I'm fairly impressed wth the presentation of the newest entry in the lore. Little things like the artwork inside the game's jewel case featured the inky, heavy outlined style the project has established for itself caught my attention off the bat. Not only because Capcom's artwork is always top shelf material, but this is something a lot of Blu-ray movies and games with clear cases in general neglect. If I spend $60 on a game, the inside better not be devoid of any artistic effort. Minor detail, but something to mention. Booting up, you'll hear the game's main theme, "The Next Door" by J-Pop group Exile. Sure, it sounds a tad High School Musical-ish but it's incredibly catchy and you'll probably be singing it all day long at work.
Other music on the soundtrack is good, but not "blow your mind" great. The techno-driven selections for the new stages aren't bad, but just won't end up being as memorable as the classic themes from SF2. Oddly enough those very tunes are remixed on the online battle menus and are preferable to listen to. The only real big downer with the presentation are the anime cut scenes that are nothing short of laughable.
Good lord, it looks like some low budget crap that would've looked even pretty bad by last decade's stadards. In-game cinematics would have been a better route, but meh.
All this other stuff is good to dabble with, but the meat is online play. For me, this was the deciding factor in getting it for the 360 or PS3. The biggest complaint I had about HD Remix on 360 is that I needed to pony up eight bucks every month to just play against other folks. PS3's online play, as well documented, is free. If you plan on playing this game repeatedly for months on end, save yourself some money and get the PS3 version. Xbox Live is awesome, but 50 bucks a year to do pretty much the same thing I'm doing now for nothing seems a tad steep. But anyways, I have yet to have been able to connect to a lobby to jump into a session. I never had this problem on 360 with any game I've played online, so I guess you get what you pay for?
I can, however, host a game and wait for people to join or send out invites to my friend list and that seems to work out well. Even on slower connections the game handles alright. There can be dropped sessions, but it's a non-issue since it doesn't happen often. Online competition can be one of three things. 1. An expert player who will kick your ass so easily, you question your soul 2. A player on your level you can go toe-to-toe with or 3. Either a n00b or a cheap jackass player who uses nobody but Ken, Ryu, or Akuma and cheeses you with Hadokens and such the entire match, then acting like they have skill. Google search "Ken Flowchart" to see what I mean. This is a major problem, lol!
Now, it is possible to beat the n00bs since the game is better balanced, but you guys have GOT to stop with the Ken cheese! I swear 95% of the people I run into online use Ken! Why is he so popular? Because he's a cheap bastard. *covers face from stones about to be thrown in the comments*
Street Fighter IV is the best next-gen fighting game I've played yet (Rest assured, Tekken 6 is comin' for dat ass, though). There's enough classic references and a plethora of new additions/tweaks to appeal to anyone willing to give it a try. Be forewarned though, the game's difficulty is frustrating if you haven't touched the series in years. Well, I take that back. I was pretty darn good at HD Remix and I was getting my ass handed to me on Medium. You will end up chucking your contoller right for you TV after fighting Seth (the final boss) if you don't take the time to practice on the lower settings first. He's not cheap in the traditional sense, just hard to predict since he has moves from every single character in the game. On higher settings, I wouldn't say he's impossible to beat, but you're going to have be on top of your game. Otherwise, go ahead and prepare to buy a new HDTV because you're going to "Hulk it" in frustration.
Other than that, I have no big nitpicks here. Issues with the controls can be fixed with a fightpad purchase, the graphics are awesome (even though it runs at 720p, but higher resolutions will be available on the PC version), the electronica/pop soundtrack is slightly above average (could have been better, but meh), features a good cast of characters new and old, and online is solid. If you like fighting games in the least bit, even you casual folks, Street Fighter IV is a no-brainer purchase.
Pros:
Easy to learn, hard to master gameplay mechanics
Beautiful graphics (Cammy's bare ass never looked so spankable XD)
Character balance leads to fair fights more reliant on skill majority of the time
Cons:
Playstation Network online play pales to what Xbox Live can offer at the end of the day
Both console controllers have their faults; you need to purchase an arcade stick or fight pad if you're serious about SFIV. If you don't own this yet, get the PC version bundle as it includes the 360 version of the pad for free.
Difficulty can be off setting for casual players
Anime cut scenes look horrid. Poorly animated and obviously thrown together at the last minute
