While Cyber Monday wraps up a crazy weekend of shopping, this Saturday might be known as Battlefield Saturday in Houston. On the first Saturday of December, there will be not 1, not 2, but 3 seperate events happening across the city for a range of fighting games including the latest, Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition, King of Fighters XIII and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 to old favorites like Vampire Saviour, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, and the classic Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. What is the occassion of this explosion of events? Who cares, this will be a fun filled weekend for fans and competitive players alike as they have their choice of where to compete and test their skills.
The day's first event will be at Smiley's Sports Bar for Test Your Skills Bar Fights 5. Beginning at 3pm, they will be holding tournaments for SSF4AE, Mortal Kombat 9, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, Ultimate MvC3, BlazBlue Continuum Shift 2, and Super Smash Bros Melee. Take note, you will need to purchase a wristband in order to enter the venue for a seperate charge from the tournament entry fee.
Immediately following that event at 8pm, is the Retro Battle 2011 at Planet Zero Anime Center. Bringing back some of the classic old school fighting games that the new generation of games strives to emulate, Retro Battle looks to bring back that feeling of going to the arcade with a pocket full of quarters. Games they will be holding are Marvel vs Capcom 2, Rival Schools 2: Project Justice, SF3S, SSF2T, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Garou:MoTW, Last Blade 2, and the spotlight game Vampire Saviour. In addition to the prize pot, Retro Battle is throwing in $200 in Gamestop gift cards for the Vampire Saviour tournament. Even though the theme is retro games, they will also hold tournaments for SSF4AE and UMvC3 for the new crowd.
Adding to the frenzy is Insomnia Video Game Culture up in North Houston. For those living on that side of town and can't make it to Retro Battle, Insomnia is hosting a Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition tournament of their own starting at 7:30pm. In addition to your entry into the bracket(which is capped at 32 by the way), you get free pizza! How can you beat that?
So to recap, you have your usual gatherings at Monsters Arcade on Tuesday, Smiley's Sports Bar on Wednesday, and Planet Zero's weekly events on Thursday to practice up for a crazy weekend of tournaments going on all day! Its a great time to be a fighting game fan! If you enjoyed this article, then please subscribe to my Arcade Games column. Check out my Video Game Babes and Action Figures columns as well. Texas Showdown Championships, the largest fighting game tournament in Texas, returns on April 6-8, 2012 to the Woodlands Waterway Marriott during Anime Matsuri. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and my Blog for more news about anime, gaming, and other events in Houston.
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