I became a big fan of Street Fighter ever since Street Fighter II which first came out around 10 years ago. I can still remember the opening theme song until now. When CAPCOM announced Street Fighter IV which will be released on the next generation video game consoles such as Microsoft XBOX 360 and Sony PlayStation 3, I was thrilled. And when it was finally released, I did not hesitate long before purchasing one for myself at around RM 180 or USD 50.

The game plays, looks and sounds great. The designer went with the idea of having a 3D engine and at the same time retaining the 2D gameplay Street Fighter is so famous for. All the character models and also the backgrounds are being made using cell-shading technology. It’s a bit cartoonish with a lot of vibrant colours but at the same time, it looks pretty. I’m just glad that CAPCOM chose not to go with the more advanced 3D gameplay such as those used by Tekken because it would defeat the purpose and the overall feelings on Street Fighter series. But if you think this game is not a 3D game, then you’re wrong because all the animations used by the ultra and super combo moves are being rendered using the in-game engine. Whenever you activate the super or ultra combo moves, the 2D scene will turn into 3D. This is a very nice touch and really gives the epic feeling whenever one manages to execute the combo moves.

As for the character selection, there are about 25 characters. Each of them has his or her own special skills and fighting style. It depends on what kind of playing style suits you more. For me, I’m a big fan of combo moves and that is why I normally use Akuma (or Gouki in Japan version), Ryu and Ken. I’m pretty glad to see some of the older characters in this game but I’m bit disappointed with the exclusion of character such as T-Hawk. There are also few new characters such as the fast moving El Fuerte, the powerhouse Abel, the cunning Rufus and the all-rounder Crimson Viper. Besides these 4 new characters, you can also play Ryu’s and Ken’s master Gouken, and the final boss of Street Fighter 4 Seth.

Other than all these positive points, there are also plenty of different gameplay modes which will last you for quite a while especially the online mode and the challenge mode. The online mode allows you to play with players from all over the world and there is a ranking system built in which will rank you based on your battle points. As for the challenge mode, it is divided into normal and hard modes. Every character will have his or her own challenge mode and most of them consist of very difficult combo moves. Mastering these challenge modes will enable you to use the characters more effectively during the actual online or versus mode.

My only complaint so far for this game is the anime cutscenes used to tell the story during the opening and ending of a character’s Street Fighter journey. Most, if not all, of them do not make sense to me at all. The Japanese animes used are of very low production quality and certainly don’t do this game any favour. It would have been better if the game designer uses the in-game engine to tell the story instead of the lousy animation.

Overall, this is probably the best fighting game I have ever played in a very long while and playing this on the new generation console PlayStation 3 is a very wonderful experience. I will recommend this game to all fighting game fans out there and thanks to its depth, it is suitable for both newcomers and professionals alike. My only suggestion is for you to get the official Street Fight d-pad or the joystick in order to enjoy this game fully and also to prevent your Six Axis or Dual Shock 3 controller from being broken.

Rating: 9