Tekken, Soul Calibur...No Way.... It's all about Street Fighter 4!
GRAPHICS:
The graphics utilize a dark outlining and splattering to a great extent, and to a great effect. The characters look great and the bulging muscles look intimidating. The more adult style of design works to the games benefit. The environments are vivid and they vary from exotic locations, to urban, to, well the middle of no where. Overall the graphics are 'easy on the eyes' and are very interesting to look at. Every texture and small detail seems to be in place, nothing is blurry or bland.
SCORE: 10
GAMEPLAY:
The core game play from the fighting genre has remained the same throughout the years. Knock the other person out first. It has not changed here, it's been improved. Street Fighter 4 is now more accessible, yet incredibly difficult to master. The game play flows smoothly offline, as well as online with a few rare hiccups depending on both players connection. You can use basic kicks and punches to great effect and advanced players can create or use set combos designed by the game. New additions to the game include a Revenge Meter and Focus Attacks. The Revenge Meter is a meter that fills for every point of damage you receive. When it reaches fifty percent, you can use your ultimate attack that deals devastating damage, but is quite easy to block so you have to be skilled to make contact. Focus attacks absorbs the next incoming hit, and then charges for an attack. These new mechanics add another layer of innovation and appeal to Street Fighter 4's game play.
SCORE 10:
SINGLE PLAYER:
The single player mode has various modes and challenges for you to complete. It is a robust mode and allows you to do pretty much anything you would want in a fighting game. You can do time trail, survival, traditional arcade mode, standard versus and a new addition, trial mode. Trial mode is designed to help new players learn combos and special moves, as well as basic punches and kicks. However, you must be VERY skilled in order to achieve here. You can adjust the difficulty settings but, if you are looking for trophies, unless you are very skilled, don't expect to be getting that platinum. The games trophy challenges and otherwise are ridiculously hard, posing a great challenge for many players, and overwhelming for others.Overall, the single player adds the most to the experience is should be the number 1 appeal for most players.
SCORE: 10
ONLINE:
The online experience is one boat load of fun. There are now three modes that you can play. A tournament mode, ranked games, and unranked player games. The tournament mode is a new addition and adds a little variety. It's pretty much pitting your skills against international players and as such, it is very fun. The only problem is, if one player has a bad connection, both players suffer. Some games become like slide shows and it is very frustrating to play against these players, because they are used to it and generally still play quite well. Others are fluid and is a blast to play through. If you have a bad connection, still pick this one up, but prepare for some bad online content!
SCORE: 9.5
CONCLUSION:
If you think you won't be able to be a master at this game, still pick it up. It's a load of fun even if you aren't the best player and you will have hours and hours of enjoyment. Without a doubt, this is a flawed yet amazing and beautiful game that should not be missed. What can I say, It's just plain, good old fun.
VERDICT:
+ Beautiful graphics
+ Great Game play
+ Diverse Cast
+ Variety of Single Player Modes
+ Wonderfully Fun Online Modes
- Sometimes Laggy, Causes Frustration!