Sleepy Gamer

So why am I excited about this release?  Well… it’s Street Fighter 4, duh.  Even though the number 4 suggests that this the 4th game in the series, it’s really the 12th if you count all the iterations of SFI, SFII, SF Alpha, and SFIII.  Don’t get me started on that crappy Street Fighter 2010.  History aside, this entry proves to be just as epic as its previous legacies.  Let’s just hope that Capcom doesn’t repeat history and release a Street Fighter 4 Ultra Special Hyper Championship Edition to further confuse the hell out of us.

To be honest, when the first SFIV teasers were unveiled, it really wasn’t my cup of tea.  What was the deal with all the ink swirls and why did they keep Chun Li’s thunder thighs?  But as you play the final game, you start to realize how genius this art style really is.  For the first time, you can vividly see and feel all the pain induced from every punch, kick, and fireball.  From their over-the-top facial expressions, to the contorting bodies, you know that they’re in for a world of hurt.  In previous games, the 2-D character models seemed very copied and pasted into each level.  But because of the new 3-D engine, each character appears more dynamic and is more well integrated into the scenery.  Literally adding a new dimension to the visuals.  If you preferred the more gritty 2-D nature of SFIII, you might be disappointed.  But I can assure you that the game-play will surely change your mind.

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Out of all the games out this holiday season, this is what I’ve been pouring most of my hours into.  It’s gotten to the point in which other epics, like Fallout 3 and Little Big Planet, are simply neglected and collecting dust.  There’s something about the original Street Fighter II formula that makes it so fun and addicting.  Capcom must have an entire division that is solely dedicated to appeal to our nostalgic appetites.  These re-releases are certainly easy money for Capcom, but at least they know how to do them right.

HD Remix is the same game from 14 years ago except with a major face lift.  The original fighting game engine are still intact while all of the graphics have been redone with gorgeous high resolution sprites.  Udon Comics has done an extraordinary job recreating the characters in beautiful Hi Def.  The once pixelated and blocky textures are now smooth and extremely detailed.  Nothing is left to the imagination anymore since all of the character models are finely illustrated with minute detail.  There is an option to play the game with the classic visuals, but it’s definitely an eye sore to view those outdated graphics on the HD screen.

Although the detail in the character models and backgrounds are superb, the animation department is not up to par.  Because Capcom wanted to keep the core mechanics of the original game, all of the animation frame counts have been preserved.  Unfortunately, this results with every move looking jerky and abrupt when performed.  With the low resolution sprites, this problem was not nearly as noticeable in the original game.  But the upgraded visuals expose holes in the animation that doesn’t look as smooth as it should be.
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