Super Streetfighter IV

Super Streetfighter IV
PS3 (version tested) – XBOX 360
Capcom

The Good – Tweaked Gameplay mechanics – vastly improved roster – still a gorgeous looking game – improved online play
The Bad – I like having the challenge of unlocking characters

Back in the day Street Fighter II was a huge success, not being one to miss out on a opportunity, Capcom released a new SFII game almost every year, each time with just enough tweaks to make you want to buy it and then feel cheated the following year when the next update came out. Last year SF IV was released to huge critical acclaim and strong sales to boot, guess what a year on and we have the 2nd instalment of SFIV, however this time there is enough of a difference for you to get it and not feel entirely cheated.

For a start off the game has added 10 new characters to the game, albeit 8 of them are from previous SSF, SFIII and Alpha games, but it’s still 8 new characters from last years SSIV and two brand new ones. The roster now contains Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Blanka, E. Honda, Zangief, Guile, Dhalsim, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison, Cammy, Fei Long, Sakura, Dan, Rose, Gen, Abel, Crimson Viper, El Fuerte, Rufus, Gouken, Akuma, and Seth from last year.



New additions to the lineup are ninja schoolgirl Ibuki, young martial arts entrepreneur Makoto, Muay Thai kickboxer Adon, the giant Native American T. Hawk; Final Fight characters Guy and Cody, Caribean dancer Dee Jay, gentlemanly pugilist Dudley, Turkish oil wrestler Hakan and taekwondo Shadaloo agent Juri.

As well as all the new characters there has also been tweaks to the gameplay, each character now has the choice of two ultra combos and little things have been changed to make the game even more balanced, for example Sagat’s tiger eye shot has been given a small reduction. Every character has new animated cinematics to bookend their arcade mode journey and another tug at those nostalgic heart strings is the return of car and barrel destruction bonus stages. Newcomers are still welcome, training and challenge modes are there to get you up to speed.

The online mode has also received an upgrade and now supports ranked match play, team battles and Endless Battle mode. Team battles are one-on-one round-robin matches, with the loser eliminated until a team is crowned victorious. Endless Battle supports a lobby of up to eight players and sees the winner staying on, with the next person in the queue taking on the defending champ. One annoying element of this, is that others waiting to take on the defending champ can chat amongst themselves, some of the inane chatter taking place can be extremely off putting, especially when you get some 12 year old fuck wit from America repeatedly shrieking KISS MY ASS! down the mic. Another slight downer is the lack of a tournament mode, but apparently there will be a patch coming out mid June time.

I only have one small gripe with SSIV and it may be a stupid personal one but I don’t care. From the beginning every character is available to use, this may sound like a good thing but it takes some of the challenge out of the game, I like having to meet certain requirements to unlock characters, it just gives a sense of achievement upon doing so.

On the whole SSIV improves on last years SIV in every way, more balanced play, more characters and a better online mode makes this the definitive Street Fighter. Who wants to bet against Super Street Fighter IV Turbo being released next year?

9/10