"Beat em up fans need only apply"

This game has been trashed harshly for some reason I do not understand. Probably its not made by Rockstar. Beat-em ups are a dying genre that is attempted to be resurrected with games like Beat Down, The Warriors, and MK: Shaolin Monks, which were all solid efforts. So here comes Final Fight: Streetwise and how does it fare?

Pretty well actually. I think people forget the purpose of a BEU. Which is to walk around and literally beat people up. This game gives you two versions to do that. You can do the story mode, which is pretty fun. People compare the free roaming aspect in this game to GTA but thats not quite right. Its more like shenmue than GTA. You can walk around town, do mini-games and side-missions to gain cash. With this cash, you can use it to buy modes and stats upgrades. You can also use it to buy health and weapons but you'll probably rarely spend money on that. Many people complain about the mini games, well there's a perfect remedy to that, just don't do them. The are some mandatory mini-games you have to do in the game but they are pretty simple. The one's that come frequent are the stomping of pests and bypassing security codes to enter doors. For some reason, the security code games seems to be the most frustrating to people. Remember, you can click on the squares that aren't lighted.

Fight system wise, its pretty deep. You have two buttons for attacking, one for grappling, one for blocking, and one for "Impact", which makes your attacks stronger. The game also carries a nice countering system but you'll rarely use it since the AI is pretty dumb. Usually in a BEU the enemies are stupid but if you add a counter system, you need smarter AI! The only times I've used counters are when facing huge groups of enemies and the pit fights. The pit fights. Once you get the countering down, the pit fight sequences are some of the more enjoyable parts of the game. But a BEU is about fighting groups of enemies and you will be doing that a lot. Only frustrating parts in story mode are the last group of bosses, where you have to rely on running a lot or poke and run type tactics. The most frustrating boss is the one who regenerates his life by eating rats. So best to have your stats up by then.

By beating Story mode, you unlock more levels to the Arcade mode. This mode is similar to all the old school beat em ups out there. You simply walk around and beat people up until the game is over. Its pretty tough compared to the story mode. You only have 3 lives through out the game and enemies will just flood the screen so unless you're playing 2 players, don't expect a walk in the park. Don't forget to block also.

So lets break it down:

Gameplay 7/10

Surprisingly fun, but can get surprisingly frustrating at the end. AI could've used some work. I wish the counter system was more emphasized!

Sound 6/10: Since the soundtrack is licenced, its hit or miss. I liked a couple of songs and hated the rest. Good thing you can pick what songs to hear. I wish the Final Fight Remixed song could've been used in your play list.

Graphics 7/10

Think of The Warriors but slightly better. It doesn't look that bad though. You've seen worst. The game also loses points in the camera system. Sometimes you can't see where your enemies so you have to aim off-screen.

Replay 6/10

No extra difficulties, and only 2 players in Arcade mode really hits the replay value of this game. The Story mode is only around 6 hours (if you skip the cut-scenes and many side-quests) and Arcade mode should last a couple hours tops. The original Final Fight is an un-lockable but you don't want to play that, emulation sucks. So unless you're a die hard beat em up fan, you probably won't play this again.

Overall 7/10: Good game not great. If they added more difficulties with better AI, music, camera, and emulation of the original Final Fight, this could've been great , but for now it's just good. Let's hope for a sequel.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/08/06