Street Fighter EX2 Plus

"The second round staggers through!"

After playing Street Fighter EX+ on the PlayStation, I hoped that a sequel with even more great features like the original had would be available soon! About three years later, I finally saw the sequel. After picking it up, though, I'm sorry to say that, even with new characters and a few new modes, Street Fighter EX only managed to barely stagger through the second round.

Graphics: 8/10
If you've never played the first one, then be warned that it's NOT true 3D! Instead of having ring edges and ring outs like Virtua Fighter, the arena just scrolls indefinitely like Tekken, only you have your arsenal of standard Street Fighter moves. Yes, indeed, the Street Fighter moves are done in 3D, meaning that you'll actually see the full frames of animation for each and every move! Although a few improvisational changes to the graphics were made, namely with hurricane kicks, most of them remain faithful to the originals. If you've played the original game, however, then you know what to expect.

Sounds: 7/10
They still didn't do any remixes of the original themes from the first Street Fighter games, nor did they return any from Street Fighter EX! The music which they use is good, but it lacks any of the memorable sounds that the previous games had within their music! Although you'll still hear the characters utter the names of their moves when you perform them, their victory taunts are still undecphirable! Why didn't you at least subtitle them, Capcom? To top that off, the announcer sounds like he'd rather be somewhere else!

Controls: 6/10
Now here is where the trouble really starts. Although most of the moves are standard motions like previous games (i.e. roll from down to toward and press punch button, etc.), the control pad is extremely stiff and often unresponsive. More often than not, you'll send up simply throwing a punch or a kick when you want to throw a fireball or peform a hurricane kick! Unfortunately, they didn't add support for the Dual Shock analog joysticks! You may be better off getting an arcade joystick for this game.

Replay: 7/10
There's still the training mode in which you practice each of the moves and combos with each character, and as you improve, you earn points which unlock new features. You can also practice the bonus games, and there's an incredibly large roster of fighters here. Unfortunately, the stiff controls, coupled with the fact that there are no ending sequences, only a replay of each finishing blow to each of your opponents while the credits roll, make you wonder if it's really worth breezing through.

Overall: 7/10
If you're a fan of the Street Fighter series, enjoyed it in 3D, or want to see it in 3D, or..well, you get the picture, then may I suggest that you rent it before you buy it. As it is, the stiff controls and lack of replayability stagger the 3D Street Fighter series through round two, only winning by a small margin!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/05/01, Updated 07/16/01