Street Fighter IV — it’s finally here. Find out just how much ass it kicks as your good friends Rangebar Merani and Sam Naylor assault your eyeballs with a one-two review combo beatdown!

Rangebar’s Take

All I’ve got to say is, “finally”. What took so long, Capcom? After an 11-year drought, the Street Fighter series is back on top of the gaming scene with Street Fighter IV for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. None of that Super-Turbo-Hyper bullshit either, this is the real deal, homies. Any Street Fighter veteran will feel completely at home with Street Fighter IV, even if they haven’t played the game since its glory days in the early 90s. Most of the fighting styles, tactics, and combos remain the same with the entire original cast of characters, and as for the new fighters, you’ll just have to practice with them a little. But that’s what’s so perfect about this game. No matter if you’re a SF veteran, someone just getting into the series or a serious button masher, you’ll have fun with this game in its entirety. Some may get discouraged or intimidated by the amount there is to actually learn in the game to really master it, but if you’re just wanting to have some casual fun you surely can. With it’s first stint on the next-gen consoles (besides the two Street Fighter II remakes for XBLA and PSN), Capcom was able to put a lot of work into the graphics of SFIV, which are absolutely stunning. Although the battles take place in 2D (which is the way they should be) the backdrop, characters, and all other visuals are mostly in 3D, making for a match made in Street Fighter heaven. I was so happy to hear that SFIV didn’t go the way of Mortal Kombat and use a 3D playing field. That would have just lost the essence and feel of a Street Fighter game. Along with beautiful graphics, the arcade mode introduces anime-style, mini-movies that help players get a little understanding of the story and the characters motives in fighting in the tournament. The biggest addition to SFIV is, obviously, online play. Most definitely my favorite part of the game, playing online is so easy to get started (of course if you have a fast internet connection). Playing through the Xbox LIVE service, I was easily able to connect to an opponent in a matter of seconds in a quick, custom or created match. I personally like to use the create a match option that way I can change the settings to my liking and host the match, allowing me to wait on a player with a good enough connection, plus I get to choose which level we fought on. If a player with a bad connection comes into your lobby, sounds mean, but you can just kick their ass out and wait on another opponent. Most of my online matches were lag free and incredibly fun, but also quite frustrating when I was losing. It’s like a love-hate relationship with Street Fighter IV. Over the years the gaming scene has changed a lot. I remember back in the day when fighting games were some of the best games out, but now they’ve taken a back seat to first person shooters, such as Halo and Call of Duty. It’s nice to see that developers like Capcom can still deliver a solid and certainly enjoyable fighting game to those who really love the genre. An even better thing is that they kept the same old formula, but it still works. I wouldn’t want Street Fighter IV to play any other way than it does now because it’s truly lived up to its high expectations and has made a lot of fans, including myself, really happy. With an all-new look, new characters, and the addition of online play, Capcom’s Street Fighter IV is one of the best fighting games to come out in a very long time. Now if I can only get another win online, shit!

Sam’s Take

Before I begin, I’d just like to say that I’m awful at Street Fighter. I know the moves, and I know the ideas around controlling space and timing moves- I’m just not quick enough to keep up with the Street Fighter crowd. With that said, Street Fighter IV is a great game. It’s one of the most compelling games that I’ve played for a good few months; I suck, but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. As soon as I picked up Street Fighter IV, I realised that there was hope for the Street Fighter player in me yet. The gameplay is instantly accessible for anyone with a modicum of Street Fighter experience behind them, and barring the more complex areas, should be for newcomers to the series as well. If in doubt, there is an extensive trial mode designed to teach you the basics all the way up to the super-complex combos for every character. The controls remain unchanged for the most part, and if you already know how to pull off a hadouken, you’ll have no trouble here. I’d even argue that the timing is more lenient here, allowing more room for less experienced play. That said, Street Fighter IV, no matter what people are saying, hasn’t been “casualised”. The fighting is as deep as ever, with endless strategies and fighting styles- do you play a defensive game, or be relentlessly offensive? The Arcade mode harks back to, well, the arcade days of gaming- you know, those days where only the truly elite could complete a game on the hardest setting. The final boss of this mode, though, takes it a bit too far. Even on “easiest”, he’s unfairly hard, pulling off combos that sometimes don’t seem to have an end. On a mode called “easiest” you expect even an unexperienced player to be able to get through. If you’re actually good at Street Fighter, then this isn’t such a problem, I’m sure, but bosses that repeat the same move over and over until you’re down isn’t fun, and doesn’t allow you to get better at the game- just get better at exploiting AI flaws. However, there really isn’t much more to critisise this game on. The game is fantastically presented: the graphical style is thoroughly enjoyable- landing an ultra move is something to behold, especially when it finishes the match. The characters’ faces contort with pain or glee when they fight, and the myriad of colours and effects are a delight to the eyes. People praised Mirror’s Edge for being colourful, but it only really had three or four colours; Street fighter IV truly is one of the most colourful games this generation, not to mention one of the most visually striking. I certainly recommend Street Fighter IV. I’m sure if you’re a Street Fighter fan then you’ll have already picked it up, but if you’re interested in the game, or remember the glory days of Street Fighter II, I don’t doubt that there will be something in there for you. Hey, even if you’re just looking for a challenge, Street Fighter IV would be my first recommendation. Just be ready to build up that hard skin again on your left thumb.

Overall, what’s not to love? Nothing, that’s what! Capcom sifted through all of the junk piled on top of modern fighting games and found what’s been missing: simple fun. Street Fighter IV is like retro gaming reborn — a must-have for fighting game fans, and possibly the game to convert some new ones.

The Official Xbox Magazine scored the exclusive first review rights for Street Fighter IV. What’s the verdict? Check out what OXM had to say about the newest installment in the king of fighting games.

An excerpt:

“If you’re a fan of the older games, you’ll drop right in and enjoy yourself; the classic six-button controls feel perfect, and as you take different characters through Arcade mode, you’ll unlock alumni who didn’t appear in the coin-op edition, like Cammy, Rose, and Dan. Everyone looks as you remember them, only better. Exaggerated new facial animations make every attack look like it really hurts, and the game’s distinctive painted graphic style gives it the classy look of an interactive work of art.”

OXM’s final score: 9.5 — can’t say I really expected anything less, and I’m sure the PS3 version will fare just as well. The PC version, well, that just seems weird.

Pick up the February ‘09 issue of OXM to read the full review in all its glory.

UPDATE: Or pick up PlayStation: The Official Magazine, which gave the game a 5 out of 5. Both magazines are owned by Future Publishing and both have exclusive reviews for their respective consoles.

Kotaku is reporting the great news that Street Fighter IV has finally hit North American arcades. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll be able to find an arcade and if you’re even luckier you’ll find one with Street Fighter IV.

Here’s a list of known arcades that have Street Fighter IV:

• Alabama
o Eastdale Mall – Montgomery, Alabama 50 cents per game

• California
o Super Arcade – Walnut, California 91748

• New York
o Chinatown Fair Video Arcade – New York, NY $1 dollar start and continue, Japanese style sit down cabinets with 32″ HD monitors.

• Pennsylvania
o University Pinball – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania $1 per play, p360 sticks, Japanese buttons.

• Texas
o Planet Zero – RoadHouston, Texas. This location will have SF4 on August 29, 2008
o Arcade UFO – Austin, Texas $1 play/continue, 32″ monitors, Japanese cabinets with Sanwa controls

• Washington
o Narrows Plaza Bowl – Tacoma, Washington Two cabinets with 32″ hi def LCD monitors

• Toronto
o Lovegety Station – Toronto, Canada

• Richmond, B.C.
o E Spot Billiards & Arcade – Richmond, British Columbia, Canada

• Burnaby, B.C.
o CHQ Metrotown – Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
o Circus Circuit – Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada $2 a play, KIT cabinet, American Sticks

Source: Kotaku

The tenth floor of the St. Regis hotel offered up a Street Fighter IV journalist-only tournament, complete with an open bar and enough pizza to satisfy the great E-Honda.

Upon entering the hotel room you are greeted by a loop of Street Fighter II playing on a large wall mounted plasma, two linked arcade units, and plenty of journalists trying to cram in as much practice as they can before the tournament officially kicked off.

The controls were fluid and familiar for the most part. I was the first to step up and try out one of the new characters (Abel) however, I wasn’t “able” to pull off very many of his moves, and with limited practice time, I quickly switched back to the familiar Ken/Ryu approach.

In terms of visuals, the game was flat out beautiful, and there was no need to jog your memory for a comparison to the original, since it was looping on the plasma just a few feet behind you (a stroke of PR genius).

The arcade unit itself is set to be distributed in Japan, and while those in the US can purchase the Japanese version right now on the AOU website, Chris (head of Capcom PR) told me that they are working to bring it to the US on a larger scale. In terms of completion, Chris shared with me that the current build we were playing was about 55% complete, with the major differences over the 50% build being primarily UI related.

GameTap’s Jared Rhea was kicking ass and taking names early on during the practice period, as he and his Street Fighter counterpart (Zangief) proved difficult to dethrone. My money was on Jared to win it all.

As the night went on, the arcade joystick became one with pizza grease, and the competition grew stiff. I managed to make it to the third round of the single elimination bracket before getting my ass handed to me by Mike Jones.

While I didn’t take away the 1st place trophy for best Street Fighter IV journalist in the US, I should have won something for moving the arcade unit at least six inches each time I performed a move — they really should have bolted that puppy down.

Unfortunately, my predicted winner lost in the final round to Dan Boutros — and it broke my heart to hear Jared’s first hand account of a “combo gone bad” later that night at the Will Wright party. Dan was then treated to a special guest match up against the games producer, Yoshinori Ono, where he once again emerged victorious.

No one walked away empty handed, as Capcom gave us all a sweet SFIV grab bags direct from AOU. All-in-all, it was a fun filled event, and thanks go out to Capcom for putting it together.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The undeniable force that is the internet has struck again, with a little help from what appears to be a video recording enabled cell phone.

AUO 08 Footage of the Street Fighter IV game has made it to the web despite Capcom’s best effort to keep things under wraps. No telling how long these two videos will be available before Capcom requests their removal, but you can view them after the jump.

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We hit you with some initial info and screens of Abel, the most recently announced Street Fighter IV Character just a few short hours ago thanks to some Famitsu scans — but wait there’s more.

Capcom just sent us a grab bag of additional content for this giant man in blue, and we feel like sharing. Have at the official bio, art, and several new in game screens after the jump.

ABEL – A Man With No Past
With no memory of his past, this young man has no choice but to move forward, using any clue he can get his hands on to rout out what may be left of Shadaloo. His fighting style represents a mix of multiple martial arts. Though he appears gruff and unfriendly on the surface, he is not the misanthrope he seems to be. His serious and polite nature is easy to misinterpret as indifference, but these still waters run deep indeed.

I not exactly sure how I feel about introducing a man with no memory of his past, but hey — I’m so excited about getting my hands on this game in a few days, that I could honestly care less if they said he was a former American Idol reject.

Street Fighter IV - Abel High Res Art & Screens

9 Photos

 

Capcom has announced that Street Fighter IV will be a playable demo at this years GDC. I must admit that this news is right up there with the end of the writers strike.

As someone who is pushing thirty, I grew up playing Street Fighter in the arcades, and can’t wait to get my hands on this bad boy. A tournament will be held on Thursday night and I will be getting in some much needed practice before then.

Look for us to deliver a hands-on preview of the game as soon as we get back to our hotel later that night. We will be covering just about everything we can get our hands on this year, so if you know of a good caffeinated beverage, send it our way.

Over 60 New Street Fighter IV Images

62 Photos

 

The Famitsu website has released over 60 amazing screenshots of Street Fighter IV in action—and these are much better than the blurry scans that leaked onto the net this week.

This is the best look yet at great new versions of Chun-Li, Guile, Dhalsim, Blanka, E. Honda, Zangief, along with Crimson Viper, that strange new female character in a business suit with a long, red braid. This game looks amazing and we can’t wait to play it ourselves.

Over 60 New Street Fighter IV Images

62 Photos

 

Source: Famitsu