If you’ve ever played a SF game before (ok, maybe not 1), then you’ll probably know what to do straight of the park with SFIV. Whilst there are some elements of the gameplay found in SF3, Aplha, and Capcom vs Marvel games, SFIV is basically a re-honed, re-toned SFII in 3D, except not, as unlike just about any other modern fighter, you still fight in only 2 planes. This actually seems to increase the amount of strategy needed to be successfully, precisely because you can’t dodge and roll around the map.

 

 

The fighting gameplay is tight, even on the 360 controller. Whilst I’m sure that those with fightsticks do get an advantage, the 360 controller is actually accurate enough for anyone put the biggest purists out there. All the moves look and feel fantastic with the new animations and special effects, and it’s a real joy to pull of some of the more complicated stuff, giving you a real sense of achievement.

 

There’s plenty of modes on top of arcade, including the interesting challenge mode, which rewards people nicely for completing certain objectives. And playing through all the different modes also helps you earn titles and icons which you adorn your online badge with as bragging rights, which is a pretty neat feature.

 

There are two downsides to the game, however. First is the difficulty. Capcom claimed that SFIV would be accessible even to newcomers to the franchise. It isn’t. At all. I’ve put hundreds of hours into SF games over the last 10-15 years and I still suck at the game. Big time. Even on easiest I still really struggle to get through the entire arcade mode. Second is the training mode. If you were hoping the game would teach you to get better- it won’t. Training mode doesn’t even tell you the right button to press.

 

 

It’s confusing, especially as the moves don’t swap over if you are facing your opponent from the opposite side to what the move list would like. This is pretty unacceptable and makes learning the special moves way harder than it should be. You could also argue with the character list to an extent. The fact Cammy isn’t unlocked straight away is annoying, and the inclusion of Rufus and a couple of other characters is odd for fans who haven’t played since 2, but you’ll get over it.