Summary [9.8  out of 10]

After nine long years, the series that launched a genre is back and brings with it an enormously tight fighting system, gorgeous animation, a modest suite of extra modes, a solid online multiplayer, and all the characters that made it so dear. Street Fighter IV brings everything one would expect from what continues to be the best fighting game series of all time.

Introduction

I love Street Fighter. Number II was like a religion in high school and in college when I visited Las Vegas while my friends were gambling and getting up to various debauchery, I was making kids cry and adults shove away from the machine in anger at III. So it was without any sort of real trepidation that I approached Street Fighter IV initially. I heard ‘2-D gameplay’ and that was more or less all I needed. I then heard ‘everyone from II’ and ‘takes place before III’ and I started to worry. Seeing screen shots made me a bit more nervous. Then I started reading about the new focus attacks which sounded overly complicated and about removal of the parry move from III and I was very sad. Not so sad I wasn’t looking forward to it mind, just sad about what might have been.

Then I got the game and started playing and I felt desperately stupid for ever doubting it. It is not perfect but it is far better than I expected.

The Hot

• Cammy: Apparently whatever it was that was supposed to make Ryu look like a human and not a potato with a head band was put into making Cammy look disturbingly hot. I am not one for getting turned on by video game characters (aside from Mai from Fatal Fury maybe — Editor’s Note: <heavy panting>) but she is hot in away that makes me feel sort of weird like maybe I need counseling.

The Great

• Gorgeous Animation: Seeing still shots of the game does not do it justice. The art style takes a bit of getting used to but animation and physics are incredible. Everything is very fluid and the 3-D models seem to occupy real space even in a 2-D game environment.

• The Fighting System: exceptionally tight and user friendly. If you are a newcomer to the series it is easy to jump in and start fighting. The basic moves are easy to learn and the curve on the special moves is decent. If nothing else, the basics are not difficult to learn and compete with. For veterans, the game offers an enormous depth by way of new EX and Focus attacks, Super Combos, and Ultra Combos. It sounds complicated in the telling but in practice, it is very easy to get the hang of and you will find yourself using all these techniques as easily as a basic Hadoken or Sonic Boom. The timing is very good allowing for subtly like a sturdy wake-up game and custom combos that don’t feel like the dial-a-combos you find in DOA or Tekken.
• Controls: assuming you are playing with an arcade stick or the Dual Shock 3, the controls are perfect. Moves, specials and combos are easy to learn as you don’t have to fight the game itself. If you are throwing controllers it will probably be because Seth is a cheap ass as opposed to your action input has gone awry.

• Character Balancing: Unless the CPU is playing Zangief, Rufus, C. Viper, or Seth, no one in the roster seems broken or over powered. Everyone has something to offer and no one is intrinsically weak. Likewise, no one character is going to completely dominate. This allows the field to be fairly even and balanced. Even if you are playing as final boss Seth, you still have to know what you are doing and how to put his moves to good use. Sure his Ultra Combo sucks his opponent into his abdomen and then shoots like a cannon into the camera but it doesn’t do THAT much damage. If you put in the time with anyone, you can win with that character. Even Dan.

• Excellent Replay: Thanks to additional modes and a plethora of unlockables including characters, colors, taunts, titles and pictures, and movie and artwork galleries, the game makes you come back again and again. This is a good thing because after the 12th time that Seth ruins you when you were just one jab away from completion, you may be inclined to throw your system, TV and family pet out the window. These other things bring you back in.

The Good

• The Roster: I was a little disappointed when I first heard the line up was the original 12 from Street Fighter II plus four new ones. I wanted more new characters and more (re: any at all) characters from Street Fighter III and I kind of thought that the series was going backward. To an extent it was but given that backward equals video game gold, that is not a bad thing. These characters play the way you remember but all of them have some new tricks up their sleeves and feel better than ever. If you played in the past, you can pick up any one of the classic characters and feel comfortable but there are plenty of new things to learn and master. The new characters, while generally very silly, are well rounded as well. They have unique movesets as well as require a unique mindset but they are worth learning and can be very effective. The unlockable characters are worth the work that goes into getting them, although Gouken and Akuma are kind of ridiculous to get.

Tip: There are some conflicting reports on how to unlock Akuma and Gouken. Here’s how I did it. For Aukuma, after you have unlocked all the other hidden characters up to that point (not Gouken or Seth), you have to get one perfect victory and finish the game undefeated. Akuma comes out and challenges you. Beat him to unlock him. After unlocking Akuma, you need to come up with two perfects, end three rounds with an ultra combo, and finish undefeated. Gouken comes out and challenges you. Beat him to unlock him. The best way to do the above is to set the difficulty to ‘easiest’ and change to one round per match. This get’s you through quickly and makes end boss Seth a pushover. To unlock Seth, beat the game with everyone.

• Online: The online experience is rewarding and fun. You can do standard ranked matches or player matches. You can set up a lobby to play a small group of players. Given a good latency and steady connection, the servers are very stable and only rarely is there slowdown or lag. Obviously, any lag is a killer on a game like this but I’ve only had a serious problem with that once and even then, it was just keeping us from kicking in the air.
• Arcade Feel: Given that by and large we don’t have arcades in America anymore, the game utilizes its online multiplayer to great effect by allowing other players to challenge you while you are playing through the arcade mode. This effectively replicates the arcade experience where you are playing by yourself only to have someone come up and put a quarter in. You will want to turn it off while trying to unlock hidden characters and such but otherwise it is a pretty sweet way to face other players without waiting around in a lobby.

• Art Design: With the exception of Ryu during his Ultra Combo, the art style is really great. It takes a bit of getting used to but after a couple of matches you recognize its beauty. The detail is meticulous and the characters and backgrounds look cool. Especially Blanka, he looks pretty awesome.

• Challenge: This game is no push over. Even set to ‘Very Easy’ it is not a cake walk. With several difficulty settings it is not difficult to find the sweet spot for your skill level. Regardless of where you fall, you will most likely make up some of your own cuse words as victory is snatched from you at the last possible moment.
• Challenge Modes: Survival, Time Attack, and Trial modes are great ways to spend some time out of the arcade or versus mode and improve your skills all at the same time. After you take on 15 or 20 opponents on a single life bar or take out nine opponents in 3 minutes, you will find competitive play and arcade play just a little easier. The trial mode beefs up your combo skills without making you feel like your practice is some kind of grind.
• It is Street Fighter. Seriously this needs its own bullet point.

The Bad

• Alternate Costumes: the costumes are cool. Having to Buy them on Live or the Playstation Store when they are already on the disc is not so cool. The alternate costumes should be unlocked like the additional characters, colors and personal actions. Sure I will buy them, but I resent it.

• Seth: Worst name for an end boss EVER.
• Move Priority: The move priority is a little wonky and can lead to frustration. Why Zangief can hit me or grab me no matter what I am doing is irritating as all hell. The Focus attack can help you here but it is still frustrating to get punched out of a super upper-cut that should be half way up the Russian’s rectum.
• Incomplete Online: What is there is great but a tournament mode online is not included on the disc. It is a free download but we shouldn’t have to wait for something that is a no-brainer and should be on the disc at retail.
• The Story: I am not really sure why they bothered with anime cut scenes when they were only going to give you 60% of the story, but they should have made the prologue and epilogue in game like the rival matches or gone the full nine and given us something complete.

The Ugly

• Ryu: Seriously, he’s my boy and my main character but he looks like Gouken trained him with the ugly stick over and over again. Some of his art looks good but he generally looks like the designer was drunk and high.

Conclusion [9.8 out of 10]

It has problems, but Street Figher IV is closer to perfect than any other game in the series. There may be those who disagree and cling to the past, but this game brings out the best of the previous iterations. It is well balanced, well paced, pretty to look at, and very fun. It keeps you coming back no matter how frustrated you might get at the AI’s cheap tactics and the multiplayer brings back memories from the arcade. If you HATE fighters, it won’t change your mind but otherwise you will find a great game that will give you many hours of enjoyment. HADOOOOKEN!