I’m back from Impact Clash II: The Gift and the Curse, a new up-and-coming fighting game tournament making it’s 2nd debut in Atlanta.  As some of you may know, I’m a HUGE Soul Calibur 4 nut, and I was too anxious to show my skills in that game.  So when I heard about this tourney that was going on at the Georgia World Congress Center, I knew I couldn’t miss it, even though I told myself that I wasn’t going to show face at any competition until I had at least one more month of SC4 training.

Greatest fighting game of all time.

I had been preparing myself on and offline by practicing with some top gamers and trying to up my defense and guard impact on Edge Master level in Training.  I had finally gotten to the point where I no longer had to think about the moves I was doing because they had become second nature, and finally my confidence level was high enough that I even started dreaming about winning first place!  I was ready for everything BUT one thing:

The tournament was being played on the PS3, and I had only been practicing on the 360!

As the tournament grew closer, I could feel myself grow more nervous about how I would do playing on a totally different controller.  Sure, the controls were technically the same, but the feel and size of the controller, the spacing of the buttons, and even the height of the buttons were completely different! Would this at all be a problem when the time came to step up to the plate and bring my A game?  Unfortunately it was.

My first match up was no other than Black Mamba, the WCG 2007 and CGS 2007 DoA4 Champion!  He and I had been practicing online for a couple weeks, and I was so sad that I had to play against someone I knew, but to look on the bright side, at least I knew a bit about his fighting style going into my match.  Still, that didn’t help much since the moves that I had been practicing on my very familiar 360 controller could hardly be executed on the very UNfamiliar PS3 one.  There was no time to get used to it either, since Black Mamba’s Sophitia KO’d my Nightmare 2 matches in a row with the quickness!   Not even the easiest of my Nightmare moves came out, and I felt myself sometimes missing the buttons and actually pressing the controller since my fingers were so used to the spacing of the 360 buttons.

But no worries!  The tournament was double elimination!  There was still a chance for me to make a come back!  I was in the loser’s bracket, but in no way did I feel like a loser, I still had the confidence that I had when I got there, maybe even a little more.  My solo cheerleader (my husband) was behind me telling me how well I did, and keeping me motivated while I waited to be put up against my next competitor.

My arch nemesis, Mitsurugi!

Everyone has an arch nemesis, that one character that you just HATE to fight against, and mine is Mitsurugi.  My next match up was against just that!  I still went in calm and collected, more focused, and a bit more ready for that dreaded PS3 controller.  This time the matches were a lot closer; I played a lot better than my first time, and even executed some of the moves that I wanted!  But, in the end, the results were the same; I lost 2 matches in a row.  And even though all the SC4 players were watching, which made me a little embarrassed to lose as bad as I did, I didn’t lose my dignity or my confidence.  I knew how good I was, and the loss, to me, can only be taken as a learning experience.

Fighting games were my first HARDCORE loves of gaming.  I had a competitive spirit about them since I was a kid, and I’m totally hyped about going to tournaments and being in the same atmosphere as people who are as die-hard-serious about them as me!  After seeing how intense the matches are- the crowds booing gamers for doing cheep moves, or cheering gamers for pulling off a tough moves ,or ring outs, or unblockables- I’m just happy to be a part of this awesome gaming community.  This tournament was just the beginning of my career as a Pro Gamer, and now that it’s out of the way, I no longer feel like a total NOOB!

I apologize, by the way, for not having any pictures.  I realized that I forgot my camera once I got to the venue!

Related Posts:

• Moment of Geek Zen - Dec 31, 2008
• Moment of Geek Zen - Dec 29, 2008
• Capcom confirms Rose for Street Fighter 4
• Street Fighter IV Release Date Finally Announced!
• New Dragon Designed Xbox 360 Controller!!