Back for another round and defiantly not pulling any punches. New challengers, new ideas and a radically different art style are here in spades, without breaking the tried and true Street Fighter formula.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All your favorites are here. Yeah yeah, a few of the characters from old games didn’t make it. But to be honest, no one would call T-Hawk or Necro a favorite character. Playstyle and controls feel decidedly like Street Fighter 2. Gone are the parries and air blocks of the latest games. Could you throw a fireball back in the 90’s? Guess what you still can.

 

The game has abandoned it’s 2D sprite based heritage for shinny new 3D graphics. Thankfully the game sticks to a single plane for all the action. You’ll get some nice camera angles and effects for super and ultra moves that really show off the top notch animation in a great way. Characters faces contort and twist with nice over the top expressions. It’s a nice touch to see someones eyes open wide in fear as a massive fireball is launched into their face. Also new are a few new fighters. Able, a French MMA fighter, feels like the best new addition playing like a mix of Zangief and Balrog. Crimson Viper, the super spy, also brings some new tricks to the table and feels pretty fresh. Rufus and El Fuerte are defiantly the strangest additions, and as such feel a bit out of place.

 

SF4 cribs a few notes from other games and adds them to it’s arsenal of tricks. The addition of a second special bar, the Ultra combo, is similar to Guilty Gear. As you take damage this meter fills, take more damage the meter gets higher. Unlike Guilty Gear where this is used as a quick small counter attack when you activate this gauge in Street Fighter 4 you will unleash an Ultra Combo. Dealing massive damage in an elaborate stunning animation. This gives you, essentially, a come from behind super move. The fuller that gauge is the more damage the attack will deal.

 

Seth. Screw this guy. Street Fighter 4’s boss is super cheap, even by fighting game standards. Teleports, strong throws, Dragon punches and stretchy limbs are just a few of his dirty tricks.

 

The one thing i skipped over above and perhaps the most important is the inclusion of online play. The online for the most part seems pretty good. Of course i ran into some laggy matches, but no game in this day and age is lag free. Sadly 80% of the players are playing as Ken and it can be get a bit tired fighting those matches over and over. But every once in a while someone will pick an off beat character Dhalsim or Able and just destroy you. It’s never fun to get beat but there is something enjoyable about someone going against the grain and doing it well that brings a smile to my face.

 

I could go on for hours about ever little detail in the game but I’m gonna let you discover that stuff for yourself. Street Fighter 4 is easily one of the best 2D fighting games to come out in years. Perfectly mixing all the above mentioned things into a meaty stew that old and new fans will keep coming back to for more. It’s hard to do better then Street Fighter 4, even if they did screw up Cammy’s inputs.

 

+ Online that for the most part works

+ Great over the top presentation

+ Refreshing update to old Street Fighter formula

-Training mode a bit lacking

Grade: A