Street Fighter IV (PC)

...Street Fighter IV plot is rather vague if you only play the game, only by watching the anime "Street Fighter IV : The Ties That Binds" you will understand the story. The plot begins Cammy's Team Delta Red task force who are investigating an energy anomaly. Chun-Li and Guile investigate the disappearance of well known martial artists around the world which introduced them to Abel, a new mixed martial arts fighter. Crimson Viper is sent to ...
...The 12 original Street Fighter Characters (Ryu, Ken, Chun-li, Guile, Dhalsim, Blanka, E. Honda, Zangief, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison) are back in action, the later characters (Dan, Sakura, Fei-Long, Rose, Cammy and Gen) are also present as unlockables, also introducing some new fighters :

* Abel, a French mixed martial artist. He is described as an amnesiac, a "man with no past" looking to defeat surviving members of ... more

The Plot

Street Fighter IV plot is rather vague if you only play the game, only by watching the anime "Street Fighter IV : The Ties That Binds" you will understand the story. The plot begins Cammy's Team Delta Red task force who are investigating an energy anomaly. Chun-Li and Guile investigate the disappearance of well known martial artists around the world which introduced them to Abel, a new mixed martial arts fighter. Crimson Viper is sent to capture Ryu on orders from Seth, who knows about Ryu's Satsui no Hadou a very powerful energy and desires it for himself, C.Viper turns out to be an undercover CIA agent. So in short, this Seth guy kidnapped famous martial artists to study and test them so he can harness their powers for his own.

Characters

The 12 original Street Fighter Characters (Ryu, Ken, Chun-li, Guile, Dhalsim, Blanka, E. Honda, Zangief, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison) are back in action, the later characters (Dan, Sakura, Fei-Long, Rose, Cammy and Gen) are also present as unlockables, also introducing some new fighters :

* Abel, a French mixed martial artist. He is described as an amnesiac, a "man with no past" looking to defeat surviving members of Shadaloo.

* Crimson Viper, a female American spy wearing sunglasses, leather gloves and a form-fitting suit. She's equipped with a new experimental fighting gear which allows her to harness the power of electricity and fire.

* Rufus, an overweight Kung Fu fighter, who seeks to fight Ken to prove himself as the best fighter in the United States (the ugliest of all character in my opinion)

* El Fuerte (Spanish for "The Strong One"), a Mexican wrestler and aspiring gourmet chef (weird combination).

The Big Baddies and Hidden Characters are :

* Seth, also known as "The Puppet Master", is the new boss character. He is the Chief Executive Officer of S.I.N., a weapon manufacturer. His body has been modified using advanced technology, resulting him look less human. His ability to master other character's skills making him a fearsome foe.

* Akuma, a recurring hidden character, appears in the arcade version as a secret final boss in the single-player mode, he represent the evil energy know as "Satsui no Hadou".

* Gouken, Ryu and Ken's master and the elder brother of Akuma.

Gameplay

Street Fighter IV features models and backgrounds rendered in 3D, whoever the gameplay remains on a traditional 2D plane. The camera angel will move freely between 2D & 3D plane at certain times during fights for better viewing of the dramatic effect. A new system called "Focus Attacks" is implemented, as well as Super and Ultra moves. The traditional six-button control scheme returns, with extra keys such as one button for two buttons combo for easier gameplay. This game also features "online multiplayer gameplay via internet", buy stuff from points you collect by winning battles to unlock new things, etc".

Focus Attacks

Focus Attacks, is a new system that is being introduced in Street Fighter IV. The focus attack is a move that allows the player to absorb an attack and launch a counter attack, so in short your character is immune to one single normal blow then launch a powerful counter attack. The longer the player charge the attack, the more powerful the attack will be. If the buttons are held long enough the attack will be unblockable and cause the opponent to crumple slowly to the ground. This move cost half segment of the super combo gauge (the gauge has several segments).

Ultra Combos

In addition to the Super moves introduced in Street Fighter IV, the game also introduces a new type of powered-up special move called Ultra Combo. Ultra Combos are longer and more cinematic moves and also the most powerful one. Aside from the Super Combo gauge, there is also an Ultra Combo gauge (officially known as the "Revenge Gauge" or "Revenge Meter"), whoever the Super Combo gauge fills up when the player hits their opponent or performs a special move, the Revenge Gauge on the other hand fills when one takes damage from their opponent. Revenge gauge can't be carried to the next round should you win a round without using it. And it depletes if not used.

However for me, timing is crucial in this game. Players need to know when to block, to counter and to attack your opponent. As blindly bashing your keyboard or controller won't help you.

Windows version additions

The Windows version of Street Fighter IV includes all the features found in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game features online play via Games for Windows - LIVE and Steam, with built-in voice chat and PC-exclusive achievements, but no cross-platform playability. The windows version also features higher resolutions, and three new freely selectable visual styles, named "Ink", "Watercolor" and "Posterize".

My thoughts

There aren't many good fighting games for PC nowadays and this game really covers that hollow gap. I am not a big fighting game fan but I am a fan of Street Fighter series since I was a kid starting from the original comic books. The visual are colorful but doesn't hurt the eyes, the characters and background are rendered beautifully with hand-drawn effects. I like to see the people on the background fell down everytime the screen shaking because a character just got slammed to the floor he..he..he. The voice acting are both in English and Japanese, you are free to choose according to your preference, English subtitle provided. However a control pad is strongly recommended, it's possible to use keyboard but it's very difficult to get use to it and may end up ruining it ha..ha..ha..ha. So I think this game is worth it, try it if you like Street Fighter or Fighting genre.

System requirements

Minimum :

Windows XP or Windows Vista
Pentium 4 2.0GHz or higher
1 GB or higher
4.5 GB of free space
DirectX 9.0c/Shader3.0 or higher compatible, NVIDIA GeForce6600 series, ATI Radeon(TM) X1600 or higher, VRAM 256MB or higher
DirectSound compatible, DirectX 9.0c (or higher) compatible

Recommended :

Windows XP or Windows Vista
Intel Core2Duo 2.0GHz or higher
2 GB or higher
4.5 GB of free space
DirectX 9.0c/Shader3.0 or higher compatible, NVIDIA GeForce8600 series or higher, ATI Radeon(TM) X 1900 or higher, VRAM 512MB or higher
DirectSound compatible, DirectX 9.0c (or higher) compatible 

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