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THUMBS UP TO:
The graphics. They're the best yet of the series and the characters look 3D while still retaining their 2D spirit. Street Fighter wasn't meant to be played in 3D and gladly, they keep this tradition going. There's one word for the graphics: spectacular.
The sound. Surround sound ensures that you hear the hits connecting all around you, especially when an ultra combo is involved.
The characters. Some of them are kinda goofy but for the most part, just about all the characters you know and love return. Fans of Street Fighter 2 will be the most pleased I think. You get 16 to start but that number grows once you unlock the rest. Actually, I have a bone to pick regarding the final boss but I'll save that for later.
Unlockables. Lots of stuff to unlock, guaranteeing multiple playthroughs. You can also download costumes online.... for a fee of course.
THUMBS IN BETWEEN TO:
The gameplay. It's classic Street Fighter with a couple of additions to it, namely Ultra Combos and Focus Attacks. I think for the most part this game plays well with the standard Xbox 360 gamepad but some of those specials are nearly impossible to pull off in the heat of battle with it. This game practically cries for the arcade joystick but the question remains: Do you really want to drop that much cash on a joystick, no matter how well made it is?
Online play. For the most part, its lag free and controls quite well. Still, you'll have to contend with some pretty cheesy tactics from online players. No different from playing the game at your local arcade except now you can get cheesed in the comfort of your own home.
THUMBS DOWN TO:
Seth, the final boss. Wow. I mean, it's Street Fighter and I expect a little bit of cheese but this character is literally one of the biggest blocks of pure cheddar that I have ever faced. This guy does things that are so unfair that it almost feels like a joke that you're not in on. And he looks like a cross between the Silver Surfer and Dr. Manhattan from the Watchmen, only with a spinning Yin-Yang in his midsection. I didn't feel like he was too inspired in all honesty and his cheesy nature just makes me want to throw my controller through the screen, Wii-remote style.
Anime cut scenes. Badly produced with horrendous voice acting. Thankfully you can switch the voiceovers to Japanese but c'mon its Street Fighter! The series that took everyone's money for years! You mean to tell me that they couldn't have delivered some slick anime type deals to head and tail each characters storylines with some decent work?
VERDICT:
I'd recommend this game as it caters to both the newbie and the expert Street Fighter player. The CPU can be downright ridiculous even at the medium levels though to that point where we've all reached, where we look up at the ceiling and ask, "What is it you want from me, huh? My blood? My life? My firstborn?!?"
Still, the game is loads of fun to play and offers some very decent online play to boot. The graphics and effects are fantastic and on the right setup provides a visual and aural feast. Just be prepared to keep from chucking your controller once Seth comes around.
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This game looks great and plays well. I was a fan of the original arcade game, and used to play a ton on the old Sega genesis. SF4 does the best job yet of re-creating the feel of the original. Capcom really has added a good level of polish. The menus are crisp, the venues are detailed, and the fighters are responsive. There is a lot of depth, with tons of unlockables too.Two warnings for casual street fighter fans. In Arcade Mode, even when set on Easiest, the game's last boss, Seth, is ridiculously hard. I'm not one of those guys who wants to learn every move and work for every victory. My interest was to basically just unlock the hidden characters so my friends and I could have a full slate of fighters to play with when they stop by. But this last boss makes getting the hidden characters a chore. The Easiest setting makes all the other fights pretty easy, but it doesn't seem to apply to Seth.
The other warning is the controls on the 360. For the most part, basic moves are pretty easy. But I've had a hard time pulling off some of the basic combos in the heat of battle. Even in Trial Mode, where you can try combos as often as you like, I can't seem to string some of them together. I have difficulty getting past level 3 for most characters. Maybe my age is catching up to me, but it seems like you need a joystick to pull these moves off with any kind of consistent frequency.
Best Deals for Street Fighter IV - Xbox 360
Street Fighter 2 was and still is my favorite fighting game of all time. And while I wasn't as excited as some about SF4, I was very eager to play it whenever I could get my hands on a copy at the local video store. This past Friday they had both the 360 and PS3 version in stock so I decided to try the 360 version first...Starting the game for the first time you will have access to the 12 original characters from Street Fighter 2 as well as four completely new ones (some admittedly uninspired). As you complete the game with different characters you can unlock additional characters. However unlocking certain characters like Akuma, require a bit more than just beating the game but I won't get into that here.
Personally I have no problem with the anime theme that seems to be the style Capcom was aiming for in their presentation. Fight locations are beautifully done and Capcom seemed to utilize the XBOX 360's power well. Frame rates are silky smooth and there is no slowdown whatsoever in the action even as people in the background react to the fight at hand. The characters themselves are also done very well and quite detailed in their uniforms as well as facial expressions. I also like the background music though it's not as epic or memorable as the BGM on SFII.
As good as the game looks the game play suffers a bit on the XBOX 360 version. To me, it seems that the standard XBOX 360 controller does not work as well with the game as I would have liked. I recall on the SNES version of SF2 I could pull off any special move at will, however many times I find myself having to try a motion two and three times before being able to pull it off; other times attempting to execute a move results in another move being performed. In the heat of battle things like this mean the difference between winning and losing. You have the option of using the D-Pad or the analogue stick to control your character, but neither offers the pinpoint accuracy needed to pull of the more complicated special moves on cue. Most of the time, I find myself using the D-pad because the placement of it on the controller is what I am used to and it's slightly less cumbersome than the analogue stick.
As far as Single Player mode goes the game offers a somewhat of a balance between being fair and challenging. Some characters are incredibly cheap like Abel and Zangief that just continue to charge towards you and grab you all day. C. Viper is cheap as well but as someone who mastered the SNES version of SFII on the hardest difficulty (7 stars); I enjoyed the challenge of most characters despite the cheapness of others; that is until I got to Seth.
Seth has virtually ruined the single player mode. Like many game makers today, Capcom sacrificed fun for needless difficulty when creating him. Difficult games should be still FUN, not so frustrating as to make one want to throw their controller across the room. Seth is by far the cheapest boss in fighting game history; more so than M.Bison from the original SF2, and any cheesy boss from Mortal Kombat series. He basically has ALL the best moves of every character and uses them relentlessly. For example, while it takes a couple of seconds for a HUMAN player to charge Guile's Sonic Boom, Seth can miraculously throw three of these in a matter of a second. He spams special moves all day, and can execute spinning pile drivers even while he's falling back after being kicked in the face. If you are far from him then he will just suck you into to him and then grab you for another spinning pile driver. To make matters worse, even when you have a clear opportunity to knock him down with a sweep, the game occasionally will momentarily render your controls unresponsive giving him ample opportunity to pile drive you AGAIN. There are exploits you can use to beat him, but unless you are able to do them, playing against this guy is nothing but hair-pulling, controller-slamming frustration. There are many times I just turned the game off mid fight because I had enough of his crap. I finally beat him with Ryu and Ken (luck) by combating his cheese with cheese of my own; not fun. Aside from looking almost as cheesy as he fights, Seth adds virtually NOTHING to the ongoing SF story and it seems Capcom added him because they had nothing better to do.
For me, the only thing saving this game from being a big disappointment is the lag-free online multi-player mode. I tried my hand at a few online matches and got my butt kicked the first few times, but unlike Seth it was a good old fashioned butt whoppin' instead of a computer assisted cheese fest. After a while I started handing out butt whoopins' of my own and the experience was very rewarding after I got my first win. The great thing about online play is that you NEVER know what to expect as there are potentially millions of players out there ready to fight you.
In conclusion, had it not been for Seth and the cheap AI overall, I would have given this game a buy recommendation for Single Player mode alone, but since the single player mode is ruined because of these things, the only way I can honestly recommend a purchase is if you really are into online play. My overall/fun rating is based on the average of the following: Online: 4/5, Offline 3/3.
Honest reviews on Street Fighter IV - Xbox 360
First let me say that SFIV is a well crafted game with a lot of nice touches and improvements. While not perfect, I'm sure the downloadable content will increase its value.OK, my stream-of-consciousness and reaction review:
The first thing that caught my eye was that you can start the Arcade mode and be challenged in the middle of the game like at a real arcade via Xbox live. The matchmaking is superb as I was never paired with anyone that much lower than my skill nor higher. Every opponent felt just right. I did win more than I lost but I think that's because I'm pretty good with this new Sagat. I felt quite unstoppable with him, his tiger knee is wonderful now, starts low, arcs and hits again on the way down. You can even combo into a super in the middle of a Tiger Knee!
The graphics are very neat, a little stiffer looking than I expected them to look, though that is probably due to the fact that they seem to be aiming more for an anime look than real life, but they are gorgeous just the same. I love the little details like characters still breathing hard after being knocked unconscious and that characters aren't mirrored when switching sides. Another cool thing in SFIV is the fact that, since the graphics are polygons, and not drawn, you can download cool alternate costumes that were impossible in any of the old games.
In some ways SFIV feels a bit "dumbed" down in the gameplay though. While it includes many new and complex moves (EX, Ultra, Focus), it definitely felt easier to pull off many of the moves and combos. I also have been playing Street Fighter HD Remix and the difference in difficulty and technical skill required is huge. In SFIV the characters are huge and it feels easier to combo. I even pulled some super combos off of fierce attacks you couldn't do before, thus making combos easier on the whole. Also, regular attacks are a lot better and more viable. Even kicks that usually hit very high can be used well to hit standing opponents. All in all the fights feel less contrived than in previous versions, though still retain the SF feel.
The roster felt more balanced too, and I didn't feel any one character was that much better or easier to play, though I did lose badly when I tried the new unfamiliar ones. I can't say I tried EVERYONE though. Unfortunately you so end up playing mostly against Guile/Ryu/Chun-Li on Live just like in any other version. I fear perhaps Viper may be that one character that programmers made a bit strong just for being the new main character. But oldies like Honda and Blanka pack a serious punch too. Their moves are adjusted to work better and their specials are more useful than ever. Honda felt quite solid with many nice combo possibilities. In general, under certain circumstances, you can combo off of fierce attacks that normally don't which is fun, without turning into button mashing.
You can also see and obtain a lot of cool movies, great intros for every fight and beginning and ending movies. All of these intros, while a bit cheesy, do add to the game experience and I found them a welcome addition as well as all the pre and post fight banter between the characters.
I'm yet to figure out how to master the new moves like EX attacks and Ultras but they seem like a great additions and not so "expert" level as the old SFIII Parry. EX attacks are done by pressing two buttons instead of one during a special and they produce stronger versions of these. Ultras are obtained after taking damage and performed by pressing three punches or kicks with the Super Combo motion. It was a joy to see that Ultras can even be paired with Super Combos and Super Combos with Specials, a very different world indeed. Focus attacks are another addition. By pressing two of the same type of attack buttons (kicks/punches) the character does a type of soft parry that can be used to attack or as a combo starter depending on how long you press the buttons. They can also be used to interrupt special moves and thus protecting yourself from a counter attack.
Perhaps my only reservations are that I'm not sure whether this is really that much different in essence than playing HD Remix. It's almost like playing the same game with slightly different difficulty and technique settings, and lower graphics of course (though HD Remix looks gorgeous too) but still good ol' SF, and that can either be a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. The other is that I ache for the old feeling of mystique in the old SF games. I miss characters having their own private stages where you go and fight them instead of fighting them anywhere, and the well defined theme songs for each character. The songs back then were more varied, using a variety of musical genres and in general were more memorable than the techno drivel we get nowadays in fighting games. Not to say there isn't a great variety of gorgeous stages, but I still miss the simplicity of the old ones. But perhaps I'm being too harsh here. There are many updated versions of old stages that are great eye candy.
I highly recommend it, but be warned, this is not Tekken, Soul Calibur , DOA or Virtua Fighter, even if it looks a bit like them, where you mash buttons mindlessly to link attacks. This is still Street Fighter, with the same type of gameplay. You still have to learn combos and how to counter them, timing, and a slew of special and super moves. So while I think it's great and good for new players, if you hated the original SF games, then there's little here for you.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Street Fighter IV - Xbox 360
Street fighter IV is a must-have title for any self-respecting fighting fan. Period. What I like most in Street Fighter IV is the mechanics. The controls feel smooth doing Hudokens and Tiger uppercuts never felt better. SF IV is fun to play alone, on couch with friends or online making it have high replay value.All 25 Characters are evenly balanced. You'll find that a lot of the old veteran characters have a few new tricks. I would highly recommend this title to players seeking competition online but you don't need to be a Street Fighter Master to enjoy the game. The character-specific training challenges are great for bringing your skills up to speed. You can play rank matches, set up games and "This is a nice touch" you can even allow players online to interrupt your game to challenge you while you're in the middle of a fight in arcade mode. It's almost like your back in the arcade playing when that stranger comes up and pops in a quarter to mess up your day.
Quick Summary:
Easy to pick up and play
Graphics: A lot of visual details, colorfully characters and backgrounds. Great presentation.
Sound: Spot on soundtrack. "Victory phrase are priceless."
Overall the game is everything a fighting game should be. Something casual and hardcore players can both enjoy.
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