Before we start, you might want to take a look at our Street Fighter Competition, where you and a friend can win a copy of the game!
You’ve probably hummed and hawed about buying Super Street Fighter IV, you most likely own its predecessor just regular Street Fighter IV, what need do you have to buy the sequel…well stop kidding yourself now – Super Street Fighter IV feels like an entirely new game, and not just a basic update. Everything that needed to be fixed from the prequel has been sorted and there a whole heap of brand spanking new features!
Less than a year ago we were manically inputting deadly combos, flipping over Ultra attacks and plotting our next move with the characters in Street Fighter IV. The game was far from perfect but we were willing to let it slide, after all screaming at the television because the other played picked Sagat and you picked Dhalsim was part of the fun.
It was clear from the beginning that the characters lacked a proper balance; anyone who played with Sagat could potentially end a match before the other player had even time to block. Guile was practically a kitten and Bison lacked any real ability to pull of combos. All of these issues have been sorted with the new game, Sagat is no longer the indestructible Muay Thai fighter, his strength has been pulled back and with that his place as the most powerful fighter in the game is lost. Bison and Guile also received some tweaking and are now able to take a fair stand against their other street fighter opponents.
All of the original 25 characters feel as if they have been taken care of, Chun Li is a little stronger, Dhalsim a little tougher and Ryu a little faster – Capcom obviously took notice of what their gaming audience were saying and managed to fix all of the problems.
The game also received some newcomers, ten to be precise – and these were no rush job either. Each character is balanced and it is an enjoyable new challenge to learn their strengths and weaknesses as well as strategising how best to use them against your opponent. We are also treated to new and even better Ultra Combos, some might not be as flashy as the other Ultra’s we are used to pulling off in Street Fighter IV but they are just as deadly and powerful. The introduction of the new characters, the balancing of the old ones and the brand new Ultra combos have kept the gameplay from going stale and we haven’t even begun to talk about the online play.
Street Fighter IV’s online modes were fun but a little rough around the edges, player matchups often felt insane, after all how could a newcomer to the game have any hope of beating a played with 5,000 battle points. Super Street Fighter IV brings new online play, with a more a balanced matchup system, the ability to find and fight with people from the same region and pick the opponent skill level will give you the chance to fight your fellow countrymen but build up battle points as well. There are also new modes of play, including Team Battle and the @rcade’s personal favourite, Endless Battle – where you enter a game of up to 8 players, the winner stays on while those waiting to play can observe and size up their potential opponents. There is also the opportunity to record and save fights, letting you watch over and over again the humiliating defeat you brought upon your opponent or to learn from your own… humble defeat.
We also see two old arcade features returning, the bonus stages – break the barrels and smash up the car, both of which can be disabled if you are not the sort of player who is into kicking the crap out of an innocent car!
This isn’t a game that you can just fob off, a lot of work has gone into making Super Street Fighter IV a great game. Capcom have taken what we the gamers have had to say about their games and they have brought us this new one, just a little over a year after they released it’s prequel. IF you were undecided about buying this game, make up your mind, thank Street Fighter IV for bringing you so many hours of entertainment put it back on the shelf and load up Super Street Fighter IV and prepare to kick ass in a whole new way!
Rent or Buy: BUY?!?!
Gold Coins: 9/10
