1. Graphics/Sound
Graphics:
First thing, you will notice this game is visually stunning! From the first fight i was floored by the graphics style of this fighting game. Most fighting games go for a sense of realism nowadays. Street Fighter 4 doesn't try to make a realistic looking fighting game. They stick to the basics and keep the action 2d but in an interesting way, they throw in very detailed 3d environments and models. Though you can't move through 3d space, when you do ultimate moves and combos the camera will shift and fly around the actions. It is done very tastefully and it is not a distraction. The graphics are nice and smooth i didn't notice any lag in the matches i payed. The sound is OK, it is nothing spectacular but i do like the option to change the characters voices to Japanese, for some reason i like them a lot more because they match the mouths more. Over all, very visually pleasing, keeping with the look of the old Titles and adding amazing new visuals. Even down to the characters faces, when they get hit they have an amazing amount of detail in their eyes and mouths.
2. Game play/Controls
Gameplay:
This game plays JUST like the old school street fighter 2. Even the combos are the same button sequences for most of the moves if not all, i never knew them all. The game play is very smooth, transitions to different angles for the super moves are smooth. There is a great challenge mode that takes you through all of the moves for each character, it's training but with rewards such as costumes and art work. You can lean everything from basic punches and kicks to super moves to super combos. Very well done and adds a lot of replay value. My main issue is that the last boss, seth, is a bit of a pain. Sure the last boss is supposed to be hard, but he is down right cheap, and will teleport all over the screen once you beat him 1 round. I noticed that on any difficulty he feels the same, he feels just as hard on easy as he did on the hardest setting...odd really.
Controls:
As i mentioned, the controls are very similar to the old school SF2 if not exactly the same, it does feel easier to link combo moves together. If you are expecting soul calibur level combos, 20-30 hits, this is not your game, but there are some nice combos that can be easily strung together with practice.
3. Story
This is where i had an issue, most of the stories started out looking promising. Each character has an anime style, hand-drawn movie that opens their arcade mode. Sets up a little something that you hope explains what all of this means. But once you play through the story and beat the last boss who is unnecessarily tough on any difficulty, you get a book-end anime. Well, this one doesn't explain anything! None of them really were a complete story and the sort of tie together. It honestly would have been better if they had not added them in my opinion. There were many times my wife turned to me and said, "what just happened, i am more confused now than i was before!" That pretty much sums up the story, then again, it is a fighting game, not an adventure fighting game.
4. Pros/Cons
Pros:
Amazing fighting game, tons of fun and online Versus makes it that much better. adding another element of replay. Tons of unlockables from characters to costumes to artwork. They are supposedly releasing new content for it later that includes more playable characters.
Cons:
The story makes no sense!? Like any fighting game you will get tired of it, but it feel there is enough small stuff to keep you playing it for a good while.
Over all i personally loved it, it is one of my top fighting games. Then again, i did used to spend my afternoons in elementary school at the 7-11 around the corner from my house with my best friend perfecting our skills. It's a great game, long overdue!
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