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Super Street Fighter 4 Preview

By Jason - February 4, 2010 - 18:00 UTC

Street Fighter has always been an interesting series for me.  I see the appeal, I do, but I’ve just never had the time or money to play it.  When I was growing up, when Street Fighter 2 was king, I didn’t have a console, and I didn’t have cash to play the arcade machines, coming from a family that was borderline poverty.  I have no doubt it’s very likely the best fighting series ever made, this is no surprise to me, but I don’t know, Soul Calibur always end up being the one I played when I finally got a console, forthat’s just the way the cards fell.  Street Fighter 4 came around and passed, and though I wanted to pick it up, I was already swamped with other review work.

So, I come in blind to Super Street Fighter 4. Actually, being at an event where Super Street Fighter 4 was fairly heavily featured was extremely interesting for me.  I was not willing to play, due to the fact I’d never played a Street Fighter game since 2, and my experience was very limited, it was more of a ‘look on’ affair, as full hands on would make me look very foolish, and my fumbling with the controls would take away from my actual intake of the entire experience.  Oh, and I can only handle having my ass handed to me so many times before I get angry and “hulk out”.

Ok, to start out, Super Street Fighter 4 is running the same game engine as its predecessor, which still looks great.  There’s also a confirmed ten new characters and three new levels.  Actually, even with my limited knowledge of the game, I could recognise some of them immediately:  T.Hawk and Dee Jay are back from their previous games, as well as Cody and Guy, from Final Fight fame.  A new face is Juri, a Tae Kwon Do fighter who’s ready to kick ass and chew bubblegum.  There’s also a bunch of gameplay tweaks including a slightly modified collision detection system and some new Ultra moves for each player.

One thing that cracked me up was watching people play with Cody.  Hilariously, as one of his moves, Cody would reach and pick up a knife, using it as a weapon (until he got hit).  It’s a massive shout out to Final Fight, and it’s hilarious to watch.  He also has the ability to reach down and pick up rocks to throw, which whilst not overly powerful, still can make the opponent rethink their strategy.

When you choose your player, you now have the option to change costume (each player has two) and choose your Ultra.  This really opens up a lot of choice, and it’ll be interesting to see how the online scene is.  Just watching Super Street Fighter 4 being played actually has me pretty amped up for the game; it’s a great social game, and everyone had fun whilst playing.  It actually makes me notice how much of the series I’d missed, and how much fun I could have had.  Am I a convert?  Not yet, but maybe once I give the game a sit-down, I will be.

A very special thank you to THQ Australia for the chance to preview these titles.  Also, beer and pizza was enjoyed by all.