Down + Down-Forward + Forward + Punch!
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Format Reviewed: PC (Retail)
Also Available on: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Price: ~£20
Writing about sequels is usually easy – obviously it requires a good knowledge of the original game, which can then be used to elaborate, compare and break apart the new release. Graphics and audio are usually improved, the gameplay often refined or takes a step forward, bringing some innovative new bullet points with it for the marketing department to push and drive sales.
Capcom obviously hate me, because Street Fighter IV presents such an awkward anomaly that thinking about how to approach this review is giving me a headache… As most know, despite the ‘IV’ in the title, this isn’t the fourth entry in the series – you’ve got at least ¬¬6 revisions of Street Fighter II, the Alpha and EX series branch-off series’, three versions of Street Fighter III and an untold amount of VS. Games that amalgamated Capcom’s fighting engine and licensed characters with various third-parties such as Marvel & SNK. Just too make things more confusing, Street Fighter IV actually sits in between 2 & 3 in the series chronology!
So, now that mess is out of the way, it’s worth clarifying other things that are obvious – if you’ve ever even glanced at a Street Fighter game down the local arcade before, you know the score. A plethora of exaggerated wrestlers, martial artists, secret agents and mutant freaks take part in a world tournament that conveniently seems to focus on street fighting, using moves which range from the mundane to the absolutely absurd.
Following the divergence of the series following Street Fighter II’s final appearance, Capcom set about refocusing the series back on what made it popular – quick, tight and (mostly) impeccably-balanced fighting that relies on skill and timing in equal measures, with the odd ludicrous fireball thrown in for shits & giggles. As a result, all the farting around with parrying, juggling & infinite combos is gone, reverting to three levels of punch and kick, throws and some easy to learn (but hard to master) special moves.
Some moves can be augmented with the series-stalwart Super bar (which offers pumped-up EX moves and series-regular Super Moves as you deal more damage) and the Revenge bar (which grows as you take damage and leads too inhumanly deadly Ultra moves), which allows even the worst player in the world the chance to tip an absolute pasting back in their favour.
Despite the draw of the three dimensions offered by today’s platforms, Capcom have stuck to their 2.5D guns and paired classic 2D fighting with some of the best, most detailed and characterful graphics seen in ages. It also sounds great, although lip-syncing seems pre-defined, not language specific. Still, it’s a Japanese game at the core, meaning the terribly dubbing just seems to fit, totally unlike the awful anime segments that don’t gel at all with either the superb CGI intro movie or the general graphic style.
The fighter roster is essentially the same as Super Street Fighter II Turbo, only with a few new and highly publicised additions and its business as usual for the original line-up – Ryu & Ken still share their Hadoukens and Shoryukens, Sagat still steps on everyone and Zangief is still being horribly dangerous to get close too. Into the mix comes a cheap female secret agent who’s special move is keep her breasts under control, a ludicrously fat guy who shows the physics engine isn’t just too cater for the aforementioned breasts, a Mexican wrestler who for some reason is also a chef and, finally, an amnesiac French wrestler who seems to be the only sensible new entry to the series.
Oh and then there’s Seth…
No doubt you’ve all read a SFIV review by now (and have probably played it on a console or at the arcade) but there aren’t enough reviews of the game in the world to get across the incredible cheapness of this character! All fighting games are known for using move-reading to compensate for their inability to adequately work out what move you might use, so what better tactic does it have than instantly knowing what you’re planning to do and setting up an automatic counter! It seems Capcom’s desire to keep the closure of the games absurdly random plotlines from all but the most persistent has lead them to adopting what is affectionately known as the ‘Psycho Mantis’ routine, only no second pad will help you out.
Still, all this discussion of single player bosses and absurd difficulty spikes is academic and simply there for the achievements and character unlocks, as the meat of any beat-em-up is kicking the arse of (or getting your arse kicked by) a friend, be them on the same machine or over the internet.
Matchmaking on the PC (and by extension, I guess, the Xbox version) is handled by Microsoft’s Live match-making services, with the game tracking your success and matching you appropriately with opponents (although this can be overridden if you are really useless, like I am). Connection quality is incredibly good and consistent, although the lobby system needs a patch or two as all too often are you presented with games that are all full or not accepting random players (which isn’t helped as only a few random games are selected per search) – Once you do get a game, it’s very hard to blame your loss on lag because very rarely is there any.
Drop-in offline multiplayer is also available and is bolstered by challenge modes, which give you a persistent countdown timer and asks you to pummel a selection of opponents before it runs down. Winning a round tops up the timer depending on how heavily you beat down on said victim and finishing the challenge unlocks movies, concept art, new costume colours and personal effects/taunts.
Street Fighter IV is a great looking, impeccably balanced and, overall, a very complete fighting experience. Like all pure SF incarnations, it’s complicated enough without being over-complicated – whilst perfecting every characters moves and fighting style isn’t easy, at no point do you feel like you’re ice skating uphill, wallowing under 7-8 move combos. It’s unfortunate that the cheap boss character puts a downer on the otherwise robust single player experience, but this is undoubtedly the best (and most legitimate) fighter on the PC (if not all formats).
