HOLD ON, CAN YOU STILL CALL THEM ‘THE NEW CHALLENGERS‘ IF THEY’VE BEEN AROUND FOR SIXTEEN YEARS?! YOU CAN? THAT’S WEIRD…

Well, it’s been a year, two months and 10 day separation between SFIV and the upgraded SUPER SFIV (roughly). For a lot of us Street Fighter super-fans the idea of a separate game based on what looks like a simple update has garnered a lot of odd looks. ‘Why can’t they just give it to us in a download?’ was the argument. And I have to say that I held onto that thought since the announcement right through when I picked it up at Matt’s house. After several minutes I knew the truth. At this point I’m sure you’re wondering whether or not all the hubbub warrants the $40 price tag. Click the link to find out.

Anyone that’s read my review on the original SFIV knows that I love the series – almost to the point where my family and friends should worry. And instead of going on some long rant about how great this long standing series is, I’ll just go over what Capcom had served up with this release – and maybe just a little rant after that. Let’s address the big stuff: first off the character list. Eight world warriors come from past Street Fighter Games (even Final Fight – cool yeah?) while two all new characters – Hakan and Juri join us. Hakan, by the way, is one of the most disturbing characters to hit a fighting game in a very looooong time (try his Ultra Combos, you’ll see). Characters include Ibuki, Makoto, Adon, T. Hawk, Guy, Cody, Dee Jay and Dudley which bring the fighter list up to 35. It’s also noteworthy that, for good or bad, Capcom developers have officially lost their taste for unlockable characters and stages – so don’t expect any. New environments along with the return of Car and Barrel stages are a long-awaited and welcome addition (I still wish the bricks bonus stage made the cut too… oh well). There’s a noticeable polish on the graphics making them even more pretty and distracting (Adon doesn’t seem to fit right for whatever reason, but whatever, screw him). The post-fight cut-scenes get a boost and give new insight into what each character think about one another. The storyline even continues on post SFIV which was a very good idea.

And let’s not forget about the gameplay improvements. Besides the graphical upgrades, there’s been a lot of tweaking in timing and smoothness of moves. A second Ultra Combo has been added and the much needed character re-balancing is exactly what the doctor ordered (and yes I know how I raved about the perfect balance from IV, but I soon realized that all you had to do was choose Sagat on the character select screen and your opponent lost a third of their health). A video replay option and replay channel has been added and automatically saves every online match you fight, which is very cool. Team battles featuring 2 x 2, 3 x 3 and 4 x 4 finally make their way into the fold. Voice chat is now available…I could go on and on here. So get that ‘add-on’ crap out of your head – this is just a couple notches away from a full-on sequel. Get some.

Even at a close look there’s not a lot to gripe about with SSFIV. A Tournament Mode will be available via download in June, though it would have been nice right off the bat. The addition of the Barrel & car stages means the absence of a Survival and Time Attack Mode – does leaving out staples of the genre feel weird and unnecessary to anyone else?! Anyways, everything else pertains to online multiplayer. There’s an online leaderboard but there’s no option to view the top players’ replays. You have to cruise around player’s stats to see if they’re worth watching. Speaking of watching replays, as you watch there’s no way to pause or rewind the action. So if your buddy’s kicking your ass you’re gonna have to watch real carefully in the provided slow-motion play in order to see what they’re doing that you’re not. Overall a few little things aren’t 100% – big whoop.

Well, that about covers it. Capcom did everything right. They even threw in special effects for your character’s outfits if you have saved data for SFIV. For the $40 price tag you couldn’t ask for a better deal. If you own SFIV and are on the fence – then get your ass off and make the buy. If you have yet to pick up a next-gen Street Fighter game then go out right now, like this minute, and grab this latest release. You still there? You are? Know what, just forget it, I’ll stop typing.