Super Street Fighter IV

I feel it is my duty to tell anyone who is thinking of buying this game that it will ruin your life, yesterday me and two friends played this game non-stop from 5pm to 3am. During this time frame we all had intense highs, crushing low points, bouts of eyestrain, bouts of insanity, anger issues, ego problems and by the end of it massive fatigue. All of this, in my opinion, proves how fresh Capcom have kept the Street Fighter series, I have been a huge fan of the franchise for years, having Street Fighter II on the SNES was the start of it all. Since then any Street Fighter game or Capcom cross-over has been an addiction for me, going round after round with a friend just doesn't get old.

Super Street Fighter IV is, obviously, not an entirely new game which may irritate some of the original SFIV fans, having to shell out another £25 to update their game may not sound appealing, but this is not just a few extras and a new package, the entire game has been rewritten and rebalanced to account for the 10 new characters and extra ultra combos. I personally thought that the original SFIV didn't quite hold up against SFIII 3rd Strike, I was a huge fan of the parry system, the incredibly detailed hand-drawn artwork, the cast and the feel of the game, I would have personally recommended Street Fighter III as the best SF title around. Super Street Fighter IV changes all of that, the extra content changes the entire feel of the game, the new ultras add more variety, the new characters are all something new and worth getting to grips with (especially the SFIII characters which i felt were completely over looked in the original SFIV) the trials feel sleeker and more helpful, the new online modes are great, the bonus stages are an enjoyable little extra and even the tiny little additions like being able to have the character theme music on Vs rather than the regular stage music are a nice touch.

Effectively what I'm saying is buy this game, I know this review is a little unbalanced since I am a huge Street Fighter fan and more-so a big fan of fighting games in general, so for me this game feels like the holy grail of the fighting genre. I can understand how the nostalgia, intense spirit of competition and undeniable series pedigree won't be there for people who are just fans of first person shooters, strategy games etc. But even then I would advise them to pick up a copy because it is the top end of a fantastic series of games that everyone should at-least try. In writing this I have realised I have spent half an hour not playing SSFIV and it hurts.

Even though SSFIV has been released one year after SFIV reinvigorated the fighting game genre, there are plenty of fans of the series who will pick this up. The big changes are the introduction of 10 new fighters (2 completely new to the series as a whole), more online modes to lose hundreds of hours to and a more streamlined challenge section (no time trials, survival mode etc) that focuses on special moves and combos for every character which get progressively more difficult.

On the surface, not a great deal has changed. The intro isn't as eye-catching as last year's game, but we're not here to watch intros all day. All characters are unlocked from the start so having to fight your way through arcade mode to unlock everyone isn't a necessity, but you will have to do so if you want to unlock all colours and taunts for your favourites. I started with Gouken (my character of choice from SFIV) and immediately noticed that the timings for all the moves have been tweaked slightly. I would argue that this is a little less forgiving than SFIV, but others (including many professional reviews) have said that this is actually more welcoming for the newcomer. I would disagree, but everyone is different so perhaps you may find it easier to pick up than any previous iteration of the game. The bonus stages make a return and while they're nice to have, as soon as I was able to, I switched them off as they kind of get in the way. The nostalgic amongst you may enjoy having them there, but personally, I'm happy to ignore them. You still have the same amount of fights before you face your rival and you can still select how many rounds you face per fight. Arcade fight requests are still present.

Apart from the timings of the moves and combos, I also noticed that damage has been tweaked slight as well so you have to work a little harder to win. I think it's common knowlege that every character has an additional ultra combo to use, but you have to select one before you fight.

Of the two characters, I have spent the most time with Hakan, a red Turkish oil Wrestler. In typical Capcom fashion, he is an extreme caricature who is wonderfully over the top. His entire move-set is based on oiling himself up and sliding himself over the opponent before projecting them across the screen. All of his moves are easy to perform and he seems to be a little over-powered, but having progressed through 18 of his challenges, I can see myself using this character online from time to time.

Online works the same as before. There are ranked and unranked matches to choose from and your country flag is displayed along with your gamertag, icon and title. The connection seems to be just as solid as before and the new modes (team battle and endless battle) add more variety to the online modes. Each character can be ranked up to show your proficiency with a particular character and you can track the stats of each one separately in your player data screen (very detailed). I've played a few ranked matches and I thought that everyone was picking the random character select option, but it appears that your view of the other person is obscured until you have both selected a character. No big deal, but worth mentioning if you tend to select a character to counter your opponent's selection.

All in all, a fantastic addition to the series which will appeal to fans and newcomers alike. It is a far more online focused package this time around with plenty of variety in the modes with less challenges to complete. Only you can decide if you think it's worth paying £20-25 for this updated version, but if for whatever reason you did not pick up SFIV, then Super SFIV is the version to buy.

I haven't stopped playing this game in over a week. And I haven't even beat Arcade mode with more than a handful of characters.
There's so much to do, from training to perfect your skills, challenge mode for fun or to get in some more practice! The more you play as a character, the more you unlock for them. And then you have online play!
You meet alot of spammers and alot of very skilled people but if that's not for you, then simply play with friends.
This game is a MUST for any Street Fighter fan. Hours...No! Months worth of fun to be had!

My Street Fighter days ended back in the days of Alpha 3...And then along came Street Fighter IV and it was...Meh, alright. Still not enough to revive my passion for fighting.
And then they come along with Super Street Fighter IV and I remember now, why I loved the series so much.
This game also see's the return of some old faces, aswell as a few new ones.
Cody being my favorite old face!
Words can't describe how much fun this. If you call yourself a Street Fighter fan, then what are you waiting for? Buy it! You won't regret it!

Don't forget to oil up!

You'll see what I mean!