Street Fighter IV

So I got my first hands-on experience with Street Fighter IV last night. I gotta say, it's pretty awesome! Takes alot from Third Strike and Super Turbo, and literally falls right in between. Parrying has now been replaced with "Focus Attacks" while cross-ups, multiple hit combos and super moves are still at your disposal. The newest addition - Ultra Combos. WHAT? Ya, crazy.

The new graphics system is wonderful, and doesn't slow down the game one bit which was a concern of mine. Backgrounds are now 3d rendered and the characters still duke it out on a 2d plain. It reminded me of Killer Instinct at first, which had jaw-dropping graphics (for its time) but the controls were a bit on the sluggish side. Street Fighter IV however does not suffer from any sluggish controls, and is right on point; it actually plays like Third Strike. The artwork is absolutely beautiful, the characters look as if they were hand painted with vibrant colors and details. I LOVE IT!

And of course for my maiden voyage, who else would I have chosen? Ken Masters!!

Street Fighter IV, coming to an arcade near you!!
(Hopefully that is, we had to drive nearly an hour just to play.)

- jv