Super Street Fighter IV

Super Street Fighter IV is a fighting game masterpiece to put it simply. There are 10 new characters added to the game from Street Fighter IV in 09, along with new stages, a new announcer and new balance to the characters. With 35 characters, challenge and training modes, and a robust online selection, this game is the full package. Each character has a strongly individual feel when you play as them, and many have a unique fighting style. This results in matches feeling wildly different depending on what characters are fighting.  The storyline is silly and told through a short anime scene at the start and end of each characters arcade mode. They are short, horribly written and poorly animated but thankfully this game doesn't need a story to carry it. 
 

   
 
 The graphics and art style of this game are exceptionally attractive. The game's art style is like a painting, with exaggerated muscle's and body features on many characters. The models are all 3D but the game stays with a 2D plane. This was a brilliant stylistic choice as it allows some great camera movement between 2D and 3D during ultra moves. Character models all look great and the effects for projectiles and Ultra Combos are simply breath-taking.    Animations are hugely impressive, as you can see the expressions on characters faces change as they take hits and during special moves. Their bodies ripple with each blow and the frame rate holds up during all of this. The use of colour in the game is vivid and rich, as all characters have fantastic dress and appearances. Some of the stages are great backdrops for fights, with solar eclipse being my personal favourite as you watch animals in the background, all rendered in fantastic style and detail.    

 
The sound is well done, with music fitting the fights playing during them. The menu music is classic street fighter stuff, and the sounds of the actual characters hurling their moves and blows at each other is great. The sounds of slaps and smacks in combat are crisp and add excitement to the battles, building on what the music already sets up. Sadly the indestructible song form Street Fighter IV is missing this time, but we can do without.   

 
Gameplay is fantastic in Super Street Fighter IV. Balance is at the heart of each character, and its amazing that with a roster of 35, Capcom managed to maintain it across them all. The use of different characters against others changes the pace of battles significantly, but there is always a strategy which can be used to regain momentum. Its a brilliant system and does a lot to mitigate the spamming of certain moves online. The game has a challenge and training mode to get new players acquainted with the controls, but the game becomes incredibly deep once you get into it. There are focus attacks which can be used to break blocking, and then the normal selection of moves for each character. There are 2 bars for players to keep track of as they play, the super meter and the ultra meter. The Super meter fills as you land attacks and fight normally, while the Ultra meter builds up as you take damage. You use the super meter to use better and more elaborate combo's which you can combine with normal moves to really lay down some pain. Ultra moves are the strongest game and normally result in the most impressive visuals and damage in the game. The beautiful thing is that many of these are avoidable and timing is everything in this game. You can even use a quarter of your Super meter to perform Ex versions of Special Moves, which generally strike in different ways than the normal versions, adding another layer of strategy to the already incredible combat. There is a huge level of depth to this combat, and it all happens fluidly on screen. The arcade single player is a nice place to practice but online is where you skills will really be tested, and provided you meet the right kind of players this game is a blast online with multiple modes including endless battle and team matches.  
 

 
There is also an impressive replay channel in this game, allowing you to watch the best players and how they use the characters. This can be useful for developing strategies of your own and aiding your own play. It would have been nice if they allowed you to select more specifically what fighter you want to watch but its still a nice inclusion in the game. The online has been improved since 09, though I do still get the no matches found message far too often. You acquire player points as you win, and battle points which are character specific, allowing you to try out other characters without risking a drop in points which you earned with your main characters. Its a brilliant and thoughtful system. Load times are short and the game design is such that the game is easy to begin playing, and difficult to master the deep and character specific combat. 
 
The game has enough content to entertain for dozens of hours, something which few fighting games do for me. The graphics and sound are fantastic and fitting for the game. The gameplay is fast, fun and easy to dig into, and deep enough so that you're always discovering new ways to chain combos, and the challenge mode and training rooms compliment this. Its clear that a huge amount of effort was put into balancing this game, and the matches run beautifully and the controls are tight and responsive. This game is a sublime experience and probably the best fighting game I have ever played, an easy recommendation.    
 

     
 
 
Pros:    

• Gorgeous graphics and style 
• Animations are truly impressive and colour scheme is eye-catching 
• The combat is deep and difficult to learn, but rewarding when you do, and fluid at all times
• The characters each feel unique, and the pacing of combat genuinely changes depending on who you are using 
• 35 selectable characters 
• Online has improved from its predecessor, and replays are a nice addition  
• Balance is strong in the game, preventing the overpowering of any particular character             

 
Cons:  

• The anime scenes for the storyline are poorly written and animated, and fail to explain anything 
•  Some of the training instructions are unclear 
•  Match-making still has an issue getting matches  

            
  Wtf:  

• Hakan is covered in oil in a tournament that includes people who can throw fire

Score: 

• 9/10

Incredibly fun and deep game, but lack of any kind of story and some niggling matchmaking issues hinder it.