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Not all World Warriors are created equal. The Street Fighter series may have revolutionized fighting games with its diverse cast of characters, but making sure that they all have a chance against each other is an arduous balancing act. Whenever a new game comes out, it doesn’t take long before message boards erupt with “tier lists” that attempt to rank the cast by strength.

The best of the best are known as the top tier. These are the ones who have the strongest options, dictate competitive play, and receive the most colorful insults. As Street Fighter celebrates its 25th anniversary, let’s look back on some of the greatest versions of these competitors.

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While first-person shooters are among the most common and easiest pick-up-and-play games available, the awful amount of bitching from the online community is clear proof that not everyone is aware of how to play.

The annual FPS fest is nearly here. But let's not forget that no matter if you're celebrating it on November 13 (for those who faithfully attend the traditional release of a Call of Duty game), November 6 (for those who worship the fourth coming of our savior, Master Chief, in Halo 4), or early on October 23 (for those silly people expecting something called Medal of Honor), in the end you'll all end up complaining about basically the same thing.

The following flowchart should cover the different stages of gameplay that most have to endure when interacting with any game of this genre.

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You might say the developers at Jellyvision do know Jack. They've been creating irreverent trivia, writing good (and bad) comedy, and recording hours and hours of smart-ass dialogue for their You Don't Know Jack video game series since 1995. 1995! That's 17 years of...well, a lot of pointlessness. And with the company's recent Facebook release, it's not looking to stop the fart jokes anytime soon.

We asked Jellyvision to stop screwing around for a few minutes to dig through its long history of work for some interesting numbers and stats. Here's what they told us:

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Screw modern art.

Did I do that right? That eye-catching intro?

Ahem.

Over the time humans have been creating art, we've also been innovating it, even if those innovations resisted against aesthetic conventions.

Paintings used to serve as tributes, and they eventually developed into status indicators for the wealthy. Then, skipping a few centuries, we arrived at the murky modern-art era and a transition to emotion where we're required to interpret people's creations.

Art is still in this phase of purpose, but with the invention of time-based media, we're able to influence a consumer's emotions. This means that a video game's success is based on an analog response, an up-and-down spectrum of emotion whereas earlier art usually evoked one response.

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Rollercoaster Tycoon is one of my favorite series, so I'm really geeking out over this video depicting a man with the power to play the game in the real world. Of course, it wouldn't really be Rollercoaster Tycoon without a couple horrible, horrible ride accidents. Now, excuse me while I go rummage through my old PC games. I've got some parks to build.

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One Million Hit Points is my attempt to create a new kind of web show about video games. Writing in the industry for the past three years (for Bitmob, GamesBeat, and other publications) has given me a good amount of insight into how to craft such a program.

I wanted to take a different approach than what others are trying. I think enough people are doing shows where a group of gamers sit around in a studio or bedroom to talk about all the latest and upcoming games.

Instead, my goal is to put together original video content that focuses on the creative, practical, and endearing things that all the folks in the game community are doing. What type of experiences do they have from playing and how does it inspire them to transform that passion into something greater? Basically, this is the show that I would want to watch...and I hope you do too.

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The Community Spotlight features some of the best unedited articles that didn't quite make the front page. This week, we check out the demo for Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, visit the Smithsonian's video-game exhibit, explain why now is the perfect time for new consoles, and more. No need to hide in a box to read on.

Deciphering the Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes demo
By Jason Rose

At PAX Prime, Metal Gear maestro Hideo Kojima introduced the next entry in the long-running stealth-action series, and Jason's broken down all the details for you. Are you ready for more sneaking, shooting, and monologuing villains?

More than just a game
By Billy Guinigundo

Billy recently visited the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and he documented his trip through the Art of Video Games exhibit for our enjoyment. "What the exhibit does best is create an opportunity for the gaming community to come together," Billy writes.

Right now is the best time to launch a console
By Jourdan Cameron

Jourdan's not pointing this article just at the Nintendos and Sonys of the world; he says that the gaming market is primed for independent console makers, too. "A small niche audience could be the best way to make money in the industry as a hardware manufacturer for the next several years," Jourdan says. Do you agree?

Because Silver isn't good enough
By Avery Tingle

Avery's fed up with being left out. He can't afford to pony up for the full Xbox Live Gold membership, and that's preventing him from checking out lots of games -- the Resident Evil 6 demo, in this case. "Just tired of being treated like a second-class citizen because I can’t afford to be one of the cool kids," he says.

5 great JRPG battle themes you've (probably) never heard
By Nate Ewert-Krocker

Game music! You know I love me some game music. Nate's got a list of less obvious tunes that accompany the over-the-top fights of the Japanese role-playing genre. I'm a fan of Eternal Sonata, myself.

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Fun for newcomers and veterans alike, the Bitmob Writing Challenge asks our community to write about a specific topic every month. Now is the time, however, for you to get a grip on reality – virtual reality.

Immersion is vital to any video game, and controls are a big part of creating that state of zen.  Developers want their titles to feel as natural as possible so that players aren’t double checking the button configuration, cursing at the screen, and taking themselves out of the experience. This is easier said than done.

For one thing, the need to have intuitive controls and the desire to give players a ton of cool abilities are often at odds. StarCraft is a good example of this, as it has to appeal to both newcomers who have never touched a strategy game and hardcore players who have 200 ATM (actions per minute) and watch online streams of South Korea tournaments. Accessibility is important, but sometimes dumbing things down will make the game a less-enjoyable experience for both parties.

Meanwhile, making the movement and actions feel right can be challenging even in a simple game. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 failed to resonate with fans because the Blue Blur felt so sluggish and awkward compared to the Genesis titles it tried to emulate. Yet videomaker egoraptor praises the first Castlevania’s unforgiving controls because they forced you to commit to decisions and use items. And, of course, we are experiencing a flood of next-gen titles that use touch-screen and motion recognition, and many are still experimenting on the best way to implement them.

Now, the power is in your hands to write about this important topic. Read on for the rules.

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I realize I'm a little late in getting to this bus stop, but Portal 2 is brilliant.

Amidst relentless Steam sales for games that I've played (maybe) twenty minutes of, it somehow slipped under my radar. I bought it, I just hadn't really played it until approximately midnight of September 1, 2012.

It absorbed me so much that I didn't stop until about five in the morning, at which point I decided that I needed to eat something. Except I'm not eating, because I only want to gush about the game, Valve's attention to detail, and why I believe the next Half-Life game is probably taking so bloody long to finish.

But back to 2007 for a moment.

I had eagerly awaited the landing of Half-Life 2: Episode 2. I had just moved away to college, and using digital downloads as a means to acquire games was still a pretty new concept. I remember watching The Orange Box download, squirming until the moment I was allowed to hit 'Play.' I’m not sure which title I played first, whether it was Team Fortress 2, Portal, or Half-Life 2: Episode 2, but I do know that when I did launch Portal, I didn't stop playing until I had finished the game.

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Hey, guys! It's been a couple weeks -- a little thing called PAX Prime happened -- but you came up with three excellent remembrances of video-game magazines as part of our previous Bitmob Wants You prompt. And they deserve a proper tribute.

So check them out below, and feel free to add your own memories of gaming magazines in the comments. And keep your eyes open for our next Bitmob Wants You challenge -- it'll be coming soon!

In loving memory: How EGM², Expert Gamer, and GameNOW scarred me for life
By Brandon Guerrie

I'm plenty familiar with the old days of Electronic Gaming Monthly -- and so is our boss, Shoe, who used to be its editor-in-chief -- but EGM2 was a different animal, focused more on guides, cheats, and strategies. The mag inspired Brandon to take a stab at writing walkthroughs himself, so it must have done something right.

Who's to blame for Nintendo Power's death?
By Mark Reeth

This whole prompt was inspired by the folding of the venerable Nintendo publication, and Mark knows where to point the finger: At Shoe himself! (Well, not really. Read on for more.)

Magazine memories: A journey from print to digital
By Trevor Hinkle

Trevor charts his path from the glory days of PC Gamer, Games For Windows Magazine (RIP, Brodeo), and the rest of the old Ziff-Davis stable to his current efforts in games writing. "As my favorite gaming journalism outlets crumbled around me," he writes, "I began to take the writing into my own hands." We're glad you did, man. 

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Today, social game developer Zynga announced the global launch of the sixth installment in its With Friends series, Gems With Friends. The company is currently focusing on the release of its sequel to the Facebook friend annoyance platform Farmville, but future additions to the With Friends suite are inevitable.

Here are three games that Zynga may very well be bringing to your iPhone in the near future (OK, probably not), and how they will get your money.

Shooting With Friends

The game: Maybe you've never played Bitmob editor Layton Shumway at Words With Friends, but if you had, you'd wish that you could follow up your sound whooping with some old-fashioned video game justice. So, enough of this puzzle shit. It's time to get down to business, and that means guns and plenty of them.

Shooting With Friends will allow players to invite their buddies and family members into the virtual arena to slap iron in a series of high-intensity shootouts.

The microtransactions: Your first gun and three bullets will be free. Everything after that will cost you.

This is actually a Flash game called GunBlood.

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