Title: Street Fighter IV
Genre: Fighting
Developer : Capcom
Platform: Playstation 3
Rating: T (Teen)
Product Link: http://www.amazon.com/Street-Fighter-IV-Playstation-3/dp/B0012N5MIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1235589727&sr=1-1
Website: http://www.streetfighter.com/flash/
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After the release of the curious and highly controversial Street Fighter III, many fans of the series accepted the idea that there would never be a fourth installment to Capcom’s legendary fighting franchise. As years passed by, the fighting game genre has had a startling reemergence into the gaming community’s conscience. At the peak of this new found fighting game renaissance, Street Fighter IV arrives retaining much of what made the original Street Fighter II such a wild success over the last two decades.
Street Fighter IV ’s game play is a complex deluge of technique and counter technique that boils down to knowing and executing attacks at the right moments. Veterans of the series can jump in with any of the original eight world warriors, the four bosses or one of the four new fighters created specifically for the game. Every fighter has their own unique set of moves and special attacks with varying degrees of priority. Understanding which attacks work best is the key to becoming an expert street fighter and winning the round—button mashing will only lead to embarrassment and defeat. The controls are responsive but the d-pad may cause blistering on the left thumb for those not familiar with fighting games. Online multiplayer allows you to test you skills against the world. Most people will be immediately humbled by the often overwhelming abilities of veteran players, but anyone willing to put in hours of practice a day can become just as well trained as any veteran. It is all just a matter of how much dedication one wishes to allocate towards being the best. The addition of focus moves is a welcome one giving every fighter a powerful charge attack or a quick counter depending on how the player uses it.
The art style is an example of one of the more sophisticated uses of cell shading—3-D polygons surrounded with heavy black lines. This style evokes the look of a comic book or cartoon which is reminiscent of the 2-D Street Fighter II as well other 2-D fighting games from the 90’s. The 3-D models complement some characters more than others. New fighters such as Gouken, C. Viper and Abel look fantastic while some of the returning characters like Ryu and Blanka either appear to be puppets or made out of clay. Animations are lively with fighters moving even when stationary while attacks flow with a natural fluidity that is never awkward or marred by hiccups in frame rate. Stages are also crafted with the same attention to detail and beauty. Spectators react to battles with cheers and cringes while some even fall over in disbelief. These little touches make the battles feel grander and more fulfilling.
Sound effects are adequate and are what you would expect from other fighting games. The voice acting can be changed from English to Japanese initially but as you complete the Arcade mode with different fighters you will be able to change specifically which characters speak which language. Overall, the English voice acting is obnoxious while the Japanese voice acting is, at the very least, non-obtrusive to the enjoyment of the rest of the game. The announcer is excruciatingly unnecessary hollering descriptions and commentary that falls flat and becomes stale by the time your first match is completed. An option to switch the announcer’s voice off would have been greatly appreciated. The music is exceptional, but the announcer’s inane ramblings often smother the game’s scores.
Street Fighter IV will be an enduring staple in fighting game tournaments foe years to come. Capcom has successfully recreated the feel of the older Street Fighter games while embracing a modern look that will appeal to a new generation of gamers. Whether you are a veteran of the genre or someone looking for an entertaining initiation into fighting games, Street Fighter IV is the reigning champion.
Overall Rating: * * * * / 5
M. Michael Chwedyk "The Gamekok"-MuzikReviews.com Video Game Reviewer
February 27, 2009
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