It's outrageous how many critics bashed this game. Pick it up if you liked The Warriors.
User Rating: 7.8 | Final Fight: Streetwise PS2
Let's get the obvious out of the way. Final Fight Streetwise has gotten poor reviews by "critics" across the board. While a game like The Warriors gets great reviews by everyone. FF:SW is by no means a great game, but it is not a lousy one either. It's far better than most of the cruddy beat 'em ups that have been released recently (Beat Down, Crime Life, Urban Reign). To be fair, FF's story is kind of corny. But try to name one beat 'em up with a serious story; they're meant to be corny. And honestly, The Warriors isn't gonna win any awards for writing either (anyone up for chucking rocks at a dude in a wheelchair?) The graphics and sound in FF aren't anything to jump about either. Nor are they in The Warriors. I mention The Warriors because it's the game that FF is most likely gonna be compared with. The deal is, FF's gameplay is where the game truly shines. You get quite a few moves at the outset, and you can buy more, too, which is more than can be said for most other modern beat 'em ups. You can also pull off some "counter moves" which I won't spoil because they are extremely brutal looking and fun (but tricky) to pull off. There's also a whole bunch of kooky minigames like stomping on roaches or the old-school destroy-a-car, just like the original FF. You can also play an arcade mode that is just plain FUN. It really brings back memories of old-school beat 'em ups, especially when you play in 2 player mode. All this adds up to a game that, while its first impression isn't too great, will quickly grow on you. And, to the critics, I say this: calm down once in a while. Just because a game has slightly subpar graphics or a corny story does not mean the game is ruined. Stop whining about graphics and sound, and start talking about whether the game is FUN. For those of you who can't do that, go back to playing The Warriors.
