This is another 15 minute review. I hate working my second job on Saturday. I think this time I'll spend it reviewing something worth reviewing:



I should warn you that I play Street Fighter IV a specific way. Here it is:

HADOKEN HADOKEN HADOKEN HADOKEN HADOKEN HADOKEN HADOKEN HADOKEN HADOKEN HADOKEN HADOKEN HADOKEN

Eventually I do win, but this strategy tends to keep me out of the good schools....I mean higher difficulties. I played on Easy thinking this was the lowest difficulty...I did pretty well...until....THIS GUY!



Let's put it this way: I almost brought the game back. The neighbors called me to see if everything was ok because I was swearing so much! The controller went in the air once too. That made me angrier because I had to put the battery back in the slot and reconnect the controller. Finally I gave up and realized there was an "Easiest" difficulty.

But I digress. The game is beautiful, and has fostered some wonderful multiplayer. I bought this game with no prior knowledge of what it looked like. I was so blown away by it that this is the game I use to demonstrate the HD ability of my TV and the XBox. The game itself is just as fun as previous Street Fighter games (even more so because of how awesome the characters look). All of the characters from the original Street Fighter II make an appearance, some SF Alpha characters return, and there are a few "noobs." Only Fei Long and Cammy have survived from Super Street Fighter II (no Dee Jay and T.Hawk, but you won't miss them).

Each character has their own storyline. I love the built in cutscenes that explain it. They also use individual victory speeches. No more "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance." Each person uses a victory speech individual to the person they are fighting. You even get treated to a surprise several matches in. "NOW! Fight Your Rival!" Every character has a specific rival. THe other matches are randomized.

The only other thing that annoys me (other than that stupid boss) is the announcer. The sayings are really stupid. "Which one of these fighters will prove the old axiom today!" I haven't checked the options on how to shut this off.

I haven't tried online multiplayer, but local multiplayer is hella fun whether you are a HADOKEN spammer like me, a noob, or an expert.

Gameplay: 9
Story: 9
Music/Sound/Graphics: 10

Overall: 9

Total play time: 5 hours
Time to write review: 25 minutes (DAMMIT)
Status of game: Safe on the DVD rack