So It's been a while since I last reviewed anything, might as well review something now.

If there was a game I was excited about as a whole, it would be Street Fighter IV. Why? Because I am a part of the fighting game community. I'm a part of the Marvel community, the 3rd Strike community, the Tekken community and the Guilty Gear community. If there was a game that would make the community bigger and better, it would be Street Fighter IV. Well, now the game is out.. Was it good? Bad? Mediocre? Lets find out...

Before I start, note that this is from a competitive player and not a casual player, so my opinion is 100% not the same as yours.



The game is set between Street Fighter II and Street Fighter III. So why is it called Street Fighter IV? Well, according to one of the Mods on the Capcom forums, the numbers don't mean much anymore. Plus, calling it Street Fighter 2.5 would be... Stupid... And saying "it's called 2.5 cause it's a 2.5 fighter" is just retarded.. So thank you Capcom for not doing that.

I'd explain the story, but for fighting games, the story doesn't matters unless you're a hardcore fan, but if you're a hardcore fan, I don't need to explain it to you. (:



First thing everyone would point out is that the game looks beautiful. It literally feels like a moving painting. I personally would've preferred if they stuck with sprites, but knowing how many good 2D artists are left with Capcom and how HD Remix looked, I think making it 3D was probably for the best.

The gameplay is a lot similar to Alpha 3 and Super Turbo. I didn't like ST, but I do love Alpha 3 so that's a plus. They added a new Focus System where some moves can't hurt you and you end up hitting them with a stunning move. I thought that was pretty cool, but preforming a "Focus Breaker", where that move is stopped, isn't exactly hard, so you need to time it just right. However, that is actually good cause it adds more mind games and strategies to a match.

Speaking of mind games, Street Fighter IV is one of the smartest fighting games there is. Your execution doesn't have to be fantastic for you to be great at this game, you just gotta play it smart, which is a great thing for me, cause I don't think my execution is THAT good. (:

There's also a "new" feature which is called the Ultra/Revenge meter, which basically fills up the more you get hit. Pretty sweet concept if you ask me. A real table turner. This is the new super of a character. Actually, the regular Supers are still there, but they take your entire Super meter and you'll be needing it to do EX moves, so it's usually not worth it.

The game is also pretty damn balanced. Good/bad match-ups are still huge part of it, like every other fighting game, but compared to Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Brawl, it's balanced enough. Not as much as Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike though.. (:

And finally, the roster is big. I'm sorta disappointed that there are zero Street Fighter III character presence aside from cameos, but you'll end up liking all the characters, which I guess is a good thing. Still think some characters are pretty ugly like Rufus, even though he's a joke character.



The first thing I look for in a fighting game is speed. Sadly, Street Fighter IV doesn't offer me that.. It's literally one of the slowest 2D fighters I have ever played. I guess that's because the graphics are in 3D, but having a 2D fighter being slow is kinda of a real bummer..

Second, one of the things I loved about Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is that you can't get away with a lot of cheap tactics like Fireball spamming and random throws. However, in IV, they totally got rid of the Parry System, so that sorta brings the game down A LOT in the balanced area..

I also don't like the fact that you need to pay to get the alternative costumes. Some might not care, but the alternative costumes are available in the arcades, so I don't see I need to pay an extra 5$ to get SOME of the alternative costumes and 15$ to get them all.. I guess they repaid it for giving us Championship Mode for free, so that's a minor complaint..



I think the game is good. My heart belongs to Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and Marvel vs Capcom 2, but Street Fighter IV brought communities together and made it even bigger with new players, so I can't complain.

If you're new to the fighting games scene and you're wondering where to start, this is definitely a good game to pick up. However, if you're a speed obsessed like me, I'll think twice before getting this game and not hope for so much for it. (: