Down, Down Forward, Forward Punch

Down, Down Forward, Forward Punch

It's been about 10 years since the last 2D Street Fighter game was released, and oh has it been a long wait. Since the late 90's up until now, consoles have been plagued with mediocre 3D fighters with not many developers going the retro 2D route. Street Fighter even tried to tap into that market with the "EX" series which went downhill from the start. Sure, you had the Marvel vs Capcom games which indeed raised the bar for 2D fighters, but they were so short lived and you can't find one without dipping into your savings. It was time for a change. It was time to take it back.
The long awaited Street Fighter 4 finally hit the market, giving avid fans that nostalgic feeling of being 8, sitting around the old TV with a bunch of friends, and getting the infamous "Street Fighter Thumb." It is the game we remember. Right off the bat you realize that this is not an easy game, as it has always been, but after a few rounds and pauses to check your character's move-list you start to get the hang of it. While the game play may be easy to learn, it takes years to master. Someone new to the series will have a difficult time playing against people who've been playing for years. One of the few draw backs to the game is that it is not too welcoming to people who have never played a Street Fighter game. The training mode is helpful to some degree, but it's not an efficient method for learning basic offensive and defensive techniques. That comes with just trial and error or learning from a friend who's been playing for awhile. What is helpful is the challenge mode which teaches you button combinations for doing combos which will definitely progress your ability as a player.
The visualizations are amazing. Plenty of time and effort went into all the character models, animations, and backdrops to make this the prettiest Street Fighter to date. The color is vivid and the frame-rate is very smooth. The game was released on both the PS3 and the Xbox 360. In terms of controls, I feel the PS3 has somewhat of an advantage due to the design of the D-pad. The 360's D-pad resides on an axis while the PS3 does not, which makes directional inputs a bit more accurate. You can, on the other hand, use the 360's left joystick instead of d-pad, which took a while to get used to, but proved to be just as efficient in the end. Both systems do offer an arcade style joystick accessory that substitutes the use of a controller for those who prefer that.
All in all Street Fighter 4 has indeed carried the torch of its predecessors and has not drifted too far off path. If the Super Nintendo and Genesis had the technology consoles do today, this is what it would have played and looked like. It met the needs of both long time fighters as well as people new to fighting games. If you're a Street Fighter fan, this game is a must have. If you're looking just to try something new, renting it first would probably be the best option. Either way, it's worth the experience.