Lagging can cause untimely deaths. Game space

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Timing is everything...especially in a fighting game.

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I wouldn't say I'm always lusting for competition when it comes to fighting games but I do enjoy a good scrap now and then against an actual human being. Arcades use to satiate this but now I have to settle for online gaming. Not a big deal because it's actually quite brilliant: take on a myriad of contenders from the comfort of your home, albeit with the added bonus that you don't have put pants on if you want don't want to (half full for some; half empty for others I guess). However, this is always an elephant in the room that you just can't avoid: lag.

When winning or losing can depend on a frame of animation, it's unfortunate that lag-free gaming seems to be an elusive ideal that can't be reached.

You may think the stuttering/stop-motion can hardly effect performance, but for fighting games...ESPECIALLY fighting games, everything gets turned upside down and s#&%-side up. Here are some factors you'll need to be aware of if you want to be an online warrior.

1. Moves change: That awesome move you were spamming against the CPU that catches them every single time? Not likely against IronSpider47. Lag changes the whole dynamic of movesets. Moves that used to be safe (if your opponent blocks it he can't counter-attack you) can be real liabilities or moves that used to leave you open are now spammable because the lag negates any opportunity for a follow-up by your opponent. Therefore, you really need to re-evaluate the movesets of every character. You need to learn what moves work online and which ones don't. Some moves can be easily abused due to the lag so it's up to you if you want to fight honourably or not.

2. Movement change: Almost all fighting games have dashing or some kind of a run movement that allows you to engage the opponent quickly or back out of trouble. However, lag can make such things near impossible at times. There's nothing more annoying than trying to back out of range of your opponent only to end up short and get attacked.

Conversely, rushing or "beatdown" games can also be harder to implement because you can't close the gap fast enough.

3. This doesn't have anything to do with lag but some good advice nonetheless: Fighting online is completely different than fighting against the CPU.

Mainly, most humans won't fall for the same moves over and over again. It's easy to get complacent and spam the same moves over and over again because the CPU has a "tendency" to fall for certain moves over and over again. Against a really skilled player, you can be punished pretty harshly. Combos need to be re-evaluated too as certain follow-ups or string of moves may not be guaranteed hits against a live player.

Being great against the CPU will mean nothing against a live player. Essentially, the more you play online, the better you will become. It's literally a whole new game.

Send your questions or comments to: the_big_n_@hotmail.com