It’s a new chapter for the revolutionary fighting game franchise.
Want a piece of the action?
Great, because a piece is all you’re getting.
I bought into it and got the game upon release.
All that hype blinded me to the skeletal product Id eventually have my hands on.
Every wrestler literally played the same in terms of moves and stats.
There were no special moves.
There was no title or one-player mode.
It was one of the most frustrating experiences Ive ever had as a gamer.
A new character will come out every month or so.
New modes will trickle in.
You wont have to buy a new game to keep being competitive.
Best of all, the DLC wont cost anything unless you want it to.
It sounds like a brilliant model for the game and its future.
Heres the thing, though.
Despite the various upgrades,Street Fighter IVfelt like a real game.
The DLC packs added to the game, but they werent necessary.
Street Fighter Vis…I dont even know if bare bones best describes it.
The bones that youd expect to be there are missing and its just headscratching.
But we do have the head and lungs.
That counts for something.
That was part of the charm.
They had to be sure.
Its just different enough, but theres nothing in there thats blowing me away.
Even with only sixteen characters and a handful of stages, youll have fun playing those Versus matches.
Thats incredibly important, but therein lies the problem: Thats ALL you will enjoy.
Competitive gamers will claim that thats really all you need, but seeing that in action is rather disconcerting.
This is an incomplete package.
Does it make me a badStreet Fighterfan for being annoyed that thats all we got at launch?
From a certain point of view, I guess.
Now, if you do play offline, what are the options?
As it is right now, there are four things you’ve got the option to do.
First, you’re free to use training mode.
Par for the course and handy when youre playing online.
Second, you’re able to play Versus mode with a friend…andonlywith a friend.
Want to try a match against the computer?
Have Ken fight Bison at the hardest setting?
Hell, maybe you want to have the AI control both Zangief and Rainbow Mika and watch them go?
There is no CPU in Versus.
Next up is Survival.
Thats something, at least.
Based on different difficulty options, you go through a fixed amount of opponents in single-round battles.
Like you could cut your health in half, but itll triple your points in the next round.
Unless you want to pony up the real-world money, this is the way you unlock alternate costume colors.
Then theres Story Mode.
Good gravy, man.
This is the most eye-crossingly stupid thing Ive seen in a video game in a long, long time.
The design of this seriously boggles my mind.
At least nine out of ten fighting games will have Arcade Mode.
Its the most basic of one-player modes and is a strong time-waster.
No, it doesnt really help you play against human opponents, but who cares?
Its a fun staple of fighting games thats been there since the very beginning.
Its the go-to for anyone who wants to play by themselves.
Story Mode inStreet Fighter Vseems promising at first glance.
You select one of them and you have some static screens of comic book-like art and voiceovers.
This goes on for several minutes.
Then, finally, you start fighting.
The thing you bought the game for.
In case youre wondering, no, theres no option to increase the difficulty.
Then another cutscene and…done.
Story Mode is complete.
Everyone has two-to-four fights in this mode, and its over.
you could blaze through it for everyone in less than an hour, even without skipping the scenes.
What enjoyment is anyone supposed to get out of this outside of the image of Zangief backdropping a bear?
Yeah, I like storylines in my fighting games.
Even then, the storylines are as paper-thin as you’ve got the option to get.
Mainly because everyones just killing time until Junes cinematic Story Mode DLC kicks in.
I honestly dont know why they couldnt just make this into an Arcade Mode.
Not every match needs to have a cutscene to give it context.
Down the line,Street Fighter Vmight be a fantastic title.
As it is right now, this is a $60 release that amounts to a big IOU note.
You want the game?
My advice is to wait a year.
Itll be cheaper, and by then, it might actually resemble a completed product.
As it is right now,Street Fighter Vis just anotherWrestleManiamoment.
Rating:
1.5 out of 5
