Street Fighter 4

Developer: Capcom USA, Inc.
Publisher: Capcom
Rating:
Price: $19.99

By Joe Ziemba

This game doesn’t have a mandatory installation when first inserting the disc as lots of big PS3 games do. However, I did notice in a sub menu of the options screen the ability to install the game on the hard disk. I assume this would decrease match loading times but I didn’t even feel the need. The game is fast and very responsive to controls. I did notice that, while the VS screen is up and the match is loading, there is no music. It felt a little awkward staring at the screen in silence but it’s only for five to ten seconds. Controlling your fighter is very responsive. I found the D-pad to be quicker than the analog stick but that may be due to my old school beginnings.

The textures in the game aren’t the best by today’s standards but they are very good. In this type of game I consider the frame rate to be paramount to the graphics quality, and here the frame rate is exceptionally fast and stable. The special effects graphics in the game are very good as well. Fire and other particle effects look great but don’t clutter the screen. The sound in the game is very well done also. Sound effects don’t seem to overlap to the point of fighting with each other and they come across crisp and clear. The theme song from the opening video is very J-Pop and is still stuck in my head!

The last Street Fighter game I played before this was Street Fighter 2 with no Special, Remix, Alpha, Beta or whatever. Things were a lot different in those days; simpler and a lot slower. Approximately two hours after putting the disc in I noticed I had a blister forming on my left thumb. This is just an example of the excitement and draw this game has on you. Even though all of the new (to me) power meters, combos, special moves and super duper special moves felt a bit overwhelming at first, it all comes together in a really fun package that I recommend to any fan of fighting games.