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Street Fighter IV

Better in the lounge?
There can't surely be many people out there reading this who haven't heard of or played any of the Street Fighter games before. One of the most successful and iconic computer games to ever be committed to memory, versions of the second game even appeared on the Spectrum in its dying days. Best not to imagine that though, as the images are still scarring my mind to this day. What we have here is Capcom's return to producing a full new iteration of the game, getting rid of all this Super Alpha X Edition nonsense.

If you haven't heard of this massive franchise before, then the premise is simple: Street Fighter is a side-scrolling 2D beat-'em-up with larger-than-life caricatures who have to use kicks, punches and various special attacks to defeat their opponents over a set number of rounds. In single-player, you'll primarily be trying to unlock hidden characters, movies and artwork in the story mode, which gives each character a flimsy and nonsensical reason for why they happen to be fighting against a load of burly super hulks from across the globe.

All the old favourites are back, accompanied by a handful of new ones, not all of which I believe are that good. Ken, Ryu, Chun Li, E. Honda and pals are all present and correct, with familiar moves supplemented by flashy new ones. The new additions include a vastly overweight American clown, a Mexican guy with a frying pan, and a French martial arts guy with amnesia. Some of the other characters won't be familiar unless you've kept up with all the various other games since Super Street Fighter II made its debut so many years ago.

Once you're into the game, and have somehow managed to sign into the execrable Games for Windows - LIVE! service, you're presented with a substantial array of options. Thankfully for a console port, the game hasn't been stripped down. There are loads of graphics tweaking options to play about with and there are some intriguing new visual styles to stick on if you fancy a change. The game itself is as colourful and vibrantly exciting as you'd expect and the actual combat matches this perfectly.

While it doesn't feel as fast-paced and frantic as versions of yore, this might be something to do with this writer's inability to play the game with any level of skill. Suffice it to say that, for Street Fighter aficionados - or for people who've only dabbled - there's nothing that will make them feel uncomfortable.

The first problem for incompetents like me is that the game is still as impenetrably difficult at the higher settings. One could argue I just need to practice more, but I do think it is a valid issue to raise. In remaining so faithful to the original format, which is laudable - they could so easily have ruined the whole thing by attempting fundamental changes - this has meant that any issues you might have had with a previous version will still be present in this one.

This only really affects the single-player, of course, as the core of the game really should be fighting human opponents, either on the same machine or using the various online modes that are available (which we couldn't test at the time of writing, as no other bugger had a copy).

You should also probably be considering using a gamepad as well, even though I still firmly believe the keys could be an adequate substitute if they were implemented correctly. While the D-Pad is useful, it's advisable to use a controller with an analogue stick, as some of the special moves require rolling movements to pull off.

While Street Fighter IV isn't without little niggling issues (mostly related to Games for Windows - LIVE!) there's no doubting this is the only fighting game you should consider getting. Ignoring the fact it's probably the only one currently out on the PC, it could definitely be described as genre-defining.

While our console cousins have been falling over themselves to lavish praise on and lick clean the boots of Capcom's developers, we'll be a little more reserved in our praise, because this sort of thing really is much more at home played on the couch on a big TV.

A brilliant combat game that can be dabbled with in short bursts or long bouts of human vs human combat, there's no denying that it is a must-play for PC fighting fans and those looking for a bit of short, sharp fun. If you've got a setup that allows you to play in your living room on the TV, add three extra points to the score.

PC Zone Magazine
// Overview
Uppers
  Just as you remember it
  Large roster
  Always good against humans
  Just plain fun
Downers
  Awkward menu system
  Feels better in the lounge
// Screenshots
// Interactive
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Posted by Speciala
the 1st screen looks like zangief is going for the 69
Posted by TLTLT
Easier playing with the keyboard than the 360 controller! :D
Posted by yerbluesjohn
I like the style of this review, should have had a bit of comparison with the console versions though. Some screenshots of those new graphical styles would've been nice.
Posted by theideal
Those effects are a bit poo to be honest. They only apply to the character models and look like bad Photoshop filters.
The graphics in general seem sharper than the console versions to me.
The online play so far is a lot worse though. I've had 4-5 bar matches than lagged or crawled. It'svery inconsistent.
Great version for practice/versus on the lappy at work but I'll be sticking to the 360 and PS3 versions for online play.
Posted by Shin_Kojima
I think you misunderstand the term side-scrolling.
Posted by Bristolpeteuk
GET A REVIEWER THAT ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDS BEAT UP UPS TO REVIEW THIS GAME! This is like asking a Halo fan to play Age of Empires....Shame on you CVG

Sidescrolling......(shame on you...)

P45 for the reviewer!
Posted by Dimlo
this was the funniest bit

"even though I still firmly believe the keys could be an adequate substitute if they were implemented correctly".

with all the special moves and combos?

yeah righty ho! :roll: thats something ive gotta see.

your reviews are a joke!
Posted by Rocksterboy1992
How come a lot of people come on this site, read the reviews and articles and then say bad stuff about CVG? IMO I think the reviewer for Street Fighter IV on the PC did a good job and last time I checked it was a side scrolling game. Ok not exactly like the old marios but you know what he means.
Posted by lmimmfn
Exactly it IS a side scrolling beat em up, its just not a progressive scroller like Final Fight. Tekken on the other hand is pseudo 3d as you can dodge moves in 3D by sidestepping.
Posted by up2nogood316
"While it doesn't feel as fast-paced and frantic as versions of yore, this might be something to do with this writer's inability to play the game with any level of skill."

Wow. I facepalmed after reading that. why get someone to review this game who cant play it with 'ANY LEVEL of skill'? are you kidding? i mean seriously, what are you doing reviewing this (or some could argue GAMES in general for that matter?!) if you havent yet grasped the concept of Street Fighter, the MOST FAMOUS fighting game of all time which literally pathed the way for the fighting genre!!

it would be like someone reviewing the sublime mario all-stars back in the day on the snes and saying something like 'well, er im pretty crap at platformers actually... but i guess its alright if you like this sort of thing.'

maybe im being harsh here, fighters arent everyones cup of tea. although i did laugh at the mention of the spectrum version of SF2. i remember. ive tried to forget, but unfortunetly i remember.
Posted by Speciala
nerdrage
Posted by Zero_Cool
CVG, ever heard of a DVI to HDMI cable!
Posted by Noobsaibot
I may trade in my 360 version for this one instead. Then I can use my X-Arcade 8)
Read all 13 commentsPost a Comment
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