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I remember having this intriguing conversation with a couple of well-informed
arcade junkies over some caffeine sometime back, who I might add, happen to be
one of the many rebels and wannabe saviors of the arcade generation. I mean,
these are the people who have dedicated their lives to the concept of 'purism in
gaming'. No, they're not extremists, but rather represent a whole bunch of
friendly yet depressed arcade fans who are still trying to deal with the fact
that consoles have indeed invaded and taken over the world. So, with the
interesting prospect of seeing myself become the modern day Gamer's Freud, as
soon as I got my hands on a personal review code of Street Fighter IV, I decided
to have them over for dinner on a weekend. And after much persuasion and horking
down atleast twenty cans of Duff-like beer, I sat them down, handed them a
controller each, and fired up Street Fighter IV. While the elusive intro was
being played, I knew in my mind that things could take an extremely ugly turn if
they didn't happen to like the game, but boy, was I in for surprise.
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If you ask me, a gamer is a lover and a historian rolled into one, and each
great moment in video game history sort of continues to live on in his/her
memory. For instance, Konami's legendary 1-up code in Super Mario Bros. Among
such classic motions embedded in our minds is the Hadoken, a simple forward plus
punch that introduced a brand new era of precision based combat elements to the
generations of fans lurking around Street Fighter II arcade cabinets. The
greatest thing about Street Fighter IV is that it remembers all these things as
fondly as we do. Years might have passed since your last super kick or fireball,
but it will all come rushing back the very instant your fire it up. With a
magnificently harmonious balance of innovation and nostalgia, Street Fighter IV
manages to successfully recapture the sheer competitive excitement and
adrenaline of the early 90s.
All the classic 12 fighters of the series make a thumping return, each one
now with new tricks to learn and master. This practice holds a lot of good for
people who've played the series before, since the level of familiarity will go a
long way in easing the transition to the new mechanics and play elements. Apart
from the 12 usuals, we also have 4 brand new challengers that not only help fill
the combat gaps, but also force the player to learn new techniques. Trust me,
playing as Abel (a heavyweight grappler) is a lot more rewarding than playing as
a re-skinned legend such as Ryu.
The additional fighters play a big part in introducing more depth to the
scene, but the game's robust and rock solid mechanics lend a substantial amount
of longevity to the experience. Fortunately, the controls feel incredibly fluid
and responsive on the analog sticks. For newcomers, character specific training
and challenges can teach the basic moves, allowing the players to hone their
skill in order to pull off complicated combos and ultras.
The new characters and move sets lead to some fascinatingly brutal one-on-one
fights. Through its online offerings, players can fight in ranked battles, setup
bouts with buddies, and even get challenged by people right in the middle of a
single-player bout. Street Fighter IV isn't just a grand tribute; it is a
stupendous refinement of everything glorious of the past, and a trend setter for
the future. It is a distilled iteration of all the good things, the sheer thrill
of competition and victory, powered by solid mechanics. And as one of my dear
arcade junky friends revealed at the end of that momentous day, it is more about
innovative restoration rather than re-invention. The king of fighters is well
and truly back.
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