Super Street Fighter IV

Some gamers are annoyed at the release of Super Street Fighter IV, saying that Capcom are basically trying to selling people a game they already own with a bunch of new characters thrown in. Whining that the game should be DLC, that it’s been released too soon after Street Fighter IV and generally making out like they’re being forced to buy shiny, new titles as soon as they hit the shelves. Those gamers should probably shut their mouths, they’re coming across about as intelligent and informed as the Left 4 Dead 2 boycotters did a few months back and just how silly do they feel these days? That’s right – pretty damn silly. Street Fighter IV was 40 bucks when it came out, over a year ago and it was well worth the money. Super Street Fighter 4 is out this week and is also worth 4o bucks, but it’s not being sold for that price, it’s being sold for £25!

Every character from Street Fighter IV returns, playable from the get-go and with brand new arcade story scenes. Added to the rosta are 10 more characters, 8 familiar, well-loved faces from previous versions and two brand new ones – Korean bad girl Juri, who will curse your hits instead of crying out in pain and turkish oil wrestler Hakkan who has one of the most wonderfully disturbing ultras you are ever likely to see. An extra ultra combo has been added for all characters; each as creative and impressive looking as the last. Players must choose at the start of each round and the choice of ‘I’ or ‘II’ is clearly displayed on the Revenge Gauge. The Time Attack and Survival challenges have been done away with but Trial mode remains The trials are all unlocked at the start making it far less frustrating when trying to learn tricky new combos. If you get stuck, you can move on to something else for a while.  Taunts and colours are far more easily unlocked, there are funky new background stages and bonus rounds are back.

Apparently, there’s been some tweaking and re-balancing of the over-powered and weaker characters.  Hopefully with extra characters gaining more of a competitive chance there’ll be a bit of a break from having to fight Ryu and Ken over and over again, fingers crossed. I did manage to complete the arcade mode on normal, something that I’ve not been able to do in Street Fighter IV. ‘Ave it, Seth!

The online modes have been greatly improved. All modes now have hidden character select.  Endless Battle allows you to create a lobby for up to 8 players. While two at a time duke it out the others in the party can spectate. Winner stays on and the next player attempts to knock them off their perch.  Team Battle, is, quite simply, a team battle, allowing for teams of two, three or four players. Ranked matches remain unchanged but battle points are awarded for each individual character you use. Jump into the replay channel and you can save and watch your played matches (by yourself or in a party) and uploaded, ranked fights from all over the world. Very useful if you really want to improve your game or just show-off one of your favourite wins. Tournament mode will be unavailable until June 15th when it will be released as free DLC.  A forgiveable wait when the game already has so much to offer.