If you're anything like me, you put a ton of quarters into the Street Fighter II machines at your local arcade. If your town is anything like mine, that arcade, along with the other arcades you frequented, have long been converted to Dollar Stores and cheap clothing retailers. So how can you recreate the "I'm AWESOME" feeling you got when you mercilessly beat that 5-year-old who needed a stool to see the screen in Street Fighter II? The answer is GGPO!
GGPO is a free hybrid video game matchmaking service and emulator that resembles a chat room. It's also heavily optimized for internet play. In fact I was thoroughly impressed by its performance and ease of use. You can barely tell you're playing online and performance comparable to that of Street Fighter 4 on Xbox Live.
GGPO only supports a handful of games at this point but chances are, if you like fighting games, you'll find at least one you'd like to play. Some titles that stand out are; Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Garou: Mark of the Wolves and King of Fighters 2002. See the GGPO website for the complete list.
One of the nicest things about GGPO is the interface. It's simple and intuitive. You click the game you'd like to play, select a user in that room and then "Challenge them." Alternately you can wait until someone challenges you. Once both players have accepted the match, the game will start automatically.
Another outstanding feature is the spectator mode. You can literally spectate any match that is taking place. All current matches are listed at the bottom of the user list. So if Daigo happens to join the room you could watch him play (and take his tactics). Even if you're terrible at the games but still enjoy watching the matches, this can be a useful program!
While I have no clue what the acronym "GGPO" stands for, the fact is that it is a fun program that eliminates the tedious configuration and poor performance plaguing similar offerings. I have always wanted to play Street Fighter online without shelling out $15 a month for Xbox Live and now I can without jumping through hoops. GGPO is not only a huge improvement to online multiplayer fighting games but it also fills the void that all the closed and forgotten arcades left in the competitive fighting game community (because we all have MAME cabinets now right?). Give this program a try and you will not be disappointed.
Helpful hints for first-time users:
- Make sure you forward the necessary ports (UDP 6000-6009) in accordance with the directions on the GGPO site. Otherwise you will not be able to play.
- Before you challenge anyone, make sure you have your controls configured properly. To do this, simply spectate any match and set your controls from there. Then exit the game and you're ready to go.
-Brett
