traditional 2.5D fighting game and a 3D free-roaming arena fighting game. Because of this, players will need separate screens to compete. While this isn’t a problem with back-to-back arcade setups, it does become an issue with its console release on the WiiU. Instead of split-screen multiplayer, Namco Bandai decided that one player must use the gamepad while the other uses the tv, creating a potentially unbalanced experience and making the game susceptible to interference from wireless devices. This could be circumvented with arcade editions of Pokken, but that comes with a whole other set of logistical issues.
All of these factors, however, doesn’t change the fact that Charizard seismic tossing a Mewtwo is hype as hell!
Evo 2016 is set to pop off July 15th-17th at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Mandolay Bay sports arena.
