More coherent thoughts later, but here are some initial impressions:
- The physics seem weird, even for a Street Fighter game. I don’t recall having this much trouble timing jump-ins the few times I played Third Strike.
- The challenge mode is kind of useful in that it tells you which normals are cancellable, gives you a bunch of combos and links, and has you try to do them. I don’t think it’s as robust as Virtua Fighter 4’s which actually had you practice using your moves/strings in different situations, but the combo lists did help at the very least.
- The network features seem pretty robust, only hampered by PSN’s crappy interface for sending invites (it piggybacks on top of the normal instant messaging system).
- I’m probably going to take some flak for this, but I’m still not a huge fan of the art style used in-game. It looks polished and all, but some part of me is still wondering what this game might have looked like had it been in 2D.
- Having to unlock a third of the roster by slogging through single-player modes that I don’t have much interest in is kind of annoying.
In any case, I’m not really going to be playing online until I get my PS3 stick, which should arrive on Tuesday (playing on the Dual Shock controller is starting to give my right hand cramps). I’ve unlocked everyone except Gouken and Seth by this point, so I’m trying to figure out who I want to learn how to play. I’m thinking Ryu (lol), Abel or Fei Long…
I can’t say I like the whole ink splatter deal either. Some renders could have been better, but it’s a nitpick on my part at best.
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Well, most everybody does get their start with Ryu I reckon. He’s probably in one of his simplest (contemporarily) yet most effective forms in this game.
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If you’re interested in learning the likes of E. Honda and Sakura, let me know. 😀
P.S. Damn the menu and intro music is addictive, even if it is Asian pop.
I have street fighter since today but i find the graphics aren’t superb. I rate the game 6/10 because it’s street figher else i would rate it lower 🙂
Oh yeah, I’m going to suggest Dan too. Hilariously/fittingly enough, he’s about the closest you’ll get to having Ryo Sakazaki in an SF (barring the CVS games). His SF4 form is one of his strongest.