Street Fighter IV Review & Rating

Twenty years ago, a little game called Street Fighter launched and took the gaming world by storm, easily conquering all other 2D fighters around with its unique characters and awesomely acrobatic set of moves.  Gamers across the world have since been enthralled by the exploits of Ryu, Chun Li, and later fan favorite Dan as they battle the dark forces of Sagat and M. Bison.  There’s no doubt that if time travel were possible, nobody would believe we’d still be talking about the game today but Capcom’s Street Fighter IV takes the game (and the action) to an entirely different level of immersion, perfection, and customization.  Street Fighter IV may just be the most perfect fighting game on the market today.

Gameplay

While there have been quite a few additions and re-imaginings which morph into the final product, Street Fighter IV is so great because it is so recognizably a Street Fighter game.  True the art style has changed, there are even more characters (including new fan favorite Crimson Viper), and the fighting has never been more dynamic but veterans of the franchise will recognize everything from their favorite characters to their stylish moves.  And though there are additional fighting mechanics that come into play (more on that later) this iteration of the game has seen a great deal of simplification.  All of the complicated parries and ridiculous chain attacks have been thrown out the window and fighters should feel free to rely on the standard punches and kicks if they so choose. 

However, the most glaring difference, other than the visual style, is the addition of Focus Attacks.  Focus Attacks are chargeable attacks that are easily executed by simply holding the medium punch and kick buttons simultaneously (or assigning the attack to a specific button.)  If landed correctly, these fully charged attacks can bring your opponent to the ground an open them up for serious follow-up attacks before they can regain their stance.  One unique feature of the Focus Attack is that while charging it, the player enjoys a certain amount of invulnerability and can absorb a single attack without being forced to begin the charging process again.  You will take damage, but if you can unleash the attack before your opponent can land a second blow, you will be rewarded. 
Focus Attacks can also be used strategically.  By dashing out the charging stance you can catch your opponent off guard.  You can also break free from a special attack and transfer directly into a Focus Attack.  This flexibility adds a great deal of realism to the gameplay and makes fights all that much more challenging.

The special attacks fighters have access to come in two forms.  The Super Attacks are earned by filling your Super meter by dealing successive blows and dishing out the damage.  The energy in the Super Bar is even transferable between rounds, so feel free to save it up.  The second form of special attack is known as the Revenge Attack.  This attack is both cinematic and devastating, capable of changing the course of a match with a single blow.  To unleash one of these man-killers, you need to charge your Revenge meter by taking damage.  This energy is not transferable so if you want to use it, do so before the match is over.

To help you master all the new and familiar moves, there are multiple modes in which to play.  By far one of the most useful is the Training mode.  You can spar against computer controlled enemies and even record yourself fighting to playback as a training aid.  This will undoubtedly help you understand the strategy behind the combat and make you all that much more deadly in the arena.  There’s also a Trial mode in which you learn every move of every character through round after round of challenges of ever-increasing difficulty.  You even have access to a key/attack map within the game so you don’t have to pause the action to flip through your manual.  These methods both help you learn the moves and avoid the fatal mistake of random button mashing and panicked last stand featuring lame punches and repetitive leg sweeps.

The multiplayer is absolutely amazing.  Even competitors who suffer slow connectivity can compete with relative ease.  Not only that but the neatest feature of the multiplayer is that it allows you to play a single player campaign while waiting for challengers, accept challenges when they arrive, and return to your single player game uninterrupted after your foes have been vanquished. 

Graphics

Graphically, Street Fighter IV is miles beyond its predecessor.  Though the art style has changed to semi-cell shaded and the anime feel of the characters has been kicked up a notch, few people would argue that the game doesn’t look better for it.  The characters muscles are incredibly huge (“cartoony” comes to mind) but their movements are incredibly fluid and the camera works magic to make the fighting seamless and cinematic.  The arenas have been retooled as well; though you’ll likely recognize many of your favorite stomping grounds, and though the action still takes place on a 2D field, everything has a wonderful 3D feel to it. 

Sound

The audio is fairly good as well (the special effects are not far from spectacular) and the voice acting is available in English or Japanese for all characters if you’re a fundamentalist at heart.  However, the J-Pop soundtrack tends to get a little annoying if you can tear year eyes away from the action long enough to pay attention to it.  And if you listen carefully, you’ll be sure to recognize some of the old score under the updated bass beat.

Value

While the single player “campaign” (if it can even be called that) is extremely short, the true value of this game comes from unlocking characters, learning their moves, and perfecting the art of combat.  As such, it’s not a far stretch to imagine people playing through the “campaign” multiple times just to unlock characters, achievements, and costume variants before even venturing into the multiplayer arenas to whoop some behind and rack up some serious cred’.

Final Verdict

Street Fighter IV is not just a new version of an old classic.  It may just represent the next step in the evolution of fighting games.  Newcomers will love the game and old fans will rekindle the flame they’ve held since 1987.

Pros:  Excellent combat mechanic allowing novices and experts alike to compete, great new art style, reverence for the greatness of the past.

Cons:  New art style not to everyone’s liking, some characters far too powerful (as always)


Overall Score: 9/10