Two decades ago Capcom creates Street Fighter...never played it so Im not going into it. Four years later, Capcom releases the true sequel to Street Fighter, Street Fighter II, and a new generation of fighting games began. However, Street Fighter IV doesn't revolutionize like Street Fighter II once did. Although Capcom didn't revolutionize anything, SFIV still delivers a hell of a time.
I wasn't fond of the art direction they went when Capcom released some early screenshots, but after getting the game and playing it, the art direction grew on me and I don't even care about the graphics anymore. SFIV doesn't completely bring Street Fighter to the realm of 3D fighters. The Game is still limited to a 2D plain where you and your opponent battle it out with the occasional camera pan/zoom for Ultras, and some special moves.
Which leads me into how the game plays, Street Fighter IV takes elements from multiple Street Fighter titles, and adds a few of its own. Long-time Street Fighter players should have no problem adjusting to the new variations. Focus Attacks, considered a new feature by most is a variation of the EX series' Guard Break. Instead of only breaking guards, the focus attack is used for multiple purposes, like canceling out of certain special moves to create more complex combos, take one hit from a non-armor breaking attack, or catching a persons jump kick and hoping he tries to continue a combo and stunning him for doing so. EX attacks return with some tweaks, along with the Super Meter which shares the EX meter. Ultra Combos are introduced, by taking damage you charge your Revenge Meter, once charged to a certain point you can unleash a(most of the time) devastating ultra combo. The Systems SFIV have are IMO implemented flawlessly, and everything works cohesively. The Systems are simple enough that a person that has never touched a SF game can pick up and enjoy. In order to master the game, players have to master everything I've just mentioned.
And to do such a thing, the player has to practice, players can enjoy the game freely, but if you want to progress you need to spend time in the Training Mode doing things like Finding ways to punish heavy jumpers, seeing what attacks are best on the wake up game, and etc. The Trial Mode is a misinterpretation and doesn't help newcomers get accustomed to combos of the game. Even with the heavy requirement of Practice, a newcomer can enjoy his experience in Street Fighter and eventually would probably want to Practice.
Street Fighter IV is the true transition into 3D graphics for Street Fighter, and it delivers and fun, complex, and engaging experience.
