Monday, February 23, 2009
Street Fighter IV
By madmex @ 8:42 PM :: 1540 Views :: Article Rating :: 360
    So many instances in the past have I quartered-up to challenge the residing champion of the local Street Fighter cabinets, only to lose my quarter time and again. But now the spectacle lives on in my television at home with Street Fighter IV on the Xbox 360 (and PS3) and losing tends to be a lot cheaper for me this time around (even at 60 bucks). The upgrades made to Street Fighter IV are tremendous for a usually 2D fighter and the game-play is still as addictive and competitive as I remembered.


    To start, the graphical upgrade to the Street Fighter series was a step in the right direction with the 3D representation with a 2D feel. The difference of animations that have been introduced to the series is not only beautiful but appealing to any that notice. Tongues protruding from victims' mouths when hit in the gut and the look on the competitors' faces when being struck have taken on a comical style. Plus, the backgrounds and fight venues are vibrant with activity that are somewhat interactive. You will notice when characters collapse to the ground that items in the background will shake or even break causing a ruckus. But, some of the animations do not really make sense.



    There are a couple items where the animation made me wonder as to why it was used. For instance, Vega is portrayed as a high-class snobbish Spaniard who dons a mask and claw, yet he sticks his tongue out at the end of a match when he has won (though you will not see it if he is still wearing his mask). Here, I thought he was supposed to be the sophisticated sort and all the while it appears as if his mask symbolizes his suave as a front for his truly wacky ways. The next questionable piece, Rufus (one of the four new characters introduced to Street Fighter), a fat American biker, he is quick and brutal but there is something besides the flabby jiggle of his belly that is somewhat disturbing and that is his highway-of-love. I just do not see how having a river of pubes, running from his belly-button down, displays any kind of relevance to this game or any other for that matter.


    Another aspect of Street Fighter IV that is charming is the actual voicing of the characters. If you wanted to change the voices over to Japanese the option is available and adjustable for individual competitors (after you beat the game once), but I would not recommend it. Listening to Zangief’s Russian accent or even El Fuerte’s Mexican accent is not enjoyable when hearing it in Japanese and there are many others with different dialect that can only be heard in English. In addition, there are matches that have been introduced to the series which is where you "face your rival" (really it is just another fight with a little skit at the beginning) and throughout the match the fighters are talking with one another exchanging scripted lines of dialogue and if you are listening in Japanese then you will have no idea what they are saying. The rival matches was by far one of my favorite additions of the title, the next would have to be the combatants.


    A large majority of the past street fighters have made their return (before Street Fighter III) and some fresh blood as well Abel, Crimson Viper, El Fuerte, Rufus and Seth to be exact. They are each interesting characters and seem to fit right in with the aesthetic of Street Fighter. Playing with each of these characters is pretty fun and if perfected El Fuerte and Rufus could be hard to stop. As for Seth, I have not had the pleasure of using this character, but judging by the amount of relentless death that I have endured by his hands, I would have to say he is pretty tough if played correctly. But, that is pretty much with any character and in this game competition can be fierce.


    A lot of time people are apprehensive about picking up a fighter when they do not have any competition to enjoy the game at home. Well, this time there is plenty of competition maybe too much. Granted, I am having a world of difficulty beating the game on the medium setting but I chalk that up to the input device on the 360 (the 360 controller was not meant for these types of games and I suggest picking up a Street Fighter game-pad, fight-stick or just buy it on the PS3). Aside from my failures, the game supplies plenty of competition whether it is upping the difficulty level or by playing people online. In the online section of the game, it is possible to fight against someone of your skill level, not mine however. I do not think there is a skill level for suck, winning only one online match since the game graced my 360 is a bit disheartening (wait until I get my new stick!). Also added, in the arcade mode it is possible to allow challenges from players online to “quarter-up” a match while your attempting to play through the story, I quickly turned it off after I was relentlessly and ruthlessly beaten to a pulp every time.


    As in any fighter these days, there are a few additional types of modes to play besides arcade and versus but they are a bit mundane and trivial (but if you want extra colors for outfits or taunts then they must be completed). There is the trial, survival and time attack modes with a difficulty setting for each. The trial mode is a sort of practice mode with training elements to get you started, unfortunately, I can not get past the third level of the trial due to my inability to input correct directions on my piece of garbage game-pad (to put it lightly) in a speedy manner. Then there is the survival mode which is exactly as it sounds and is fairly easy even on the normal setting. Finally, there is the time attack mode which is equally self-explanatory and similarly easy on normal. But, once you set the difficulty to hard all bets are off.



    Street Fighter is about as common knowledge as the old Konami cheat code of history ( Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start) and gamers all around the world can tell you how to shoot Ryu’s fireball, but Street Fighter IV adds a bit more flavor to the battle. Ultra-combos and super-combos can help a person in a jam and the EX focus attacks can be useful too if a person is capable of triggering them. For me, it tends to be a crap shoot but the combos are really exciting when you pull them off.


    All in all, the fighting genre has been blessed with this beautiful game that Capcom has provided. Street Fighter IV should be on every fighting fans shelf. Even though I am not the greatest at this game I really enjoy everything it has to offer. Street Fighter IV gets a 9/10.