Publisher: Capcom Entertainment
Developer: Capcom Entertainment
Category: Action
Release Dates
N Amer - 02/17/2009
Intl - 02/20/2009
In a world where solitary warriors roam the land looking for worthy opponents, Street Fighter IV is out to set the fighting world on fire again. With a diverse set of fighters to select from (25 characters total), new techniques to pull off, and re-imagined graphics Street Fighter IV may be just the game the fighting genre needed to revitalize it.
If you’re an old school fan of Street Fighter, then you’ll be happy to hear that all of the fighters from Street Fighter II have returned along with two of the “New Challengers” in the form of Cammy and Fei Long. Now if you go back even further than Street Fighter II and actually began playing when the original Street Fighter debuted, then you should be glad to see Gen and his assassinating ways incorporated into the game. Even if you weren’t around for the first two releases, 
Beginning with the veterans on the character roster, many of them have made successful transitions to Street Fighter IV. Sagat is as powerful as ever and has remained a top-tier fighter while Chun Li has her Spinning Bird Kick and Hyakuretsukyaku (a.k.a. Lightning Legs) along with retaining her speed. When you first jump into SFIV with your favorite characters, you should feel right at home with how familiar everything feels. There were a few disappointments that sprung forth such as Sagat’s horrible English voice-acting – they need to redo his “Tiger Shot/Knee” sound effects – and Chun-Li not being able to bounce off the walls with ease anymore.
For the new characters, the majority of them are fresh and interesting additions to the series. C. Viper is elusive and deceptive with her attacks as she can land her Burning Kick without the opponent seeing it coming. El Fuerte is manic and unpredictable making with his lucha libre fighting style. His Habanero Dash is a crazy maneuver, and while risky, is fun to pull off to confuse your opponents. Perhaps the most intriguing addition is Rufus, an overly obese kung fu fighter who has a grudge against Ken Masters. Rufus is light on his feet and has several attention-grabbing moves as he swiftly moves around the screen. Another noteworthy addition is Gouken, Akuma’s thought to be dead brother. Gouken makes his debut and in impressive fashion as his moves are executed with a lot of force and technique.
As for the last two fighters, Abel and Seth are much slower in terms of speed but equally as powerful. Seth is meant as the last boss character through the storyline and he’s probably the weakest addition out of all the fighters in terms of originality as he has obtained maneuvers from other fighters through his yin-yang sphere in the middle of his chest. Copying moves such as Guile’s Sonic Boom or Dhalsim’s Yoga Teleport, Seth isn’t the most interesting character to use or look at, but he’s a powerful character to use nonetheless. As for Abel, he’s a concentrated grappler who likes to get in close and string moves together for high damage. With no real projectile attack, Abel is set to be a fighter that is going to be difficult to master but hard to beat when controlled by an advanced player.
The biggest addition to SFIV’s gameplay is the Focus System. This new combat system allows players to absorb a single attack and charge up an unblockable counterstrike (though you can dodge) against your opponent. First-time players won’t have trouble executing these attacks since their input commands aren’t extremely complicated. There’s also strategy within the focus attacks as many players may try to attempt to use their focus attack simultaneously, so gamers must figure out when and how to use them. Having seen a greater part of the focus attacks, Seth’s had to be the most inspiring to use as he catapults his adversaries high into the air after successful uppercuts and before you know it, you’re at least 30 feet off the ground damaging your opponent.
Lastly, it’s relatively easy to notice the change in graphics for SFIV. The classic 2D fighter has upgraded to 3D models and a 3D environment. Make no mistake though; the fighters still compete within a single plane so there’s no circling one another and rolling to the left or right of an opponent to dodge. From Akuma’s rippled muscles to Rufus’ bouncing belly, the visuals of SFIV are one of the main highlights from Capcom’s upcoming fighter. Releasing on February 17, check back in a few weeks for our full review of Street Fighter IV.
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