By - Richard J.
When Capcom first announced Street Fighter 4 for iPhone, me and many other games were worried about how the game would control. I'm happy to report that fears about the game controlling poorly can be put to rest. Capcom made the best of a bad situation and can proudly state that they made an iPhone game with a virtual joystick and buttons that actually work.
However, the controls are by no means perfect. They had to replace the complex controls with a much more basic control scheme that works well for the platform, but will leave die-hard fighter fans a bit disappointed. The controls find there main fault when the action gets fast and intense. I found my thumb sliding off of the virtual joystick near the end of many matches which left me quite frustrated. I found that the worst character to fight against was Blanka. Most of the time his movement was faster than than my thumb could move on the virtual joystick.
The games graphics are top notch. The game has still backgrounds with the animated fighters in front, just like the old street fighters. I played the Street Fighter game on PSP (can't remember the name) and I'd say that this one looks better. The animations that go along with the ultra attacks are also very nice, but of course don't compare to those on the console version.
The game has 8 characters that you can play from the beginning, and sadly no unlockables. There character's are: Abel, Blanka, Chun-Li, Ryu, M.Bison, Dhalsim, Guile, and Ken. Without any unlockable characters, there really is no reason to keep playing it single player.
There are also no unlockable modes in the game. For single player, you have Dojo (where you learn how to play the game), free-sparring, tournament, and training room. The tournament and free sparring are quite enjoyable for pick-up and play, but don't add any real depth to the experience.
The big draw to this game is it's multiplayer component. The game supports multiplayer local matches via Bluetooth. Unfortunately there is no multiplayer over Wi-Fi or 3G. Due to the multiplayer being only local and not having anyone to fight against, I wasn't able to try it for the review. But from what I've read, it seems like there aren't any extra features added for the multiplayer.
All-in-all this game is great for what it is. Capcom really nailed the controls and that alone made the experience worth while. If you are a fighting fan with an iPhone who needs that quick fix during the day, I highly recommend you get this. For 10 bucks you can't go wrong, especially if you have a friend to fight with.
PROS
- Great Controls
- Classic Street Fighter
- Easy To Pick-Up and Play
- Superb Graphics
- Multiplayer Mode Will Have You Constantly Coming Back For More
- Great Value For $10
CONS
- Controls Aren't Always Perfect
- No Unlockables Makes The Single Player Experience Shallow
- Few Modes Compared To Console and Arcade Versions
- Lack Of Wi-Fi Or 3G Multiplayer
RATING: 8.25/10