Divekick

Maybe Divekick is the future of fighting games. Maybe the hardcore tournament set really does want a fighter so barebones that it's basically marrow. Everyone else would be better served going elsewhere for their virtual pugilism fix.

The game is filled with inside references to personalities and clichés from the fighting game community, and the humor may not make sense if you're not familiar with that scene. Don't worry about it.

Divekick is a testament to how simple games can also be great. As a party game, a competitive game or a learning tool, Divekick is well worth the money. You would never expect a joke to turn into such a quality title, but this just proves that if you love the idea behind your game enough, anything can become a hit.

If you lose in Divekick!, it's only because you didn't make the right decisions at the right time. It levels the playing field between people who love, hate, or are just plain intimidated by the genre like few other games have. If you've ever enjoyed flying kicks in any form, Divekick! is the game for you.

Divekick may not look like it’s worth ten dollars, but like the stance-switching Uncle Sensei, looks can be deceiving. Once you’ve connect with high-powered “headshot”, you’ll gain a much better sense of the game’s value. When you’re on the receiving end of that ego-crushing kick to the dome, you can be damn sure that you’ll want a rematch.

Divekick is proof positive that you can't judge a game by looks or controls alone. Beyond the simplistic graphics and animation and the incredibly basic control scheme lies a delightfully fun fighter that offers plenty of competitive action on or offline.

Divekick is one of those brilliant games that takes only a minute to learn but may take a lifetime to master all of its intricacies. For a largely lapsed fighting game fan like me, this game helped remind me why I loved the genre in the first place.

This expanded scope – which includes a super meter and both aerial and ground-based ways to use it – has undermined the game’s original spirit. While anyone could play the original Divekick, every match with a novice must now begin with a patient explanation of the chosen fighters’ idiosyncrasies, which rather misses the point.