Street Fighter IV needs no introduction really. It's a beat 'em up. With a bunch of character enforcing stereotypes, who want to kick, punch and lob fireballs to the death. IV is really just more of what you love, glossed up in a HD package. But it's how Capcom glossed up the package that makes this game special.
Street Fighter IV is as close to Super Street Fighter II Turbo as the action gets without completely stripping away new attack methods and technicalities. We've got no multiple ISM's, air recoveries and alpha counters of Street Fighter Alpha 3. No super art selects and parries of Street Fighter III. Instead we have a whole lot condensed into the new focus attack system. The focus attack can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Newbie's will use it to simply crash an opponents guard and land a cheap hit just as they've swept an opponent. The more advanced players will use it to cancel attacks, counter and get some parry action in there. It's a great new system that can quickly turn the tide of a fight. It's not something that's insisted upon players, but is there to be exploited if a player chooses to. In lieu of the stream lining characters also have only 1 super attacks and one ultra attack, which changes how the character play more than you think. Especially if you relied on one of the characters super's which has been taken away. Ryu fans can kiss goodbye to his super hurricane kick and Chun-Li players can wave goodbye to her Kikou-shou.
![Street Fighter IV [screenshot courtesy of IGN.com]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sWV8BAThxocDRfKN6Dz8QUr1u_JIWPow1q4urx3R_-ae1oG4rFIkKEvYMuW2lVcxtH4ZPwwzeQ4lAzd6UnroxxsS12uaXBsiLF8U1DWohxMwxzwXHhW0rVIKijM3UhDrku5L7pyKyNaoYk6rLhZjhkDmOBgILNSA3X5x01lunK6NTSo9xvTSAf_9yjjP5H5b7nxS48BYlaLg=s0-d "Street Fighter IV [screenshot courtesy of IGN.com]")
![Street Fighter IV [screenshot courtesy of IGN.com]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uv7GEQZ_KdJv9D7xiyJees0m26sX5HdvXQQ35q0oTrvkqhfEYMz4WDLNPmP9G3wgaFEV69w43YvPy8yJgdZgod_HHwTa9BMUgv9AyTec6T3yYw26UMPH1kwBSGVoSmSk-IMwLsCuKS8oN0WTxHlmh2j2om3YKgKfZpsAe49qo6We1Htwpwq5WkCWAqjhWqLjj5E5extdL2=s0-d "Street Fighter IV [screenshot courtesy of IGN.com]")
The characters are a nice bunch. But the newbies aren't that memorable, and to be honest: a bit crap. The only 2 out of the 4 new faces who look like they'll be mainstays in future games and spin-off's are Crimson viper and Abel. Rufus and El Fuerte could be axed from the next Street Fighter game, and I doubt anybody would care. It's a shame that no Street Fighter III characters were included, seeing as we got a generous comeback from II and the Alpha series. Seth is as close to Urien and Gill as we're going to get for now. And Alex fans will have to settle for Abel. But it would've been nice to have seen a couple of III faces return. I'm sure some gamers wouldn't have minded the likes of Ibuki in the place of either Gen or Rose.
The audio in the game is solid. The sound effects are impactful and what you'd expect from a Capcom beat 'em up. Every punch, kick, scream and "Haaaaay-yah!!!" sounds great in a surround sound and Dolby setup. The soundtrack rocks and Hideyuki Fukasawa did the damn thing with it. Whilst much of the new compositions aren't all that memorable, they are well composed. And the character select music is the most catchy to feature in a Street Fighter game since Street Fighter Alpha 1 and 2's. Old school fans will be pleased to know that the classic Street Fighter II themes have all been brilliantly arranged. Fans of Fei-Long and Balrog's themes will be disappointed though, as they are strangely absent from the game. But all of the other returning characters have their theme's lovingly re-created and the newcomers get some great new themes to their names too.
Street Fighter IV's graphics are a thing of beauty. Regardless of your TV set-up, you're in for a treat. Street Fighter IV looks hot on a standard definition set. You won't be able to read any of the text as it's so tiny and blurry (Lost Planet anyone?) But the game looks sharp and smooth. On a HD setup, the game looks insane. Text is readable, and edges are sharp and crisp. You do not appreciate how amazing the game looks until you play the game on a HDTV bang in front of you. It's a stunning looking game. GameTrailer, YouTube videos and the like do not do the game justice.
Characters are stunningly modelled, featuring a great deal of detail. Only when you play the game on a TV in front of you do you realize just how detailed the character models are. Every muscle, every bit of clothing is lovingly rendered. The backgrounds don't share the same flair as the characters though, which is disappointing. The backgrounds look basic, lifeless, boring and border on shitty. Basic in geometry and look like they were rendered using PS2 hardware. Tekken 5 and Soul Calibur III had more detailed stages. Characters look blocky, textures look simple, and the designs are un-inspired. The only stage in the game which looks like it's rocking some graphical flair is the 'Old temple' stage.
![Street Fighter IV [screenshot courtesy of IGN.com]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uYD3wASXUJuuh4re56yaqKJbU2NznsJ4T1GFCR-SFZ0URO8Ozv2G6pcJ0zO9f9K7mJKyEn59h1X_b-o1NtzRIjABE5JlRG8eRR24O72h4mmQMEHAw4P3CYtksKg6vjmoYpeD1je2R384ii6z3BpXukNf_ebRZ3xQw4eQaMb8lTrDjZEgiwzM5Aw320-G-DsJHZyYxOPlXBKA=s0-d "Street Fighter IV [screenshot courtesy of IGN.com]")
![Street Fighter IV [screenshot courtesy of IGN.com]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sau8D57ncToIlHvIiB3qGpoE1wG37SeB87ywuTaH4D5zYKm3Q54XinJurVLwKDMDJYhv3Yq5pvl6_MhsAKdXfmvop-M6wHCMF1zf4Hfgh732oYX9ScgB3T_KZ2TA67ZLWT_X6Fn-I72dlF3vAN00VnmCHwVUn-z9ClcW20PCCNMjR93dBjJNo9c6DVTGDltW2OZXVFNVSF6g=s0-d "Street Fighter IV [screenshot courtesy of IGN.com]")
Whilst Street Fighter IV features a decent number of modes, it's still lacking. An Alpha 3 style World tour or Virtua Fighter 5 style Quest mode would've been greatly welcomed to add some new twists to the game play. Dramatic battle also would've been nice. The online mode is too basic to be of any serious fun. It's great being able to play online. But the setup is so bare bones that you're unlikely to sit playing it online for any long periods of time. The lobby system is of the bullshit Capcom standard; in that you have to keep bashing away at sessions before you can actually get into one. It's like a luck of the draw. Matches do run smoothly online. You do get the odd match which is plagued with lag, but it's rare. Long term fans of the series will be glad to have the opportunity to play the game online full stop, which is probably why Capcom didn't bother going all out with the features. But it still stands that Street Fighter IV's online could do with more features. It certainly pales in comparison to the online play in Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD remix.
Street Fighter IV is a solid game. Because of the lack of modes, the appeal wears off ever so slightly once you've unlocked all of the characters. But it is a great game that every beat 'em up fan should own. What was looking like a possible recipe for fail, materialized into a Capcom masterpiece. One of the better, if not the best Street Fighter games in the franchise which could be made even better by Capcom throwing in an extra character, a couple of new stages and some new online modes as DLC. Even though they'd probably charge for it all as they did for the outfits. Bastards.
The good
+ Stunning presentation
+ Great audio
+ Addictive game play
The bad
- Not enough stages
- No Street Fighter III characters
- Not much in the way of online options
- You have to pay for new character costumes
Street Fighter IV is as close to Super Street Fighter II Turbo as the action gets without completely stripping away new attack methods and technicalities. We've got no multiple ISM's, air recoveries and alpha counters of Street Fighter Alpha 3. No super art selects and parries of Street Fighter III. Instead we have a whole lot condensed into the new focus attack system. The focus attack can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Newbie's will use it to simply crash an opponents guard and land a cheap hit just as they've swept an opponent. The more advanced players will use it to cancel attacks, counter and get some parry action in there. It's a great new system that can quickly turn the tide of a fight. It's not something that's insisted upon players, but is there to be exploited if a player chooses to. In lieu of the stream lining characters also have only 1 super attacks and one ultra attack, which changes how the character play more than you think. Especially if you relied on one of the characters super's which has been taken away. Ryu fans can kiss goodbye to his super hurricane kick and Chun-Li players can wave goodbye to her Kikou-shou.
The characters are a nice bunch. But the newbies aren't that memorable, and to be honest: a bit crap. The only 2 out of the 4 new faces who look like they'll be mainstays in future games and spin-off's are Crimson viper and Abel. Rufus and El Fuerte could be axed from the next Street Fighter game, and I doubt anybody would care. It's a shame that no Street Fighter III characters were included, seeing as we got a generous comeback from II and the Alpha series. Seth is as close to Urien and Gill as we're going to get for now. And Alex fans will have to settle for Abel. But it would've been nice to have seen a couple of III faces return. I'm sure some gamers wouldn't have minded the likes of Ibuki in the place of either Gen or Rose.
The audio in the game is solid. The sound effects are impactful and what you'd expect from a Capcom beat 'em up. Every punch, kick, scream and "Haaaaay-yah!!!" sounds great in a surround sound and Dolby setup. The soundtrack rocks and Hideyuki Fukasawa did the damn thing with it. Whilst much of the new compositions aren't all that memorable, they are well composed. And the character select music is the most catchy to feature in a Street Fighter game since Street Fighter Alpha 1 and 2's. Old school fans will be pleased to know that the classic Street Fighter II themes have all been brilliantly arranged. Fans of Fei-Long and Balrog's themes will be disappointed though, as they are strangely absent from the game. But all of the other returning characters have their theme's lovingly re-created and the newcomers get some great new themes to their names too.
Street Fighter IV's graphics are a thing of beauty. Regardless of your TV set-up, you're in for a treat. Street Fighter IV looks hot on a standard definition set. You won't be able to read any of the text as it's so tiny and blurry (Lost Planet anyone?) But the game looks sharp and smooth. On a HD setup, the game looks insane. Text is readable, and edges are sharp and crisp. You do not appreciate how amazing the game looks until you play the game on a HDTV bang in front of you. It's a stunning looking game. GameTrailer, YouTube videos and the like do not do the game justice.
Characters are stunningly modelled, featuring a great deal of detail. Only when you play the game on a TV in front of you do you realize just how detailed the character models are. Every muscle, every bit of clothing is lovingly rendered. The backgrounds don't share the same flair as the characters though, which is disappointing. The backgrounds look basic, lifeless, boring and border on shitty. Basic in geometry and look like they were rendered using PS2 hardware. Tekken 5 and Soul Calibur III had more detailed stages. Characters look blocky, textures look simple, and the designs are un-inspired. The only stage in the game which looks like it's rocking some graphical flair is the 'Old temple' stage.
Whilst Street Fighter IV features a decent number of modes, it's still lacking. An Alpha 3 style World tour or Virtua Fighter 5 style Quest mode would've been greatly welcomed to add some new twists to the game play. Dramatic battle also would've been nice. The online mode is too basic to be of any serious fun. It's great being able to play online. But the setup is so bare bones that you're unlikely to sit playing it online for any long periods of time. The lobby system is of the bullshit Capcom standard; in that you have to keep bashing away at sessions before you can actually get into one. It's like a luck of the draw. Matches do run smoothly online. You do get the odd match which is plagued with lag, but it's rare. Long term fans of the series will be glad to have the opportunity to play the game online full stop, which is probably why Capcom didn't bother going all out with the features. But it still stands that Street Fighter IV's online could do with more features. It certainly pales in comparison to the online play in Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD remix.
Street Fighter IV is a solid game. Because of the lack of modes, the appeal wears off ever so slightly once you've unlocked all of the characters. But it is a great game that every beat 'em up fan should own. What was looking like a possible recipe for fail, materialized into a Capcom masterpiece. One of the better, if not the best Street Fighter games in the franchise which could be made even better by Capcom throwing in an extra character, a couple of new stages and some new online modes as DLC. Even though they'd probably charge for it all as they did for the outfits. Bastards.
The good
+ Stunning presentation
+ Great audio
+ Addictive game play
The bad
- Not enough stages
- No Street Fighter III characters
- Not much in the way of online options
- You have to pay for new character costumes
Your review presentation is the shit J. I would ask how you make the banner, stars, and rating box, but I know you won't divulge your secrets. :P
ReplyDeleteNice review. I still haven't played this game. I damn near rented it back when I also rented Killzone 2, but I knew if I played online, I would get my ass handed to me. I'm good at certain fighting games, but it's been a LONG minute since I've played Street Fighter. I need to eventually play it though.