Street Fighter IV

"The Casual Gamer's Street Fighter!"

There is so much that can be said about Capcom's biggest Franchise. The Street Fighter series is the game people went crazy over in the early nineties. The Game brought a new era to the arcades in the 90s because of its popularity and revolutionary gameplay. This was the game many companies imitated but only a very few were on Street Fighters Level (No not Mortal Kombat). Now the newest rendition is finally here.There was many Upgrades to street fighter 2, a prequel (which had it's own upgrades) and a sequel (which also had it's own upgrades). Street Fighter 2, Alpha, and 3 are extremely respected among hardcore gamers but it's been ten years since the release of street fighter 3 so where was another street fighter game? For ten years we waited and finally it was announced in 2007 (the project was given the green light in 2005) and here we have the most hyped and anticipated fighting game with the exception of Super Smash brothers Brawl.

Now does it deliver? That is the question a lot of gamers pondered, now the reason, why I gave that long intro just for this review, is so you, the reader can see and understand why there was hype, and so much anticipation. This game has been out for over 2 weeks and well is it worth it?

The Graphics for the game is amazing, everything is extremely detailed and crisp in HD, and Capcom never had a problem with graphics and animation. Street fighter 2 still looks great over 15 years of its release. There's not much I can say about graphics then what's already been said way before the game was released. Now let's get into the aspect that we Street Fighter Fanatics wanted to know about. The Gameplay.

I've been playing third strike for almost ten years now and soon as I played street fighter 4 I noticed several major and minor flaws. The Speed, the horrible super arts system, No Parrying, The change of the throw system, and a horrible programmed final boss that looks Gill look fair and friendly.

The speed is pretty much a minor deal, I could understand why it was slowed down, so it can be a closer game to SF2 instead, but however I do believe a turbo option should have been included into this game. The Super Arts system however is Dreadful, it's a mess really. Most games I have you build up your super by Getting Hit (Samurai Showdown) or attacking your opponent (SFA3, KOF98). Here however you can gain two different specials by getting harmed and harming your opponent. I seriously don't see the need for this at all, in fact it makes far more easy to abuse, also the EX system which was retained from Street Fighter 3 wasn't retained well. For example in SF3, you can store one or two or three depending on the super art, and it builds quickly, here the buildup is slow, and if you use one EX move, the Super art is gone and in four takes quite a while for it to build up as well. Honestly this is the worse of Capcoms super arts systems, and completely unoriginal. A lot of people tell me capcom has refined it, but truthfully it looks like they took a step back.

The new Focus attack ideal is horrible in my opinion. Yes it's far more beginner friendly but the beginners I know don't really give a crap about Advanced Techniques, Advanced techniques should well be advanced and for seasoned players. The Parry System yes it was difficult but separates players that are good from those who are beginners. What we got with focus is a butchered parry system, you absorbed one attack, counter-attack, and heal, but if your against a spammer and he just throws fireballs, you can absorb five attacks, and dash forward via cancelling and if it's you get touched by one attack, one quarter of your health is gone with your amazing defensive focus skills. Parrying existed to parry away attack, a way of blocking which was precise, that also exploits openings, which punishes beginners that use cheap tactics. now with some characters like Blanka, Zangief, and Balrog you can use an ex to rush through a fireball, but there you go, you used a EX move and ruined your special and must rely on a ultra, which has far worse recovery times then super arts.

The Throw system was also strange, instead of the traditional, Attack beats Throw, Throw Beats Block and Block beats Attack system that EVERY 2-D fighter has. SF4 has instead used the same throw system that is in 3-D fighters like Dead or alive. This throws anyone off, in their first time playing. Lastly the Final boss is a Joke. Honestly I thought he was a rip-off of Mr. Manhattan from the Watchmen comics. The Design on him is horrible but his programming is dreadful. This boss is nearly impossible to beat, if you don't play it very much. Here Capcom has honestly confused me. They're trying to make a Causal gamer friendly game but designed a boss that is made for hardcore gamers? I don't get it either.

Now the positives, it is street fighter no doubt, the mechanics all familiar, and it's an extremely fun game with a friend. Which is why I purchased it, the Online aspect saves it but will it ever be completive like Street fighter 3 is..Nope. It's a game where you just sit back and play online with a friend. It's not as deep and hardcore as three is. The game is Good but failed to deliver and was a victim of being over-hyped but then again it is street fighter the hype was inevitable Capcom should have known. I still had fun with the game but annoyed various things about it, so it gets 6.7 out of 10, unless you're a street fighter fanatic, Definitely Rent it before you Buy.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/16/09

Game Release: Street Fighter IV (US, 02/17/09)