You are hereSTREET FIGHTER IV - Review
STREET FIGHTER IV - Review
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By: CAPCOM Co., Ltd
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Street Fighter 4 delivers the first true fighting game on iPhone. This uncompromising fighter features all the visceral thrills, fantastic graphics and brilliant gameplay that are hallmarks of the series. Long time Street Fighter fans can jump into the action and have an instant familiarity with the controls. For more casual players Street Fighter 4 features numerous settings and tutorials that put you on the path to world warrior.Oh, and did we mention MULTIPLAYER? Street Fighter 4 supports head-to-head arcade play over Bluetooth! |
After playing Street Fighter IV for 30 minutes, I got enough of the game to offer the following. This is about the best old school fighting game that is currently available on the iPhone/Touch system.
At first, I wasn't really sure about the lack of using a real joystick to move the characters around and properly time and control the sequence for my attacks. I spent a little time in the DoJo initially to go over some practice moves before moving onto Tournament mode.
If you've ever played Street Fighter, you will instantly recognize many familiar characters; Blanka, Ryu, Chu Li, Ken, Guile, Dhalsim, and a new one named Abel. Most of the original moves have been kept for each of the characters, and it wasn't too hard (after some practice) getting used to the virtual joystick. Gameplay is fairly straight forward with movement thats pretty fluid and responsive. Graphics are excellent, especially the 3-D animations of the characters powering up their "special" attacks. In my prior experience with this series, I have trouble with Dhalsim's stretch arms attack (not executing, but avoiding) when I'm on the receiving end.
All of the characters have their own special moves, including fireballs, dragon punches, shocks, etc. Also, the music and sound effects are done well, not too overdone, and not distracting. Capcom claims 7 backgrounds, I haven't been able to see all of them, but the quality in graphics is definitely with the players and not the backgrounds. They are pretty much 2D and not very detailed.
One thing I did notice however is that the orientation of the game will not change if you rotate your iphone, causing the speaker to be located at the top left (I like the opposite orientation better where the speaker is lower right so i can 'mute' it with my palm if i want to).
The controls are pretty large and overlap a generous portion of the bottom half of the screen, but since they are transparent they are definitely not as intrusive as they could be. There is a very large CGI that pre-starts the game (and I'm sure takes up most of the storage for the game). Its cool the first time, but like any CGI, watch it once and move on.
A 2 player mode is available over Bluetooth, but I didn't have an opportunity to try that out. It allows you to challenge a friend in the same room.
Overall, this is a very fun game to play, its quick, responsive, and satisfies my Street Fighter itch nicely. I would love to see more characters show up in future versions, and maybe even a lower price. But currently, this is by far the best executed old school fighting game available, and I highly recommend it if you can muster up the $9.99.
Quick Take
Value: High Quality Game for a High Quality Price.
Would I Buy Again: Yes.
Learning Curve: Built in Tutorials and Dojo make the novice player learn all the moves quickly. Experienced players will find things very familiar!
Who Is It For: Old school fighting game fans!
What I Like: Graphics and Sounds are high quality.
What I Don't: Takes a little time to get used to the controls to execute the "special" moves.
Final Statement: This is the best head to head fighting game currently available for the iPhone. I highly recommend it for anyone who loved this series.
