The Triangle

Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Capcom USA, Inc.

It was a simpler time; a time when restaurants were still stratified between smoking and non-smoking.

When hazy, dimly-lit bordellos of electronic entertainment were the norm for socially awkward youngsters.

These were the boys and, yes, girls who would ask for their allowance in quarters and burn through it all in an after-school binge on one-on-one, bare-knuckle, pixilated brawling.

The time was the early '90s. The game was "Street Fighter II."

It was the fighting game that both defined and popularized its entire genre.

For the first time, players could pick their fighter from an ensemble of balanced and distinct characters, rather than being limited to a pre-determined flunky.

Now, 18 years after "Street Fighter II," over 10-years after the release of "Street Fighter III," we get "Street Fighter IV."

Initially, there was a lot of outcry over the graphics, the style pulling the fighters out of the second dimension and into full, polygonal glory.

The key players, though, were returning and the gameplay was slated to remain confined to its two dimensions and so the community waited, pensive.

And I love it.

It is a beautiful, glorious game, filled with expressive characters, fluidly animated, a dramatic use of the new engine for quick camera cuts during certain moves, but never to the detriment of gameplay.

Never will the camera get in the way of your fight; never will you miss a move because of a bad perspective.

This is classic 2-D fighting at its best, taken into the new generation.

The key changes - the focus attack and the revenge meter - integrate smoothly with existing reflexes from older games. Instead of the potentially unbalancing parry maneuver introduced in "Street Fighter III," which allowed one to avoid damage and gain an offensive advantage with split-second timing, the fighters are able to take a hit and recover the damage later, responding with a powerful hit of their own (accompanied by a striking, ink-like flourish) that can crumple the opponent in place - opening the enemy up for combos.

The revenge meter only builds as one takes damage, allowing for a punishing desperation move that gains power based on the amount of damage one has taken.

It isn't an instant or certain win so it doesn't unbalance the game, but it's certainly impressive with its dramatic camera cuts and flashing particle effects.

Continued...

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