Review - Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition

The next installment of this influential fighter.

When any gamer mentions the 2D beat em’ up genre, the first thing that pops into your mind is Ryu throwing a hadouken -- that is the iconic status of Street Fighter. Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition is an updated version of this generation’s staple fighter, which comes either on a standalone disc or as downloadable content. SSIV:AE adds a handful of new characters, tweaks the online content and rebalances the fighting mechanics. For hardcore fans of the series looking for the most up-to-date version of Street Fighter IV, Arcade Edition is certainly a necessity for you. On the other hand, players who enjoy a casual brawl every once in a while could find it hard to justify purchasing the extra content or buying another version of a game they already own.

SSFIV:AE follows in the steps of the first alteration to the series, Super Street Fighter IV, but does not add the same amount of content as the aforementioned. However, four very engrossing characters join the roster, Evil Ryu controlled by the dark-hadou, Oni who shares similarities with Akuma and Street Fighter 3^rd Strike favourites Yun and Yang, the quick-fighting twins.

Evil Ryu is not happy to see you!

It is not surprising that Evil Ryu and Oni share similarities in both their move-sets and aesthetics to Akuma, in essence only adding variation as opposed to stand-alone new characters. Their strong offence and easy combo ability is balanced by their low health and ability to take huge damage. Yun and Yang however, are certainly stand-out characters -- providing exciting rush-offence by constantly being in the face of their opponent and beating them down with lighting fast attacks. Naturally hardcore fans will of course lean towards playing with Yun and Yang because they are so different to the rest of the roster -- but the lack of challenge mode incorporation of these four new characters means newcomers do not have an easy way to learn their combos and advanced moves. This is certainly a big omission as the challenge mode was a staple part of any gamers’ way to learn the intricate elements of the characters they played with.

Oni laying waste to Evil Ryu.

The rebalancing of the overall game has made Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition a different experience than its predecessor but is only noticeable to the hardcore gamers. For example, Ryu’s hurricane kick has had it’s backwards movement path modified to make it harder to avoid attacks with and Bolrog’s strafe cross now has a larger recovery time -- how many casual gamers will really pick these out as a points of interest? Most projectile-based characters have been modified slightly but these tweaks and changes won’t affect casual play in the slightest as characters are ultimately still themselves.

The hard-hitting twins enter the roster.

A welcome change has been made to the online experience -- allowing players with Arcade Edition toeither battle using the Super Street Fighter IV balancing of characters, or Arcade Edition. This is handy if you are not happy with how characters have been changed in the new installment of the series and just gives gamers that little bit of choice and versatility. Of course online battling is an integral part of any Street Fighter game, so Capcom have ensured that a high quality service is present with no lag issues visible through my experiences online.

Super Street Fighter IV deserves kudos for its availability as a downloadable expansion for those who own Super Street Fighter IV, or as a standalone disc at a budget price for gamers looking to get into this generations’ Street Fighter. The changes made, predominantly the rebalancing of characters is a welcome addition to the hardcore gamers but will certainly not harm a casual players’ experience with the game. The four new characters are nice additions, with Yun and Yang being the highlights by a particularly long way and the revamped online experience helps fans of Street Fighter battle it out in even smoother conditions. Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition is an excellent beat em’ up that continues Street Fighter’s dominance as one of the iconic franchises in video game history.

7.5 | Gameplay |

Rebalanced mechanics make SSFIV:AE technically, the best installment in the series yet. Difficult learning curve between casual and hardcore players.

9.0 | Presentation |

A beautiful visual design both for characters and backgrounds make this a great game to look at.

9.0 | Replay Value |

The best online experience to date ensures gamers get the most out of this brawler.

7.5 | Final Thoughts |

Fighting games are not easy to pick up, but if you want to get into one, this is a great place to start. Be prepared to get hammered online while you get to grips with a game that has technically been out for a long time now and has seen a strong community develop over the past 3 years.

CeX review link.

MCM Expo London--Eat your heart out Comic-Con!

You may or may not have been aware that one of the most iconic video game, anime, manga, comic and movie conventions was in London's ExCel Center last weekend where an astonishing 55,000 + people got their nerd on! Yes Comic-Con, eat your heart out because it can be done just as well across the pond and boy was it an absolute blast!

GameSpot UK Crew @ MCM Expo!

I was fortunate enough to get back together with the GameSpot UK team and man their booth (as the muscle) across the weekend, with front row seats to their excellent stage show and all the weird and wonderful action of the Expo around me. My partners in crime were the lovely Lauren Wainwright and Capcom's Daria Gerasimova, who are both super happy fun time people and need your love on Twitter!



So I thought I'd drop this blog to give a little run-down of what was present, the GameSpot UK booth, stage-show and whatever else I managed to catch a glimpse of amidst all the carnage.

The GameSpot UK booth was right at the heart of the arena, which made sense considering the amount of space needed for the stage, audience and the booth itself. This was a prime location as it seemed everyone was buzzing around us, waiting to see what goodies we were showing off, and giving away.

The picture says it all doesn't it?

Across the weekend we show-cased Child of Eden (Kinect), Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (360), Shadows of the Damned (360), Red Faction: Armageddon (360), DiRT 3 (360), Mortal Kombat (PS3), Virtua Tennis 4 (PS3) and some old school classic arcade games. Endless amounts of people flooded through our confines, played games, talked to us, signed up for our awesome competition and had a great time. It was obvious the exclusives were getting more attention than other games, but nothing was ever free, so we were kept busy.

The gang recording a podcast with the guys from Red Faction: Armageddon

The awesome stage show was really the highlight for GameSpot UK, with a plethora of content, special guest speakers, a live podcast and lots of cool games, I don't remember a free chair all weekend. The stage saw Europe's first exclusive look at Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition with Capcom's lead PR Leo Tang leading the presentation, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Child of Eden, Red Faction: Armageddon, Earth Defence Force and a host of other titles throughout the weekend. Fantastic work from our team up on stage ensured everyone was kept entertained and every presentation ran smoothly.

Lion Man busy promoting his awesome lion wrestling abilities.

When I wasn't playing security for our booth, I had a chance to wonder around and take in and awe at everything around me. Needless to say, every single person was dressed in cosplay--you couldn't walk from one booth to another without stumbling into a Batman or Cloud Strife. Highlights for me included 2K's fantastic Duke Nukem courtesy of their PR team, Darth Vadar, Tony Stark in his Iron Man suit and a female Predator. I also totally met the Lion Man from the hit show on Sky 1--no idea what he was doing there but super stoked regardless!!!

Hail to the King baby!

There was plenty of other amazing stuff across the arena--aside from all the little shops selling memorabilia and the countless tables set up for card games, I had a chance to check out the other video game booths. Nintendo were in attendance showing off The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. I tried to get a quick go but was quickly told to turn round and look at the 200 man line waiting to play--needless to say my VIP badge was not getting me on that console any quicker. Epic Studios had a wicked 5 on 5 LAN Gears of War 3 station that showed off essentially the Beta that came out not too long ago. F3AR and Mortal Kombat also had their own booths and Red Faction: Armageddon was sitting near by too. I think Capcom had the most popularity across the weekend as they held Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournaments. Every time I wondered over there the place was rammed and it was super cool that they had arcade sticks for the more hardcore gamers.

So that's about it from what I remember, the weekend was just so hectic that I may have forgotten bits and pieces but I will add things as they come back to me. This would of course be an appropriate time to thank the GameSpot UK team for inviting me to work with them again, always an absolute pleasure. For those of you guys who want to see all the amazing photos we took over the weekend, you can do so right here on the GameSpot UK website.

The next expo is in October once again at the ExCel Center London, you'd be crazy to miss out it is truly one of the best experiences! See you guys there! Hit me up on Twitter: @ss4Igor