Street Fighter makes a nice comeback with plenty of hadokens to go around.
First off, the gameplay is the main focus of attention here. And to be fair, THIS IS STREET FIGHTER IN THE PUREST FORM! Everything from the strict timing of cancels to the precise movements of quarter-circle moves, is the same as ever. This is how to make the perfect pick-up-and-play game for veterans. Beginners, don't fret, Capcom has kept you in mind to. Some of the precise moves, such as the hadoken, have a few more frames to hit the move(s). Also there are many difficulty sliders to help you along the way as well as a trial modes to learn about every character. If you are a beginner reading this review, the word of this game is PRACTICE! Practice, practice, and more practice will help you with this game. If you aren't up for learning every single move, you can button mash and have a good time, but is not recommended. But this isn't just a rehash of older games with new characters, in which there are six, which are all awesome in their own ways. You now have focus attacks, and offensive and defensive move done by holding M.Punch and M.Kick which, depending on how long you hold down the two buttons, will turn into and unblockable attack, while sucking up an attack. Then there are the ultra combos done by inputting the Special Move commands but holding down either all of the punch or all of the kick buttons, depending on the character. These are very cool and very cinematic attacks that can take up to half of an opponents health bar. The catch: the meter fills by taking damage. Ouch is what you will say as the meter builds up! These sound like simple improvements to the game, but mix them up into the gameplay, and you have yourself a bunch of variety!
The graphics are very, very stylish! I am a big fan of art, and it looks like a paining coming to life, even though the characters are now in full 3-D. Die hard fans may be upset about this, but personally, I think that it is a fresh new direction in its own respect. A cool feature is when you unleash a fully charged focus attack, and a black ink trail, which looks as if done by a brush, follows the attack. The muscle-bound characters may be a little much to take in, but given the context of the game, it fits. To make things more interesting, every successful hit on a character makes a different facial expression appear. Throwing a attack makes an opponent's eyes widen while getting hit makes their eyes pop out and their tongue flap. Over exaggerated, but very cool knowing that it is there.
The sound is one area where I wish some things were different or not there at all. Worst off being the announcer. With maybe five different lines, he overstays his welcome almost immediately. Voice talent also needs a makeover and A.S.A.P.! The Japanese voices are great, go figure, but the English voices are, with no exaggeration, some of the worst I have ever heard. Its like they aren't even trying, at least trying to be serious that is. Then there is the music. I am a fan of J-pop and dance music, but is Indestructible really the best intro song they could get? I mean its catchy, but there are much better choices out there, and some that aren't as repetitive...however the background tracks are catchy and beat fueled techno mixes. As for the rest of the sound effects, the are standard Street Fighter fare, all the familiar naming of the move as it is pulled off, grunts, and yells.
As for the for the modes of play, there are the standard fare of trial, survivor, arcade, and online modes. Without hesitation, I will speak for many and myself when I say that Seth (the final boss of arcade mode) is a cheap bastard! The first round is alright, while the second round you have to rely on mostly luck and some skill. While using an assortment of teleports, full screen-reaching punchings, unblockable/unescapable throws, and cheap ex specials, Seth is sure to be the hardest and cheapest final boss to a fighting game yet! Even on the easiest difficulty his is still a pain. But to unlock characters you must stick it out and fight him. On top of the arcade mode, you have hundreds of medals, titles, and icons, and even colors for your characters uniforms to unlock. This is one game that you will be playing for months to come just to get all the unlockables.
Overall, SFIV is a great follow up to the SF legacy. Long time fans are sure to find something to bring back that nostalgic feeling, while newcomers will be throwing their first hadokens and sonic booms with the big leagues for months and years to come. Just don't expect the perfect fighter without some flaws, and you are A-OK!