Capcom Returns To Traditional Street Fighting

By Jay Williams

Last week I awoke from my sleep to the cheering of a crowd. The thunderous ruckus was coming from next door.

Peering outside from my window I saw a large group of people standing around a massive LCD television in the middle of the street.

Rubbing my eyes in disbelief, the kids next door had the new Street Fighter IV videogame and a huge TV to boot and had set it up in the open.

Without another moments hesitation I sprinted out onto the road, only to be waiting in a long line for a chance to challenge our neighbourhood's extremely fugly 10-year-old Street Fighter champion.

An hour earlier, Will Barker had apparently stepped up to the challenge, all lip and no skill, and the 10-year-old Street Fighter champion pretty much beat the snot out of this cocky challenger and colleague of mine.

After his ego-shattering loss to a kid less than half his age, Will apparently trash talked about the kid's dad having a double chin that could rival E. Honda's (which is true).

Needless to say the kid and his thirteen clinically obese siblings were far from impressed and Barker boy copped a Chun-Li style lard kick to the head (from the youngest sister), which resulted in a mild concussion. And let me say it's not the first personality-altering blow to the head he's received...

After I heard this I was kind of in a daze myself, brought around by someone saying "it's your turn mate". I stepped up to the plate and the game seemed simple at first, almost the same as the classic Street Fighter II title.

The characters and their moves initially seemed as basic as the hand-drawn 2D sprites of the game's arcade predecessor, but beneath Chun-Li's short skirt and beyond Guile's flat-top hairstyle is one of the deepest and most intense fighters of its era.

Street Fighter 4, the all-new next generation punch-fest, has a lot more depth than first impressions suggest.

FIGHT!

Featuring detailed and dense 3D backgrounds and excellently crafted 3D character models that move with jaw-dropping fluidity, the gameplay remains on a traditional 2D plane.

This allows the game to retain a traditional old-school Street Fighter feel, but with a more polished look and feel.

Producer of the new Street Fighter 4 game, Yoshinori Ono, stated that he wanted to keep the game closer to Street Fighter II so while there's lots of new features, anyone who's played Street Fighter II will able to pick up and play this game, no worries.

Stepping into the world of Street Fighter 4 is seamless. 

All the moves are the same as they've been since the original 1991 game with a classic cast of characters to choose from. Old favorites such as Ken, Ryu, Guile, E. Honda and Chun-Li are all there, but in addition to them there are a few new characters and a few new moves.

While there is a familiar feel to the game, the new graphics add hugely to the experience, and the gameplay is finer and more precise than previous Street Fighter games that allows veterans to really hone their game.

There are two new styles of special moves that add an extra level of depth to the game's already wide array of attacks:

Focus Attacks: Known as the 'Saving Attack' in the Japanese version, the new formula is a tactical move that allows the player to absorb an attack and launch a counter attack, and it is performed by pressing the medium punch and kick buttons simultaneously. 

There are two phases to the attack, in the first phase, the player will shift into a new stance, at which point he or she is able to absorb one attack from the opponent. The second phase is the counter attack. The longer the player holds down the medium punch and kick buttons the more powerful the attack will be. It's very cool.

Ultra Combos: In addition to Super Combos and EX Special Moves which were debuted in previous Street Fighter games, Ultra Combos are a new type of powered-up special move that are long and cinematic moves that involve a lengthy combination of punches, kicks and other fighting techniques. 

Like the Super Combo, Ultra Combos have their own gauge (officially known as the "Revenge Gauge" or "Revenge Meter") and this fills when your take damage from their opponent. Hence the 'revenge' bit.

A new Street Fighter game wouldn't be worth a pinch of sh*t if there weren't new characters to bash up or be bashed up by, and though not all of them are as balanced as the classic characters there are some gems in there:

- Abel: A French mixed martial artist, that can't remember his past.
 Technique: Judo-style, lots of grabs, fairly quick, good rolling counter.
Special moves: Cool hurricane throw, but no projectiles.
Last Word: One of the most popular new characters.

- Crimson Viper: A babe-alicious American spy with form-fitting suit.
 Technique: Assassin style, high tech suit gives her fire and electric moves and good at countering. More of a defensive character.
Special moves: Flame kick, electric punch and ground force punch.
Last Word: Sexy and fast but kinda weak.

- Rufus: A Kung Fu fighter with a rather rotund appearance.
 Technique: Kung Fu, lots of aerial spin kicks and some body slams.
Special moves: Aerial roundhouse kicks.
Last Word: Decent fighter who can be deceptively powerful.

- El Fuerte: Spanish for "The Strong One" this Mexican luchador is also an aspiring gourmet chef.
 Technique: Mexican wresting, lots of grabs, super quick.
Special moves: Running grab, running slide kick, wall jump attack.
Last Word: Annoying and shite.

- Seth: also known as "The Puppet Master" he is the new boss character and the Chief Executive of S.I.N, a weapons manufacturer.
 Technique: Combination of styles stolen from other characters.
Special moves: Sonic boom, dragon punch, rapid kicks, pile driver.
Last Word: Well-rounded and powerful character in defense and offense.

- Gouken: Ryu and Ken's sensei and the elder brother of Akuma.
 Technique: Ken and Ryu's martial arts style.
Special moves: Dragon punch, cyclone kick, hadouken.
Last Word: Could have been a lot better.

As well as the tweaked gameplay and the new characters, there is also the new Challenge mode to sink your teeth into. For all those seasoned gamers and anyone that just wants to take a break from arcade mode, this is for you.

Within the Challenge mode there are three game types to choose from. Well, six if you include the normal and hard settings: Time Attack, Survival and Trial.

• Time Attack - You have a certain amount of time to defeat the specific amount of fighters. This mode has 20 levels that get increasingly difficult.

• Survival - Starting out with full health you have to defeat a quota of fighters, in turn keeping the amount of health from the previous round plus whatever health you are rewarded with upon defeating your opponent. This mode also has 20 levels that are tougher as you progress.

• Trial - You start with basic commands like standing heavy punch then, the further you go the more complex combos you have to perform in order to proceed. This mode only has 5 levels to progress through, but it ain't easy.

Even though this game doesn't feel any different than playing way back when, Street Fighter 4 still has its charms. Apart from the excellent gameplay, there's also some amazing anime-style character intro's and end movies which make playing through all the characters more satisfying.

I really liked the stylised special moves and particularly the Ultra Combos that involve different camera angles and some mesmerising eye candy. They really pop off the screen.

This game is really very impressive but my one and only disappointment with the new Street Fighter was the absence of bonus levels. I remember kicking the crap out of the car or fly kicking falling barrels in the Street Fighters of old and it's a shame not to see the return at least for the console release.

Capcom intended that bonus rounds such as the car-smashing stage would return in Street Fighter 4, but producer Yoshinori Ono later stated that the bonus stages would not be in the arcade game, saying that the time players spend on bonus stages takes money away from arcade operators. 

But why couldn't they have added the skill-testing bonus stages to the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions after porting them from the arcades? Weak, pathetic, lazy programming, that's what it is. I'd like to slap that guy...

Apart from removing the bonus stages, the game is very good. Witnessing an EX or a Super or Ultra combo in full swing is sure to bring a smile to anyone's face.

Once you've finished the game with every character and unlocked all the goodies there's still plenty of challenge to be had in versus modes and the online fights add longevity too.

You can challenge or be challenged if you're logged onto the 'Net but ultimately there's enough nuance, detail and excitement to this game to ensure you'll be playing for at least the first week solid, and then at regular intervals as mates come round to play.

This is a classic old-school fight-em-up with new-school high definition background's and character designs, cool special effects and more density and accuracy to the battle engine. If you're a fan of the Street Fighter series you will be sure to love it. I am and I did.

But even if you're a noob and have never encountered these games before I couldn't recommend a more user-friendly, pick-up-and-play beat'em up.

After my feverish first-ever battle on next-door's Street Fighter 4, (which seemed to play out for months) it appeared that the 10-year-old champ had skill's far beyond that of any prophecy.

My fate was sealed, defeat was imminent. There was no calling mumma. The prophecy had lead me astray... And then it hit me I was actually day dreaming. My anticipation of the game was so strong that I was dreaming about it before it even arrived in stores. 

The franchise went off the rails with Street Fighter III EX, which delivered Tekken-like game mechanics and more freedom of movement. It strayed from the traditional path and was worse off for it, but this new game builds on Street Fighter's strong 2D heritage without mangling it up. 

Game: Street Fighter IV
System: Xbox 360
Players: 1-2
Online: Yes
Developer: Capcom
Distributor: THQ Games

Rating: 85%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)