http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9599&Itemid=59
By Edge
The scene couldn’t have been at greater odds with the tentative origins of Street Fighter IV. Chun-Li cosplayers courted the queues, patrons sat goggle-eyed at the first playable machines, and, in an AOU Show thick with fighting games, the hall echoed with the sounds of spinning bird kicks and hundred-hand slaps. After ten years, the church of Street Fighter was open again for the faithful.
Readers of Edge’s Street Fighter IV Unwrapped feature will know much of what was shown: a six-button layout, familiar fights, an efficient new reversal called the Saving Attack, and a fetching shader that combines accented brush strokes with traditional cel-shading. Freed of painting every last pixel of every frame of animation, Capcom has touted this as the most fluent, emotive, naturally cartoony Street Fighter yet – and for good reason.
In taking to the stage for an intro, producer Yoshinori Ono described the vision of series creator Yoshiki Okamoto: of a beat ’em up parody that evolved into one of the most popular, competitive games in history. That vision is the driving force behind the new game’s look, its entrance and victory sequences as overblown as its characters’ forearms. With sessions limited to ten consecutive wins, no one really had time to acquaint themselves with this, most contenting themselves with the utterly faithful hit-boxes, move-sets and pace.
In a line-up of favorites, among them Zangief, Blanka, Chun-Li and Guile, Ryu and Ken were the obvious favorites, the dark horse being Dhalsim and his treacherous ability to warp about the screen. Between them, they left little doubt as to the game’s classic balance of agility, power, attack and defense; in what’s fast becoming a trite observation, this was at heart the same old Street Fighter II. The overwhelming urge to revisit rather than explore meant that few used new characters Abel and C Viper, which was a shame considering these two MMA fighters give the best insight into a delicately modernized dynamic.
A faster, more aggressive and, above all, French version of Zangief, Abel mixes pro-wrestling with traditional martial arts. C Viper is a supersonic striker with a curious love of aerial elbow drops – and an immediate hit with those who dared select her. So tuned are the newcomers to the game’s boisterous animation that they, more than any of the original World Warriors, make you comfortable with the new aesthetic. Still, there was fun to be had in watching the traditionalists – most of the audience, it seemed – wrestling with their loyalty to those ancient pixels.
For a trade show debut, it was a rigorous test. As players explored the available stages, particularly an airfield full of taxiing jets and patrolling jeeps, the occasional glitch saw characters clip through the 3D props. Was it out of keeping with a game still in beta? Enough to spoil this stunning renovation? Of course not. For a fighter out of retirement, SFIV handled superbly at AOU Show – and this was just the sparring session.
