Street Fighter IV Review

The Grandfather of fighting games has finally returned to our beloved homes. That's right; Street Fighter 4 has eventually hit the shelves after many, many months of teasing from Capcom, whetting our appetites for some hardcore Shinku Hadoken action.

Instead of going for some elaborate 3D combat area with multiple levels accessed via knocking the opponent out of the tier area, Capcom have decided to stick to what works best, gone back to the roots of Street Fighter if you will.

In this iteration of our trusted friend, we have a mix of beautifully rendered 3D models of our old familiar friends with a handful of new faces, with a stylised look of hand drawn artwork, also with certain visual effects being accented in calligraphic strokes, ink smudges and ink sprays during combat. Fighting toe to toe on a 2D plane set in various 3D locations around the world, ranging from a grassy play area underneath a fly-over to a bustling street in Japan, the whole package is solid and works flawlessly, emphasising that Street Fighter is back and hungering for fresh blood.

The combat system is so easy to pick up for the beginners new to the world of Street Fighter yet still remains deep and complex enough to please the SF veterans, combining focus attacks, EX (Define special moves and ultra combo's into devastating and visually impressive attacks which are destined to leave a mark or two on your opponents features.

During combat you'll notice the usual health bars adorn the top of the screen with the time remaining in the round centred between the two bars. At the bottom however; we have an EX bar in 4 sections which powers your EX specials. These are basically your standard special moves but generally hit harder with an extra graphical edge to them. If you wish to build this bar up to the max you may unleash a super combo move which is a visual treat in its own right.

Next to this EX bar you have a three quarter circle gauge which builds up as you take damage with a revenge marker at approximately the half way mark of this gauge. This bar lets you perform your characters selected ultra combo which is a series of moves or a huge special move which connects with the opponent multiple times. You have a very short grace period in which you may cancel, or for your opponent to counter the combo, before the game takes over and runs through a short cinematic of the ultra combo. When executed at the right time, this can lead to the reassuring sound of ‘K.O.' coming from the announcer.

A new feature to the combat in SF4, is the previously mentioned focus attack which allows the player to perform a move that has two key stages. Stage one of the focus attack, makes the character shift stances and absorbs an incoming move from the opponent. Then, entering stage two your character will then counter attack your opponent, the longer your buttons are held down, the harder the counter will land which normally results in your opponent crumpling to the floor. This new element shifts the emphasis away from constantly stringing combo's toward a more realistic system of combat, meaning you start learning and reading your opponents moves before he or she starts moving.

There are around 25 playable characters in total for you to get to grips with in the various game modes. The old favourites from SF2 are present and accounted for, with a few familiar faces from varying sequels attending too, while finally four new faces created specifically for this outing finish the line up.

You have the standard arcade mode and VS mode allowing you to beat the snot out of either CPU or human opponents in your own home. Then we have a challenge mode, this pits your skills in a variety of challenges ranging from a simple time attack to a survival mode, yet the mode that was the most interesting to me and quite possibly the most interesting for you dear readers, is the introduction of an online mode. Yes that's right, Street Fighter is now available with the taste of online multiplayer action, fight anyone you want anywhere in the world.

This one simple addition to the tried and tested formula of Street Fighter gives the game almost unlimited replayability, the prospect of facing hundreds of thousands of different player styles offering a multitude of varying challenges in order to defeat your opponent quite simply made me moist. During my time online with the game, admittedly receiving more beatings than handing out, I experienced hours upon hours of glorious action with the evil nemesis of lag, nowhere to be seen. Everything ran smoothly and without incident indicating a very high degree of polish from Capcom before this title shipped.

Ultimately mastering the moves and techniques held within the confines of this title, whilst striving for all the titles, achievements and unlockable features is something I shall leave to the hardened few who are destined to be supreme champions. There was only so much blistering my thumb can take before I called it a day with Street Fighter 4 and believe me; you will no doubt suffer a case of Street Fighter thumb yourself during your playtime of this awesome game.