STREET FIGHTER 5

REVIEW STREET FIGHTER 5

First off let me say that although this review is in the PS3 section, it is meant to evaluate the game in all it's incarnations. PS3 is the one I have. I'm sure everyone reading this has played more than their fair share of Street Fighter, so I'll spare you the trip down memory lane and get right into my analysis. After playing this game for a couple of weeks, watching matches between top players online, and having seen how players have adapted to the game since it first debuted in Japanese arcades, I've reached the conclusion that while the game makes an admirable attempt to create a game that both casual and hardcore fans can enjoy, it ultimately isn't very well suited to either one.

In talking about a fighting game, the emphasis has to be on how it performs as a fighting game. In this respect, the game comes off with the usual grace and high level of technical achievement you've come to expect from Capcom. And it should. They have been in the business of making fighting games since the late 80's. All of the standard conventions from Capcom are present: the six button control scheme with three punches and three kicks, joystick rotation and charge special attacks, super meters and so on. Street Fighter IV is a 2D game using 3D rendered sprites. Although not bearing the name, this is no different from their Street Fighter EX series, which was Capcom's first attempt to bring Street Fighter into 3D. Awhile back, I played a location test version. I remembered how sluggish the characters were in the EX series and hoped that Street Fighter IV with it's 3D sprites wouldn't be the same. To my dismay, it was. I suppose many people felt the same way, and Capcom wisely sped up the gameplay in the final release.

That being said, it still doesn't move with the speed and fluidity of hand drawn 2D games. The jumps are floaty and the characters seem to get stuck in attack animations. What I mean is that it's harder to do 2-in-1s, canceling the animation of one attack and going into another. This is a staple of all 2D Capcom fighting games, and in order to get moves to chain in this game, your controller inputs have to be slower and more deliberate. As a result, you will likely find yourself messing up a lot of your combos as you overcompensate the timing of your attacks. This was how the EX games played, and in those games, there was a Challenge Mode to practice combos so that you could get used to the game's awkward timing. It was nice and something that Street Fighter IV includes as well. Unfortunately you probably still won't get used to the timing. Try any combo of more than three attacks and you will likely be at it for a good 20-30 tries to pull it off, which obviously doesn't fly in a real match.

The most important thing that separates modern fighters from the earlier ones such as Street Fighter II is movement. Freedom of movement is tantamount in developing rich and diverse playing styles. Street Fighter II was very basic in that you could only walk or jump to move around. There were very few moves that propelled you forward, so your only options to approach someone were to walk up to them or jump towards them. Again, basic. And in the world of fighting games, basic is a synonym for predictable. Contrast that with Street Fighter III where you can walk, jump, high jump, dash, feint, hit overhead with ground attacks, use moves that travel safely through projectiles, and it's easy to see that early fighters were more a game of keep away than an up close affair.

In this respect, Street Fighter IV's gameplay lies somewhere in the middle of Street Fighter II and III. You can dash, use overhead attacks, and certain moves pass through projectiles. The dashes are somewhat compact, and don't lend themselves well to covering ground quickly. Every character's dash animation is different, and there are very few who have a reasonably effective one, like Makoto's or Ken's in Street Fighter III. This is unfortunate because if the dashing isn't going to help much, why include it?

Capcom has admitted that the gameplay was simplified to entice the players of old back, yet there are still elements that will allow for depth of gameplay that will please the more serious fighting game fan. Enter "Focus Attacks". Initiated by pressing and then optionally holding and releasing the medium punch and kick buttons, they were supposed to be simple enough for beginners to use, yet versatile enough to enhance gameplay at higher levels. In theory, they do just that. In practice, they don't quite meet either standard.

Focus Attacks used simply, have the ability to absorb one hit during the charging phase. This can be an alternative to blocking, like the parry system in Street Fighter III. However, you can still incur damage from this and it can't be performed in the air. If charged long enough, the attack will become unblockable and stun the opponent. The problem is that a second hit will knock you out of the Focus Attack, and charging it the 2 seconds required to make it unblockable can be easily seen and avoided. Used in a more advanced way, they can cancel certain attacks, and then themselves be canceled by dashing forwards or backwards, allowing you to extend combos. The problems I find are that the combos that can be created via this technique are very limited. The only way Focus Attacks can be used in combos is if you first knock the opponent into the air, then cancel with it and dash forward for a one time air juggle chance. You can't dash forward after a hadouken for example and continue your combo on the ground. This is a bit disappointing as a flexible and creative combo system is one of the things that helps fighting games' longevity. With all the things the Focus Attacks are supposed to bring to the table, a quick look online at any high level match will show that they are really only being used as a way to combo into supers a little easier. That's a huge letdown considering that this is about all they did to try and satisfy the hardcore gamers.

But the biggest draw in any new fighting game is the new characters. There are six: Abel, C. Viper, Rufus, El Fuerte, Gouken and Seth. Rufus and El Fuerte I could do without, but they all are unique and play differently from the other more established characters. The rest of the cast is made up of everyone from Street Fighter II and select people from Super Street Fighter II and Street Fighter Alpha. Capcom wanted people who played in the 90's to be able to pick up this game and for it to be familiar, hence the inclusion of 75% old characters. I personally admired Capcom for their courage in the Street Fighter III series in making an almost entirely new cast of fighters. I've done 50,000 shoryukens with Ken, can I try something different now? It's pretty much par for the course these days to recycle most if not all the existing characters in new games, so I can't fault this game specifically for it's lack of growth and evolution in the personnel department.

Now that all the critical commentary is out of the way, let me say that this is still a very fun game to play. The decision to render the characters in 3D has afforded them the ability to include a lot of animation. The characters all have multiple taunts, and say quite a lot. Their mouths move as they talk which adds to the realism and charm. The move set, in particular the number of supers per character, has been cut down since Street Fighter III, but they are mostly of high quality and exciting to watch, even after numerous times.

The game comes bare bones, and there is a lot to unlock by either beating the game or challenges in Challenge Mode. Unfortunately most of the unlockables are just titles or icons for your online profile, or things that shouldn't really have to be unlocked, like costume colors. Extra taunts can be unlocked, and a handful of characters, which for me is the main draw. You may not find much value in what they have to unlock, but it at least gives you some replayability when alone.

The online play runs quite smoothly, although I've found that your opinion of it will be largely shaped on how you play. If you are a less skilled player who needs more time to think and who doesn't play an aggressive style or do anything fancy, you will usually find no problems with it. If you do however play aggressively and try to move around quicker, you will find your controller somewhat unresponsive due to lag. Still though, you can have a decent match usually even with the lowest possible signal strength, which speaks volumes of Capcom's efforts to reestablish the competitiveness of Street Fighter.

All in all what you have is a game that is fun to play, both alone and with others. The game is very artistic and high quality. It's also a step backwards in gameplay with only a half hearted attempt to include something that veteran players would take an interest in and want to master. But there has never been a single Street Fighter game to not see multiple remakes, so don't be surprised to see whatever issues this game may have ironed out in Street Fighter IV: Rebirth

Game Release: Street Fighter IV (US, 02/17/09)