As a preface to this review, I am not a casual gamer. If I’ve played a multiplayer game for more than a few hours and it isn’t terrible, I have most likely played it on a competitive level. I’m also not here to teach you every intricacy of the game, or even to teach you how to play. This review is simply to express just how awesome this game truly is. And on that note, Street Fighter IV is, indeed, a massive step up for both casual players and the competitive followers the game has accumulated.
This is a game focused on one-on-one combat. One or two players pick characters and fight each other using a variety of attacks. The core concept is really the same as any other fighting game: Beat up the other guy until he’s on the ground as a bloody pulp, preferably while you’re not.
The graphics for the game have vastly improved over previous installments. The level designs are more interesting, yet still remain exactly what they need to be: backgrounds. The style in which the game is presented is also very visually pleasing; the characters are all fashioned to look hand-drawn, and many moves are accented by ink splotches. In addition, each character has undergone a complete 3-D transformation from the previous 2-D sprite, giving the game a more modern feel while remaining true to the core concept of the game: a 2-D fighter.
While the game’s audio is admittedly not too important a factor, it is still perfectly executed. When I watch the characters being punched, kicked and hadouken-ed in the face, what I hear is exactly what I get. Each musical piece fits its respective environment flawlessly. The title music is somewhat catchy, but not overbearing or annoying in any way.
Approachability is really Capcom’s biggest change in the series. The timing for doing just about anything is much more lenient than in Street Fighter II—the game after which Street Fighter IV was modeled—without being too easy; the controls are simplified in some cases. This, however, does not affect the competitive scene whatsoever. Through simplification, different techniques have been added and discovered that create even more depth, which then results in more rigorous competition.
Gameplay is fairly straightforward. Players use a variety of normal attacks that generally consist of high, medium, and low punches and kicks. This is spiced up a bit with unique attacks: Each character has a few normal moves replaced with something, well, unique. For example, Crimson Viper’s forward-medium punch is a high hit that can avoid certain projectiles.
The Super Meter is still there, and it still accrues from landing attacks. Each character is given a variety of special attacks, such as the “famous” hadouken and shoryuken. These are generally more powerful and add a bit to your Super Meter, hit or miss. When the meter is full, it can be used to execute a super combo: a small, cinematic attack (if it hits) that does a large amount of damage. A new addition is EX attacks, which allow special attacks to be performed with some added strength, range, or both—at the cost of one-fourth of your Super Meter.
Yet another expansion to this familiar formula is the Revenge Meter. This Revenge Meter, as I’m sure you’re surprised, fills when you’re attacked. When it’s roughly two-thirds full, you can perform an Ultra Combo, which is really just a glorified Super: it looks cooler and does more damage. When the meter is full (but not in between) the only difference is more damage.
The focus system, another new addition, allows a player to nullify exactly one hit while charging an attack. This creates strategic focusing in order to not only hit the opposing player, but to defend at the same time. Taken one step further, a player can cancel a focus attack by dashing, making a purely ranged game a pointless effort. You can focus against a ranged attack, dash backwards so you won’t be punished for performing a fairly time-expensive attack, and do it once more against the next projectile.
The beauty of the game is that any level of player can enjoy such innovations. The casual player will most likely ignore advanced techniques such as canceling attacks into others in order to trick an opponent, while the competitive players will not only utilize it, but discover every use for it. SFIV adds depth that not even its best predecessors had incorporated into the game.
Some of you may have noticed I didn’t mention the storyline. That’s probably because there isn’t one—not a coherent, globally connected, or even relatively good one, anyway. But that’s okay, because nobody should want to play a fighting game for its story. This also helps to explain why this doesn’t have any effect on the score I’m giving it.
