Eric Van Allen

Street Fighter Player Turns To The Book Of Daigo After Loss

In times of trouble, some players turn to a coach or fellow pro, possibly even to a higher power. This Street Fighter player chose to lean on the Good Book: namely, Daigo’s book, The Will to Keep Winning Daigo Umehara is among the pantheon of Street Fighter legends, with a long and storied career. His…

Long-Time Commentator Says Dota 2 Is Reaching A Breaking Point

Toby Dawson has been commentating in the Dota pro scene for over a decade, and has been the voice behind some of its biggest moments. In a recent post on the Dota 2 subreddit, Dawson voiced his concerns on the continued viability of the scene. It started with a tweet, where Dawson laid it out…

The 15-Year-Old Smash Pro Who Finds Confidence In Dancing Like Bayonetta

It’s Tuesday, and Zack “CaptainZack” Lauth is waiting on a plane. His flight’s been delayed twice. At 15 years old, he’s one of the youngest signed players in Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, and one of the best Bayonetta players in the world—a character as strong as she is controversial. Lauth, like his other…

Arms Player Tears Through E3 Tournament, Only To Get Wrecked By Game Producer

After winning yesterday’s E3 Arms Invitational, the people’s champ Zerk had the chance to play the game’s producer, Kosuke Yabuki, in an exhibition. Mr. Yabuki showed no mercy. At the end of the first match, Yabuki (on Min Min, the right-hand side character) executed a combo that had been tossed around in testing during the…

Splatoon 2’s Competitive Scene Has A Strong Showing During E3

An invitational was hosted yesterday on Nintendo’s E3 stream for Splatoon 2, featuring four teams competing for a sweet silver squid trophy. Surprisingly, it was a strong showing for the game’s competitive aspirations. E3 has had no shortage of “esports” presentations, from Electronic Arts showing off Star Wars: Battlefront II with a commentated live match…

Sony has announced a story demo for the upcoming Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite will go live today. The tag-team fighting game’s story mode was shown off at tonight E3 presser, and featured a few unannounced additions to the cast.

Ubisoft Announces Skull And Bones, Pirate Game Based On Black Flag‘s Ship Combat

Ubisoft has announced Skull and Bones at their press conference today, a standalone naval combat game based off Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, coming fall of 2018 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Developed by Ubisoft Singapore, the online naval open-world game takes place in a shared world, where players can set sail solo…

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition Remasters The Classic

At the PC Gaming Show today, Microsoft Studios presented a trailer for a fully remastered version of the original Age of Empires, dubbed the Definitive Edition, coming later this year. The new version boasts updated graphics scaling up to 4K resolution, additional zoom levels and gameplay improvements, as well as a remastered soundtrack. You’ll also…

New XCOM 2 Expansion Coming This August

A new expansion, called War of the Chosen, will come out for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later this summer, on Aug. 29. The War of the Chosen will feature three new enemy commanders that evolve and adapt over the course of your war with them. In response, you’ll be able to deploy several…

Bethesda Announces Quake World Championships

The first world championship for the upcoming Quake Champions will take place on August 26 in Dallas, Texas at the eponymous QuakeCon. Competitors will play for a piece of a $1 million prize pool, sure to draw out Quake talent both new and old. In the same trailer, Bethesda showed off three new maps for…

Eleague will host the first Injustice 2 World Championship this October at their studios in Atlanta, GA. Four different tournament circuits and one last-chance open qualifier will seed into this $250,000 prize pool event, starting Oct. 21.

Dota 2 Tournament Ends With A Fountain Dive

Even in professional matches, sometimes you have to dive the fountain. Team Liquid ended their run at this weekend’s Epicenter Dota 2 tournament with a bang, as a rush from Amer “Miracle” Al-Barkawi into the enemy team’s spawn highlighted their 3-1 win over Evil Geniuses. EG, who came into the grand finals having dropped only…

Major Smash Tournament Using Mods To Add New Colors And Sounds To Matches

This weekend’s Nairo Saga tournament may be part of the 2GG circuit for Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, but it has a few unique twists. A mod pack is used during the games to add new music, team-specific colors and other competitive features. Mod packs for the Wii U Smash can range from full rehauls…

These are the first glimpses of NBA Live 18, a return to the basketball court for Electronic Arts. A new campaign mode, split between the streets and the league, boasts a Destiny-esque growth and loot system for your virtual player.

FIFA 18‘s Story Mode Has Co-op And Cristiano Ronaldo

Everyone in the football universe is talking about Alex Hunter, from pundits Men in Blazers to Ronaldo himself. In a story trailer for the upcoming game, FIFA 17 protagonist Alex Hunter is dealing with the weight of fame, as everyone wants to know what his next move will be. A GameInformer post expanded on the…

Dota 2‘s Brutal Co-op Campaign Might End Some Friendships

Siltbreaker, a cooperative Dota 2 campaign event, launched its first act yesterday, and it’s been driving my Dota group mad. Between the exponential difficulty spikes, impossible bosses and wave after wave of enemies, it plays less like a jolly ol’ game of Dota and more like a genuine raid. A comic handles most of the…

What Makes Hooks So Damn Good In Competitive Video Games

The hook is a simple but effective tool in games: a chain, thrown accurately, pulling enemies back to their likely doom. But in the realm of competitive games, hooks seem almost ubiquitous. The reason why a hook is a near-necessity for any competitive game, is simple: They’re the biggest moments in games, boiled down to…

Smash Pro’s Tournament Victory Speech Calls Out Nintendo

Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma had just come off a long tournament run of beating some of the best in Super Smash Bros. Melee when he took to the stage for a winner’s interview. Debiedma used the opportunity to hold an impassioned rally for the grassroots that makes Smash happen, with choice words for a “certain company.”…

A new map, cars and custom goal explosions are coming to Rocket League on July 5. The second anniversary update is free for all players, and also includes a radio option with 18 new songs to jam out to while zooming around the pitch.

Overwatch Stream Shows Tournament Through Eyes Of A Pro

There are plenty of esports tournaments on this weekend, but one Overwatch pro is taking his viewers on a trip through a tournament from his perspective—a rare insight into the thoughts and play of competitive Overwatch players. The qualifiers for Overwatch Contenders are taking place this weekend, and popular player and streamer Brandon “A_Seagull” Larned…