SETH MUST DIE – The Street Fighter IV Review

August 30th, 1987; the day Street Fighter was released to the streets of the world. It has been over 21 years now and the franchise is at its strongest point ever in its history. Fanboys of the series or new gamers that have never played a Street Fighter game have assembled into online battle that has never been experienced before. With the launch party in LA, the hype seems to be so high that you can barely even see the top of it. Will Street Fighter conquer the hearts of those gamers that who haven’t played a game in the series? Will Street Fighter live up to the name that was once held dear in arcades around the world? With the Mortal Kombat series out of the way for a little while, will Street Fighter be “kinged” the King of All Fighting Games? Now, the question is: are you ready to read the review that could end up choosing what game you buy this year? If so, proceed by clicking below on “Read the rest of this entry.”

While reading through the review, you can listen to some of the ‘Street Fighter IV OST’ below:

[youtube width="500" height="300"]http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=FE459C3D16ED8A77[/youtube]

First Impressions of the Game:

This game’s cinematics feel like not only just a gaming experience, but like you are listening to great music and looking at beautiful art. In most games, people crave beautiful graphics but not for the artistic look. Street Fighter IV pulls this off perfectly! Jumping into the game with little side-scroll fighting skills, I felt overwhelmed by the difficulty. This game seems to be the kind of game that is only for hardcore 2D fighter fans. The online battle interface can be frustrating if you are trying to join someone else’s match; if you try to host your own match, you will have a better experience getting into a battle since there is always someone looking for a match. In first review, the game has plenty of potential to be an instant classic for any gamer.

The Pros:

This game is going to be one of the best games of the year. The combo system is great allowing new players and classic gamers to find something they all will like with the capability of playing this over and over for years to come. Pulling off different combos make you feel like you get rewarded every time either player gets one even if you are the one taking damage.  The art of the game just blows me away; truly, there is no other game out there with this type of gameplay and art in one great package. Speaking of art, the cinemas offered during the game bring me joy, watching how beautifully rendered each angle of the camera is. I haven’t been a fan of anime since high school, but the art in this game might bring me back. The online multiplayer is flawless. After play a couple of hours letting people kick my ass, I noticed that I never had a slight big of lag. I’m ready to go back and try to at least get a second victory online in ranked before Monday. Anyone up for a match?

The Cons:

Yes, even Street Fighter IV has a couple things that I have to complain about. If you haven’t noticed, I named this article ‘SETH MUST DIE’; that is because I have yet to get his health to half way down. For non-hardcore 2D fighter gamers, fighting Seth is like going to fight Sin for the second time at the end of Final Fantasy X with all of your party knocked out except Yuna. After hours of gameplay, you will finally defeat him, but I still have yet to. Seth is going to be the villian of the year for video games though. With the ability of using any character’s attacks, Seth will keep you guessing and keep the hardcore playing for years. Another problem is trying to join into a match that someone is hosting. It takes about 15 different tries at least to jump into someone else’s match. It is frustrating to have the game load up for 5 seconds just to tell you that you aren’t going to play a match because someone already took the slot you were trying to fill. One last complaint is that you play better just because you have an arcade paddle against someone that has a normal controller. I believe this to be unfair. Others may disagree with me on this, but it doesn’t see right to “buy” your way to higher skills. Those were the only big problems that might frustrate gamers away from the title.

Final Conclusion:

For anyone who enjoys a good 2D Fighter, this game is a MUST BUY. For someone that is moderately interested in the genre, MUST BUY. For someone with a low skill in 2D Fighters, I suggest you RENT the game before deciding to pick it up.

Personal Preference:

If I had more money, I would buy the game since I am interested in it. I will be renting this game time and time again.

-ViggoTheCarp-

5 Responses to “SETH MUST DIE – The Street Fighter IV Review”

1. The Pepsi Plunge says:

   February 20, 2009 at 10:08 pm

   Awesome review Viggo.
   Gotta find time to pick this up still.
2. ViggoTheCarp says:

   February 20, 2009 at 10:10 pm

   Thanks Justin!
3. Buddhapunch says:

   February 21, 2009 at 12:25 am

   I want my 360 back now to play
4. Ace says:

   February 21, 2009 at 1:12 am

   Having the game and not being able to play it sucks arse. IT’S NO BUENO!
5. ViggoTheCarp says:

   March 1, 2009 at 1:20 am

   Now, you guys finally have it. Josh keeps on getting achievement after achievement for Ace. I WILL CATCH UP TO YOU, ACE!