Online Fighting
By Wendell Scott
The first two rules of Fight Club™ are: Don't talk about Fight Club. Since Xbox® owners can take Vivendi Universal underground-street-fighting bloodbath online, it raises a new question. Talking is out … but what about trash-talking?
Entering the Fight Club scene on Xbox Live™ is a lot like walking into a scene from the movie or the book. You'll find a bunch of intense and decidedly bloodthirsty gentlemen that are looking to prove they have what it takes to be a modern male, even if they have to spill blood and break bones to do it. In fact, they'd like nothing more than to break your characters bones and otherwise inflict serious injury on him because, unlike many fighting games online, Fight Club lets you not only defeat an opponent in the ring, but also force them into early retirement.
Don't expect any mercy when you go online. The characters look rough, and they fight dirty, so don't be surprised when they take every opportunity to punish you. Ease up for a moment, and you could be looking at a knock-out, a broken bone, or even the end of your created character's career.
Good looks don't count in this arena.
Hardcore Action
There's only one way to fight online, and that way is hardcore. Creating a hardcore character allows you to wager against the outcome of each match, betting your character development points against your opponent's. Risking your hard-earned points is the least of your worries, though, because if your hardcore fighter takes too much damage or breaks too many bones during the course of his career, he can be forced to retire.
If you're not ready to risk retirement, or you still want to learn the ropes, there's no shame in playing online as an existing character from the game or taking your created fighter into the ring on the normal difficulty instead. Once you're ready for the big leagues, however, you've simply got to go hardcore.
As I mentioned, the forced retirement aspect is the defining element of online multiplayer. Everyone wants to break your bones and hurt you so badly that they don't just knock you out of the bout, they knock you out of the game. All your time and effort spent building the character can be erased by a single bad performance or a single devastating opponent, and knowing that changes the way you attack and the way you defend.
You can tap out to preserve your character's career, but you'll have to endure the taunts and jeers from the victor. Only you can decide which is more painful: losing an entire character or the shame of surrender. Get used to making this call, too, because if the online community gets the chance, they're going to force you to make it … over and over again.
Victory, pain, or humiliation?
Get to the Points
Fight Club is an offense-heavy game. Blocking and avoiding enemy attacks should be key parts of your strategy, but they won't win you any matches, and they won't earn you bragging rights online. The only thing that matters is getting the victory and claming those sweet character development points.
Since character development points are essential to evolving your character, improving his skills, and learning new combos, you should learn to gamble with them responsibly. In other words, don't write checks with your mouth that your thumbs can't cash. You can screen for opponents who are at or near your skill level using Optimatch, but you can also take a chance and fight anyone, no matter how skilled they are or how much experience they have. If you do, treat it like a learning experience or a particularly rigorous training session. Be ready to tap out when the Threat Indicator blinks to avoid serious injury and do not make big bets.
Going up against better players than you is the fastest way to improve your own gameplay, but don't pay more than you have to for the experience. You'll need those points to beef up your stats later, when you're seasoned and ready for a rematch.
If you do stay within reach of your skill level, bet aggressively. You're there to win the match and the points, right? Playing it safe is smart against superior competition, but it will take you far too long to earn the points you need if you always bet conservatively. Besides, the nature of Fight Club (the book, the movie, and the game) is all about modern males looking for a true challenge of guts and determination. If you're too worried about losing the points or even about losing your fighter, you haven't really gotten into the spirit of the game.
No shirt, no shoes, no mercy.
Fight Club online isn't as painful as an actual physical beating, but it can be as humiliating. When you're ready for some authentic low-down street fighting—and all the rewards and punishments that come with it—go prove you've got what it takes on Xbox Live.
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