Review: Street Fighter IV crowned best fighter of 2009
Street Fighter II is considered to be the game that put fighters on the map. This game paved the way for the fighter genre to move from the arcade to the home consoles. Street Fighter II is considered to be a classic in many gamer’s eyes. Can Street Fighter IV raise the bar once again as the definitive fighter of this generation?
Story
Street Fighter IV is one of the games that has been occupying most of my time besides Killzone 2. The creators of the game made a conscious decision to keep Street Fighter IV 2D while many of the other fighters have moved into the 3D space. At first, I was a bit apprehensive as to if the game will feel outdated in a 3D dominant generation. As it turns out the developers might have saved the franchise by keeping the game 2D.
The Street Fighter games are not really known for its story element. There is a wealth of story related movies and comic books out there but the actual game offers only bits and pieces of the story behind each character. I suppose we should be grateful to get anime video clips considering in the past we were treated to only pictures with writings for the intro and ending for each of the characters.
Many fans of the series were disappointed with the character lineup in Street Fighter III, when several of the fan favorites were missing. However, in Street Fighter IV, CAPCOM made the decision to bring back all of the classic characters.
Controls
The gameplay has definitely been refined over its predecessor. The criticism with the previous version in regards to heavy reliance on combos has been rectified. Street Fighter II was such a classic due to its focus on timing and the developers did a great job of getting back to its roots with Focus Attacks. This type of attack allows players to time their attacks by looking for a weak point in the opponent’s gameplay style. This has been one of the main differentiators between other fighters such as SoulCalibur, which relies heavily on combos.
Due to the importance of the controls in SFIV, I wanted to get the chance to play the game on each and every platform the game is available for. I was able to play the game on the Xbox 360, PS3 and arcade.
Check out my play test on all three platforms here to see which controls are the best.
Visuals/Design
I have to say that I love the art direction CAPCOM took with SFIV. The characters are beefy and thick, which is great. The graphics are cell-shaded and looks beautiful. I especially like the intro, which uses brush strokes reminiscent of Ōkami. The gameplay also uses these brush strokes from time to time adding to the visual style of the game.
The online mode is designed extremely well with a fast and efficient net code in place. I experienced very little lag during my time spent with the online mode. The net code seems to compensate for slight lag differential between the players similar to that of SoulCalibur IV.
In the online mode, players can earn something called battle points which can be gained by beating an opponent. The battle point system was a brilliant idea as it really fosters hatred to someone that takes them from you. The points are always in a constant state of flux because you can either steal or lose them depending on the outcome of the match.
However, I did have two complaints about the online mode that could have been improved. The ranking page takes a bit of time to load and cannot be selected to view. This adds to the load time as you toggle through each of the load screen until you get to the ranking page you want to view.
There is also no tournament mode where players can fight their way up a tree or a pyramid. In essence the online mode is very basic compared to offerings found in other games.
Wrap-up
Street Fighter IV is definitely a solid fighter. One could even argue that the game has more strategy than any other fighter out there currently. The main differentiator in SFIV is the fact that its difficult to win by just button mashing because of its reliance on timing. Street Fighter IV is definitely one of the best fighters to date and has the goods to potentially knock out other fighters coming out this year.
Score
4.5/5
Related Posts:
28 Responses to “Review: Street Fighter IV crowned best fighter of 2009”
Leave a Reply:
You must be logged in to post a comment. Don't have an account? Register today!
March 3rd, 2009
Make up your mind FERRO! Are you going to give numeric scores or alpha scores on your reviews??? 8===o
March 3rd, 2009
FERRO, most people apart from the hardcore street fighter-es out there are going to look at it this way, right now do i want KZ2 or SF4, or if there a 360-er HW or SF4, its come out with to big FPS, so im thinking alot of people right now would be waiting for a gaming lull before getting a game like this, i know i am
March 4th, 2009
jesus… MAKE UP YOUR ohh harry already did it…
harry its like this 3============D
also… check this new title I just made…
STREET FIGHTER 4. THE ONLY FIGHTER OF 2009.
much better…
March 4th, 2009
All,
Check out our new review policy.
It can also be found on the top left panel under About Blorge. Its been revamped so its a bit more international.. apparently they don’t drop Fs overseas.
DWH,
I think Tekken 6 might give SFIV a run for its money. Also, there is The King of Fighters XII coming out soon.
March 4th, 2009
I noticed you made it into the sidebar poll again Harry, you are the king!
Tbh I hope Tekken turns out top, Tekken was my original fighting game, one I’d actually continue to play a week after buying it.
Soul Calibur and Virtua Fighter didn’t last long in the disc tray. Not because they are bad, just because I couldn’t really be arsed with them. Don’t know why.
Plus I love Yoshimitsu and the clan.
March 4th, 2009
Dear Capcom,
Please make another Marvel vs. Capcom using this engine.
Sincerely,
Mr. Jones
March 4th, 2009
Mike Ferro: Tell me why Tekken 6 looks likes looks
Tekken 3. Gameplay wise.
That shit is wack dog, don’t fuck wit that mutton mashing as game.
March 4th, 2009
Dear Capcom,
Please offer World Tour mode from SFalpha3 as DLC for Sf4.
Sincerely,
Mr. Jaggamar
March 4th, 2009
I am going with overated nostalgia factor.
SC is way more fun.
March 4th, 2009
DAMN!!! I got schooled by Mike… NOoooooooooooo
Arvis… we need the old style lobby system… I cant play with more than one person… I got another friend who plays SF4 as much as you do… used to play it on the NES… JUST LIKE YOU!!! if you want you can add him… Ill send you the PSN id…
yeah I got soul calibur 4 and mk vs dc… it didnt last long.. I havent even played Killzone 2 yesterday… Only sf 4… I got my rhythm with vega now… I AM AWESOME!!!
March 4th, 2009
Dear Capcom,
Please offer more questionable racial content like in your other title. BBFC decided it wasn’t enough, they want more.
Sincerely,
Mr. Nottage
March 4th, 2009
Completed that shanty town level on the RE5 demo finally earlier with a mate. Normally it ends with my head on the floor.
I tried telling him about how the internet is complaining about the controls for it and that I agreed with them. He didn’t see what the problem was, and to be honest after a few more plays neither did I. If the controls aren’t going to change, I can live with it.
March 4th, 2009
I’ll admit the controls take some getting used to. After about 10 tries or so, I felt like I had a firm grip on them. Maybe that’s why the demo was released so early?
I hate to say it, but I think I may have to hold out on Resident Evil 5. I will be finally beating KZ2 tonight, and want to concentrate more on the online portion once I finish. And then I still have FallOut 3 to finish up… There’s just too much to do at the moment.
Dear Capcom,
Please give me some more time!
March 4th, 2009
Royzy,
Just beat the Public Assembly level the other day. It took me a couple of tries bitching and moaning the whole time. Finally I got it. I wasn’t aware of all the hidden ammo in the first room (under the fruit on both tables, and in the drawer). That made it slightly easier. Also coming to grips with the “quick turn” option. Making sure all shots are head shots worked wonders, and utilizing the square button after they’re stunned. I did it too separate ways. Simply lasting long enough for the helicopter and also killing the executioner and then waiting on helicopter.
I still rather have a walk and shoot option, but the game is pre-ordered. Wondering why Amazon hasn’t made this one a release day shipping game with prime……?
March 4th, 2009
Just climb on the roof of the first shack you start in. The Executioner can’t get up there and only 1-2 enemies per time can.
Go make a sandwhich, return occasionally to knife enemy, done deal.
March 4th, 2009
Haven’t preordered mine yet phranc, I will next time I whip out my debit card to order online. Which will be soon, got a student loan to burn.
Yeh, who’d of thought that they’d hide grenades under the melons? Cheeky monkeys. I didn’t realise until later there was a Uzi in a suitcase too.
I’m going to order the Massive Black: Volume 1 which came out recently. Artwork in there is awwwwhhhhsome. Ballistic Publishing books are so expensive though.
I will probably hold off on K2 online until my Easter Holiday starts, then play solidly for a week to try and get that Honor Rank #4 Gold Trophy.
SW – yeh that is pretty much what I did. Though for shanty town, we ended up back peddling most of the way to the start of the level (before you even meet those flying things) and throwing grenades like crazy.
March 4th, 2009
…and the award for Most Successful Subject Change goes to…. ROYZY!
DWH,
I admit, I haven’t gone online TOO much in SF4 and when I do just do Quick Matches.
I think they’re supposed to be adding some new patch or something that adds a whole new Online Mode or something…
-Arvis
March 4th, 2009
Thanks Arvis, it is great to be here!
I’d like to send a shout out to my peeps and hoes for sticking by me during that Successful Subject Change, I couldn’t of achieved it without you.
Kisses and hugs to the world.
Roy xxx
March 4th, 2009
*wipes tear from my eye*
You did it!! You did it!!
March 4th, 2009
pfft… I wasnt even nominated… the bastards are biased…
March 4th, 2009
hey DWH I just realised something. You live in New York, and So does Ivan. Wouldn’t it be funny if you two bumped into each other in the same bath house and didn’t realise it?
March 4th, 2009
doesn’t NYC have the same population as Australia?… pretty hard for 2 to meet in 20 mill
March 4th, 2009
Yeah but how many bath houses are there?
March 4th, 2009
OH NO!!! I have to change bath houses now… no more chippendales for me…
wait… I dont think Ivan is old enough to have dropped his bawls yet… let alone visit a bath house… which kinda makes sense that he bought a 360…. OH SNAP!!! He got pedo with kev…. wait… is it still pedo if both the guys are 14 ??
March 5th, 2009
IVAN lives in NY? his grip on English would have led me to believe he’s from South America.
March 5th, 2009
I thought he was from Dominican Republic, he has the flag on his fromhometo.earth.link profile.
March 5th, 2009
Ok.. makes perfect sense now. Lots of DR peeps in NY.
March 5th, 2009
YA MON!!! WE BE ROCKIN AND CROCKIN AND RAPIN and creepin and hoppin and boppin… in dese enn why cee…