The newest addition to the classic fighter that revitalized the fighting genre with its long awaited sequel Street Fighter 4. The follow up, following Capcom's tradition of Alpha's, Turbo's, and Super's. It sticks true to the classic 2-D fighting style while keeping the new 3-dimensional graphics introduced in Street Fighter 4. A new roster of fighters, all usable from the moment you load the game, including 10 characters not featured in Street fighter 4, and two newcomers. The newcomers named Juri, and Hakan bring in a new element to the game, as Juri is the first ever Street Fighter to wield the Tae Kwon Do fighting style. Along with the large grappler Hakan, who uses Turkish wrestling and has an odd oil fetish. Both bring a fresh feel while at the same time feeling completely at home within the Street Fighter universe. Along with the two new fighters Super brings back some classics like Ibuki, T. Hawk, Dee Jay, and Makoto just to name a few.
The graphics are the same as they were in Street Fighter 4, now this isn't putting them down, and personally it may be a bit absurd to expect overhauled graphics in a game that already dazzles. Super introduces not only new characters, but every fighter gains a shiny new Ultra-Combo! While not every new attack is envious (Come on, why did you do this to Cammy?), some have a real flare and plenty of damage to boot. Not all of them are great, and a lot of the originals still hold their place in combat, the new options make the game more interesting and fun. Combat does feel balanced as promised for online modes, although while an old cheap strategy may be mostly eliminated, the new tactic of backing up your rival into a corner has become a favorite of many online competitors. Overall the fighting is well balanced, and while the occasional fireball spammer may come up, most of the community are good sports. Although not all people are great, and because of this the option to Mute comes in handy. To the small boy who repeated "I'm gonna kick you're assssss..." when I entered the ranked match with them, I hope you enjoyed being shown what a real fighter acts like, and yes I won.
Among the new additions are the new online game modes. The Endless Battle mode is by far my personal favorite, allowing the community to gather, chat, and observe the fights going on while it isn't there turn. It follows the format of winner fights next, and whoever wins the match fights the next in line, until they are defeated, and then whoever won that match takes the head and so on. While this does create some annoyance when an obviously better player joins a match and holds the head spot the entire game without considering even just throwing a match to be fair to the rest, for the most part its a fun clash where you get to fight multiple opponents in fun fights. Endless Battle also allows for anyone not fighting to watch the current match, and cheer or jeer the fighters while enjoying the match from
the spectators view. Ranked matches return, and I still question the set-up of the matches, seeing as I fight people an entire grade above me when I search for "Same Skill", it does leave me wondering how fair the system is. However it is usually not a problem and the matches can be fun and exhilarating experiences, and they can introduce new rivals, friends, and some real challenges to work your way up through the grade system. The ranked matches are by far some of the most fun that can be had online, finding an almost perfect challenge without being too frustrating. The mode that seems the least used is Team Battle, based on the trouble I sometimes have finding or making a full lobby, I think some people may not like it. While I have noticed it seems to be the least fair of the modes, if one fighter is at the head of the pack and doesn't lose a match then the rest of the team does nothing but watch. The Team Battle allows a group of people to fight as groups, as one person is defeated on a team, the next person in line on their team faces the opponent until one team is defeated. As stated before, it seems to be a somewhat flawed system, allowing one player to defeat an entire team while their own remains completely useless. This problem may be the reason for its unpopularity. Along with facing new rivals, you can watch them too! The new replay mode allows anyone to watch recent fights, you can even record your own fights and save them to your Hard Drive. It's a good time to sit and watch some fights to see how other people fight, and even maybe learn a few things.
In the offline game, there are still new additions, or they could be called old renewals. Car Crusher and Barrel Buster return to the series. The purpose in Car Crusher being to destroy a car with within a set amount of time, awarding a set amount of points at the end of the time, or when the car is totaled. Along with Barrel Buster which puts the player in an attempt to destroy as many of the barrels as possible, there is a set amount of barrels
, so destroying them all is possible, but not easily done. These modes are implemented into the Arcade mode and can be unlocked for free play under "Challenges" at the main menu, after you finish Arcade mode once. Arcade mode is a new experience, putting the player in the same random fights followed by a Rival fight and the boss fight against Seth. It does now include the modes Car Crusher and Barrel Buster, and these can be turned on or off after finishing Arcade mode once. The introductions to Arcade mode have been completely downgraded. The animation may not have been great quality before, but the introductions are now just a series of stills with a voice-over going leading into the first fight. The real gain to arcade mode is the finish, all final cut-scenes have been redone in far greater quality than in the previous installment. Fully animated and telling new stories, the epilogue's are a true joy. The mode still offers a good challenge, and only the greatest fighters dare take on the challenge of "Hardest" difficulty.
Online or Offline, this game will please both the old fans and the new players alike. The game is often balanced and challenging, and keeps that old school fighter feel while still staying fresh. Its new modes bring in great ways to play with the community, and great fights. New characters are fun and interesting, and fit in perfectly with the old cast. This game is a good fighter and anyone who is a fighting game fan needs to at least give this a try, because it is one of the best in a long time.
Overall Score: 9/10To see more go to the Official Game website at:
http://www.streetfighter.com/us/game
