EVO 2017 Lineup Announced, Includes ‘Street Fighter V,’ ‘Injustice 2,’ And Fan Voted Ninth Title
The EVO 2017 lineup will continue the tradition set by prior years, including the latest fighting games. The tournament event will prove once again who the mightiest warrior is, so it might be a good idea to pre-order Injustice 2 and get your practice in when it launches.
Injustice 2 will hit consoles on May 16 and continue the story that began when Joker tricked Superman into destroying Metropolis and set the Justice League against him. It’s unknown yet who even the full roster will add, but Warner Bros. Games has stated that it will be the largest number of DC Comics characters ever in a video game.
Street Fighter V is Capcom’s latest heavy hitter, though the sales numbers reflected gamers’ demands for an Arcade Mode. Eventually realizing the error, Capcom relented and added single-player modes and more fighters, announcing that no updates or additions for the game would cost extra. They also needed to fix the online connectivity issues that plagued the game at launch, essentially making a multiplayer-only title unplayable.
By now, gamers have warmed up to Capcom’s latest entry in the series, and Game Rant says that Capcom hopes its inclusion in the EVO 2017 lineup will bring more gamers back to the series. This might not be the only game in that series which ends up featured, though.
Super Smash Bros. Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Melee are also among the confirmed list of challenges, and the franchise has proven to be one of the biggest draws at the competition, breaking records in 2013 as the most watched game of the show.
Tekken 7 is the latest in a series based on the more realistic aspects of the fighting game genre. Focusing more on fists, feet, and grappling, the series eschewed the use of projectiles made popular in other titles of its time. It also made the leap into 3D less awkward after Sega’s Virtua Fighter debuted the idea with blocky characters.
King of Fighters XIV, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, and BlazBlue: Central Fiction were also announced as part of the show.
The ninth game will be decided by the fans, through donations via Generosity attached to the names of those on the list. All of the money raised by voting will go to charity. Most noticeably absent from the possibilities is Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite, which as impressive as it looks, will allegedly lack any Marvel characters not in the cinematic universe. Instead, one of the options up for voting is Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3, the last game in the franchise to be released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Super Street Fighter II Turbo might be the oldest of all of the games possible at the three-day gaming tournament, having been the final version of SF II (at least until the Switch version is released).
Killer Instinct is another older title remade for the Xbox One. It took the idea of Mortal Kombat and rendered all of the characters in 3D, giving them each a unique finisher.
Mortal Kombat X is the latest in a long-running franchise, the first of which drew controversy over its pixelated depictions of blood and gore. Originally meant to be a filler title between major releases for Midway, it has become one of the most influential series in fighting game history.
ARMS for the Nintendo Switch might just be the most unconventional title on the list, using the motion-sensor-activated JoyCon controllers to emulate actually throwing punches. Considering that EVO is a fighting game event, it’s highly unlikely that players will be milking virtual cows.
Other noteable additions to the EVO 2017 lineup games up for vote are Windjammers, Nidhogg, Pokken Tournament, and Skullgirls.
[Featured Image by logoboom/Shutterstock]
