If there was ever a hotly-anticipated game that could potentially get old, lost gamers back into gaming and purchase a system, it's "Street Fighter IV."
Many men (and woman) my age dropped some serious coinage into a "Street Fighter II" cabinet back in the early 90's when the franchise really became synonymous with arcades. Many a Friday night were spent in the smokey, dimly lit corridors of "Pinball Pete's" at the University of Michigan playing and watching others play this game and its many spin-offs.
I know. Look, I didn't have much of a social life at college, okay? Lay off.
There are those of us who stuck with gaming when it became more prevalent in the home than in the arcade, and those of us who went onto more mundane hobbies like golf or securities trading. "SFIV" is for both of those people.
Because, though the newest "Street Fighter" is an incredibly deep and complex fighting game built for serious strategic battle, "Street Fighter IV" still retains the same simple special moves of its 18 year-old predecessor that hooked players into dropping quarter after quarter into the machine.
All of your favorites are here from Ken and Ryu, to Akuma and Cami, and even a few new fighters thrown in that feel like they could have been there all along for 25 characters in all. If you have a favorite from the 90s, chances are he'll be here and looking better than ever.
I was skeptical when I heard that Capcom's development of "Street Fighter IV" was going to continue with the 2D fighting that established the game, I thought that it would be just another re-hash of a game that I had played countless times over the years. Thankfully, the art and style of "SFIV" is worthy of the retail cost and though all fighting takes place on the traditional 2D plane, all animation and backgrounds are drawn in 3D making this much more of a next-gen presentation while still maintaining the retro-feel. All of the characters maintain their same style and original appearance, but look so much cooler than ever before. The intro movie and its title song "Indestructable," get me pumped to play every time I start the game- and this is coming from someone who wasn't interested in playing when it was released.
"Street Fighter IV" is all about competition and though the best type of competition sits next to you in a game like this, online will have to do when someone is not visiting. The online implementation of "SFIV" is lacking and needs a definite overhaul in the form of a downloadable patch for the game. Ranked matches are nearly impossible to connect to, and it is too easy to be booted from a game or have someone quit witout penalty when they are losing; the absence of tournament options for multiple-player matches is surprising as well. I've said it before and I'll say it again- if every developer just adopted the "Halo" style of matchmaking and party system, every game with online multiplayer would benefit- "SFIV" is no different. One of the cool features, though, is the ability to play the game through single-player and have someone join into the game for a match as if they just "quartered-up" in the arcade. Again, it's a retro touch that honors the "Street Fighter" fans of yesteryear.
I hate to give a score to this game because, though the game is phenomenal in its presentation and options, it is absolute junk to control with the standard Xbox 360 controller. The D-pad and button layout is not suited to a game like this, and the PS3's d-pad is only marginally better. As such, getting into the real depth of the game is virtually impossible without a better controller. Thankfully, Capcom partnered with MadCatz in licensing the "Street Fighter" brand to a line of gamepads and joysticks meant to bring home the feeling of arcade gaming. Unfortunately, the "Street Fighter" Fightpad, Arcade Stick, and Tournament Stick were not available to me at the time of review- nor are they possible to find in stores anywhere due to the high demand for them. Rest asured that as soon as they are in my hands, I'll be re-reviewing the "SFIV" experience as arcade-intended.
No comments:
Post a Comment