March 07, 2009
Street Fighter 4
Abraxas is reviewing Street Fighter 4. Which once again, is NOT the 4th game in the series. Magnificent Bastard is sooo confused. I'm going to boycott the Chun-Li movie just out of spite!
With a name like Street Fighter 4, you'd think this was the fourth game, right? Well, there are more Street Fighter games than I could shake a stick at, and I can really shake a stick. This is really the first game for a fourth series of Street Fighter games. Here's the complete list .
Yeah, that many.
And, for Street Fighter 4 the standard cast of characters return: Ryu the eternal karate nerd, Ken the guy crushing so hard on Ryu he can't stand it, Chun-Li the Chinese American making big thighs sexy, Zangief the Russian bear-man-bear dude, Blanka the freakish mutant who is always looking for and finding his mother, the rest of the original crew, fan favorites, and some new fighters as well. I know what you're thinking, "Abraxas, what about the story?" Well, frankly, there is none. But a game like this doesn't need one, other than the thin excuse to explain why all these characters are fighting each other. And, that's okay. Street Fighter 4 delivers on that thin excuse. Some evil corporation is stealing all the moves from the fighters, or mapping their moles or something- I dunno, it's not very clear. And, really, it's not important. But, what is clear is that they all have to fight each other so one of them can fight the boss guy, Seth, and stop his evil plan.
Rather than, you know, having all the greatest fighters in the world team up to stop him. Whatever.
Which, by the way, Seth has got to be the most un-intimidating name for a final boss character that I have EVER heard of in a fight game. Seriously.
And the giant yin-yang thing in his stomach? WTF? I think at this point I have to tell you something: I suck at fight games. No, really. I do. However, my wife is freaking awesome at them.
True Story: if we go over to someone's house we don't know very well, and I see they have a game consol with a fight game- I will talk mad smack about how great I am at that particular game. Get the owner all riled up about how I can hand him his ass in 30 seconds. Just as he's throwing the game in to school me I say, "No. You know what? I don't think you've got what it takes. You have to play my wife. If you can beat a girl, then I'll think about showing you how this game is really played."
Usually by this time they're all worked up, so they don't think about it and agree. I step over to the crowd and start taking bets on how long he'll last in minutes before giving up. My wife, every the demure and quiet one, will then precede to hand this guy his ass with barely a smirk on her face.
It's great fun. And, since I suck at fight games I am going to let her give you the skinny on the particulars for this one.
Um. Hello. I want to start by thanking all of the developers for this game. I really appreciate all the hard work they put into this.
There are some really nice things about this game. The art direction was very nice, and it took a modern stance on some traditional Japanese visual techniques that I really enjoyed. The look of each character was very unique but still blended well with the look of the game, and with the history of the series.
As much as I wanted to like this game, I didn't. The controls were not as intuitive as in previous editions. The standard moves were alright and brought back the basics of this arcade favorite, but it was almost impossible to do the specials reliably on the D-pad and just ridiculous with the left stick.
I had to spend too much time in the training room learning moves I already knew how to do. Does that make sense? Whipping out the dragon punch and the hurricane kick was not hard but, the special moves were tough to pull off just right. Also, it really took too long to unlock some of the favorite characters.
Also, I think that it's time Street Fighter kept a 3D game on the market. It was nice for nostalgia to play the side-scroller 2D style for a little while, but I felt really confined by only being able to dodge by leaping over or trying to duck under. My preferred style is to dodge, because I think if you're blocking you're wasting a good chance to strike.
Some of the cut scenes were funny, and I liked the anime style they used. Also, some of the things the winning characters would say after a fight were funny too. Ryu with C.Viper made me laugh, "I'm not looking for a family right now." Just because you fought a girl, Ryu doesn't mean she wants to have your babies.
Overall, the look of the game is nostalgic and it is well thought out. But, I really found the fact that it was a side-scroller disappointing and the controls to be cumbersome. Thank you for taking the time to read my portion of the review for Street Fighter 4, I hope you liked it.
And, there you have it. Nice looking game, but poor controls, retro fighting arenas, and same old moves but harder to pull off. Frankly, it took my 5 minutes to pull off a Hurricane Kick. Normally it only takes me 2 minutes, so that should tell you something.
The night I got this, I invited a few of my friends from way back to come over and play. They all agreed as long as they didn't have to play my wife for very long and got to play me right afterwards. Not being too into these games, I took the opportunity to watch the players while they played. I heard a lot of "what the.that's not the move.bullshit!!"
I heard that a lot when they would play the final boss, Seth.
But back to the players- these weren't a pack of n00bs, between them they had played just about every version of Street Fighter that hit the shelves and some all the way back to the arcade days of Street Fighter II. Nobody was having fun with the game, in vs. or in single player mode.
To me, that lack of instant fun for fans is a telling point for a game aimed at the casual gamer. Because, that's what fight games are, easy to pick up and put down games that don't offer a lot of depth because their target audience doesn't have a lot of time to play. And, if hard-core fans are having a tough time with the game how will someone new to the franchise handle it? In my Un-Humble Opinion© Street Fighter is a tired franchise. It's been over a decade with a slew of releases, and Street Fighter still doing the same thing- 2D scrolling fight game with projectiles and rudimentary throws. Yeah, back in the day Street Fighter was innovative and set the standard. Now with 3D fighting arenas that have movable or destructive terrain, Street Fighter is like a washed-up prize fighter looking to get back in the game- sad, pathetic, and living in the past.
If you're still looking to satisfy that Street Fighter itch, save yourself some scratch and buy the HD Remix of Street Fighter II available for both the 360 and PS3- it's cheaper and the same game.
If you're thinking of coming over to take me on- well, you gotta play my wife first.
And bring cash.
Comments, questions, or feedback? Hit me up at Abraxas@cybermonkeydeathsquad.com.