It has been a long time coming for a worthy successor to Street Fighter 2 but I would say the latest installment from Capcom is the best yet. With stellar visuals and improved fighter balancing this is without a doubt a fantastic game for newcomers and hardcore street fighters alike.
With that said, there are only a small handful of game modes included in SF IV that may leave some individuals a little disappointed. There is the standard arcade mode, where you fight one after another until you reach the final boss. Versus mode is for when you have a buddy over and want to take each other on. Like versus mode, network play is identical, allowing you to play a ranked match or a player match with a friend (or a random player) over XBOX Live or Playstation Network. A training mode is available, which gives you an opportunity to practice on a dummy or let the CPU fight back without worrying about losing. The only other game mode available is a challenge mode, which has you completing time trials and survival challenges in different difficulty levels. There is no tournament mode, but it is said to be provided as DLC shortly after release.
Arcade mode could also be considered the “story” mode of the game. Each character have their own opening anime cut scene and ending cut scene, none of which are particularly good. They are all very silly or cheesy, but they can be skipped. Completing arcade mode as certain characters unlocks other characters. There is plenty of other stuff to unlock aside from characters, such as medals and icons in the game, to customize your online profile.
I suggest if you are a newcomer that you play on easy. The game is incredibly unforgiving to the unskilled player. On medium the computer was dominating me for the most part at first. This is one of the biggest strengths of Street Fighter though; it truly rewards the player who takes the time to learn how to play. Button mashers need not apply, it’s nearly impossible to be successful. You need to learn how to perform the moves, and master when it’s appropriate to use them. This level of depth will keep you playing for years to come.
The online stability is also fantastic. I experienced almost no lag in the many fights I took online. If I did encounter lag, it was brief and didn’t negatively affect the experience. Also load times are swift, only a few seconds to load the match.
If you enjoy a deep rewarding fighting experience with top notch visuals, Street Fighter IV is a fantastic investment that will keep you hooked for a long time.