GC 2008: Street Figther IV Console Hands-on

The console version breaks cover for the first time.

It's finally made its way to arcades in Tokyo -- and hopefully before long some enterprising arcade owners will import it out into other territories -- and now Street Fighter IV has made its first appearance running on an Xbox 360.

Retaining the glorious new ink and polygon aesthetic and reviving the spirit of the fondly remembered Street Fighter II, Street Fighter IV on the Xbox 360 is identical to its arcade counterpart in practically every way. Although there's one of Microsoft's subtly revised pads lying around, we took to the game the way it's meant to be played -- with a pair of Hori sticks -- and though we've already had a brief hands-on before, we're pleasantly surprised by the amount of depth at hand. While on the surface its Street Fighter II put through the polygon machine and buffed to HD perfection, there's an immense amount of depth bubbling away underneath.

Indeed, while many of the series' hardcore fans may have bemoaned the supposed dumbing down of Street Fighter after the technically exacting third installment, what we've seen from today's few bouts is that Street Fighter IV has just as much to offer. While it's perfectly possible to bound around the screen taking potshots as we did in our SNES-playing youth, there's also a wealth of extras and specials for the veterans to indulge in, with features like the focus attack and revenge moves proving particularly satisfying.

There's only the most basic of modes on offer for this early build, though we're told to expect a lengthier single player mode similar to that of Virtua Fighter 4 in the final code -- though as yet none of this has been confirmed. All the arcade characters are present, and are soon to be joined by Super Street Fighter II's Cammy, who's sadly absent today. Expect to see more characters unveiled soon -- and we wouldn't bet against personal favourite Fei Long to make an appearance -- and even after the game's release we're told there's likely to be more coming down in the shape of downloadable content.

As for when to expect the port to hit shelves? Our Capcom source tells us that seeing that the original arcade board is a PC in a box, and given that the 360 is a PC in a box, it's unlikely to be too long a wait.

We're hoping to head to Capcom's offices over the next few weeks to bring you fuller impressions, and stay tuned for our in-depth interview with the game's amiable producer Yoshi Ono -- who confirmed our age-old belief that Street Fighter is the thinking man's chess -- later next week.

IGN UK

Related Posts