With Street Fighter 5 ongoing and getting a steady stream of updates, as well as the various collection re-releases that we’ve seen over the last few years, it’s almost hard to believe prior to 2008, the fighter series was basically dead. Street Fighter 4 managed to not only revive the IP, but also the fighting game community in general. But it almost didn’t happen. Or, I should say, it almost certainly wouldn’t have happened if certain original plans went through.

In an interview at EGX, Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono, who oversaw the series as a Producer during this revival, originally had the idea to bring the series back as a turn-based fighting simulation. You read that right, a turn-based…fighting simulation.

“I did have an idea though that I thought may be revolutionary to turn the game into a turn-based simulation, so you would take the moves you wanted to do and put them together like blocks,” said Ono. “Then they would run automatically, but obviously we didn’t make that in the end.”

It’s hard to believe that at one point the game that revived the fighting scene was considered to be…that. Not that the turn-based idea doesn’t have potential, and there has been titles that have experimented with similar ideas, particularly in the mobile space (as well as sounding very similar to Puzzle Fighter), it’s pretty hard to believe the spirit of battle would be revived had Street Fighter 4 looked anything like that. Thankfully, though, someone came to their senses and the rest is history.

It was today announced by Capcom, albeit accidentally, that their newest instalment in the globe trotting smash hit fighting game, Street Fighter, would be coming exclusively to the PlayStation 4 and PC. This has apparently rocked the gaming community. There’s no mention of the Xbox One whatsoever.

So how does it compare to Street Fighter 4? The above image is a side by side (well, vertically) comparison of two of the franchises best known combatants, Ryu and Chun Li. The improvements are readily apparent to everyone viewing it really. Textures are noticeably sharper, the depth of field sharper and stronger and there seems to be some rather impressive shaders being put to work. Back-lighting was a bit of a hitch in Street Fighter 4 that seems to have been fixed for Street Fighter 5.

At the moment, we’re unsure of why this game is all of a sudden an 8th gen exclusive to Sony and PC platforms, we are just as curious as you. It’s entirely possible that this is in fact a timed exclusivity contract similar to what happened with Tomb Raider and Microsoft earlier in the year, but with the PlayStation Experience Event looming ever closer, may this be a big reveal for the show? Only time will tell.

Thanks, Gamepur.

Say what you will about Capcom’s strategy of incessant re-releases for their fighting games (Street Fighter IV has gone through the indignity of five releases- Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, Ultra Street Fighter IV), but at least the games are top notch; essentially, the release of a new Street Fighter game can often single handedly usher in a new generation of fighting games.

Therefore, fans who are eagerly waiting for Capcom to just get on with it, get done with the Street Fighter IV rehashes, and release Street Fighter V already, are probably going to be disappointed to know that if it ever does come, it’s not coming for a fair few years. Half a decade, in fact.

“Game development is a long and arduous process,” producer Tomoaki Ayano told VG247. “If you look at the history of the series, it took six years to go from Street Fighter II to Street Fighter III, and nine years to go from Street Fighter III to Street Fighter IV. Purely based on that it would probably take us until the year 2018 before Street Fighter V comes out. So I hope everyone will play Ultra Street Fighter IV for a long time.”

Yeah, but people who wanted to play Street Fighter IV or any of its variants probably already have by this point. I understand not wanting to impede sales of their upcoming game with the announcement of a true next generation Street Fighter, but all this is doing is losing more goodwill for Capcom.

20101016_street5

Well Capcom are best known for their zombie based games, but did you guys ever thought how our heroes & heroines will look in Street Fighter if they were infected by the infamous Umbrella virus? Manuel Augusto Moura, a Brazilian illustrator has made these awesome illustrations of Street Fighter as zombie. Have a look, they are absolutely scary.
Thanks, Cuded.

In an interview with Famitsu, Ono said the PSP and DS simply cannot do justice to the game. Apart from the great graphics the 3DS will support, the fact that the 3DS has wireless capabilities and that SSFIV on the 3DS will be about players interacting with each other wirelessly is a huge plus point in favour of Nintendo’s upcoming handheld.

PSP = Meh... is that what you're saying, Capcom? IS IT?!

Ono also said that Super Street Fighter IV on the 3DS would be as good as ever, and that “the gameplay will be the same as Super Street Fighter IV” and wouldn’t be downsized for younger audiences.

“Rather than that we’d like to make it into a title that makes kids grow” he said.

More on SSFIV 3DS later.

[ComputerAndVideoGames]

Sure as night follows day, game sequels will continue to be big business. Thankfully, things really do seem to improve with age in the gaming world.
 
Just look at some of the nominations for tonight’s Bafta Video Game awards in London, UK, and it’s patently clear: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – the bestselling game of all time, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Assassin’s Creed II, Left 4 Dead 2, FIFA 10, Street Fighter IV and Football Manager 2010. All have one thing in common: they blow their predecessors out of the water, improving almost every facet of the gameplay, storyline, characterization, graphics and sound.
 

Rarely in the cinematic world does a sequel manage to truly trump its predecessor. Few mega budget Hollywood blockbuster movies manage to capitalize on the success of the original and deliver something altogether more enjoyable, exciting or good-looking. Granted, there have been some fantastic follow-ups over the years but largely you leave the cinema feeling a little let down. What a relief then that videogames seem to differ so much from their big-screen cousins and so many developers manage to produce sequels that surpass everyone’s expectations.
 
It’s now only a matter of days until the highly-anticipated Just Cause 2 hits the stores (for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC) and, thanks to the success of the original and a multitude of teaser trailers, few would bet upon it leaping off the shelves.
 
And let’s not forget the likes of Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 in recent months, which have also won plaudits and sold by the bucketload!
 
But what are some of the greatest ever gaming sequels? Which are the ones which made the most significant improvement on the original? Here are 10 that have taken a series to new highs…
 
Fallout 3 – 2008 (original: Fallout 1997)
Assassin’s Creed II – 2009 (Assassin’s Creed 2007)
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – 2004 (Grand Theft Auto 1997)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – 1998 (The Legend of Zelda 1986)
Super Mario Galaxy – 2007 (Mario Bros 1983)
Halo 3 – 2007 (Halo: Combat Evolved 2001)
Resident Evil 4 – 2005 (Resident Evil 1996)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – 2007 (Call of Duty 2003)
FIFA 09 – 2008 (FIFA International Soccer 1993)
Killzone 2 – 2009 (Killzone 2004)
 
Do you agree? What are some of your best sequels ever?

The very first thing you are going to notice when you insert your disk in your console is the graphics. Forget those old 2-d graphics. This time around they feel much more lively and a lot more colorful. This game uses an altogether new graphics engine for next gen consoles. The old stages are totally reconstructed. That doesn’t mean that all the levels are old. There are plenty of new ones and tell you the truth they are all gorgeous and a real eye candy. From the background dynamic objects, lighting, to the flying outfits our characters wear all feel much more realistic then ever before. The character models are drastically changed. They look more real and move much more fluently in a constant 60FPS. Each special move you’ll perform is accompanied by unique visual effects that’ll add to the beauty of overall gameplay.

The core gameplay remains the same with a whole lot of improvements. The game is so easy to get a hold on yet it’ll take so long to master. There are three buttons for different kicks and three for different punches that’s nothing new as long as you are not a first time player of SF series. The special moves remain almost the same for the old characters and for the new ones you can always get help by starting the excellent practice mode.

The practice mode is specially so nice that its worth mentioning. It allows you to control each and every movement of your practice dummy. You want it to jump, block, kick or whatever, it’ll continue to do so unless you say otherwise. You can set your starting Ultra move bar, the EX meter stun frequency, vitality and regeneration times. Even that’s available in many other games but once you start practicing it’ll really help you improving your gameplay and you’ll come to know why I am saying so .

There is a huge arsenal of fighters, both old and the newones. The same old buddies like Ken, Ryu , E Honda, Blanka, Sagat are all available for selection along with some new ones like Abel, Rufus and a few more. Half of the fighters are available straight away from start but the othe rhalf gets unlocked during the course of gameplay. Some require you to fulfill certain objectives before getting unlocked. Even the last Boss “SETH”gets unlocked and playable. The Single player options contain the ARCADE mode and a Challenge mode. Arcade mode allows you to follow a character’s story to the end where one has to beat SETH. The challenge mode offers different gameplay options like time attack, survival but the new thing here is the trial mode. This mode is sort of a practice mode but you have to perform a set of moves the game asks for. This really helps is practicing combos and knowing which move is armor breaking and which deals the most damage in a particular situation .

The latest addition to the gameplay is the Focus attack & Revenge Meter. The revenge meter gets filled up when u take hits by your opponent. Once it fills up, u can execute an Ultra Combo. These are really stylish and they yield a high amount of damage. Every character has its own unique ultra combo. The focus attack allows you to absorb 1 hit of your opponent and then perform an unblock-able attack. They are performed by pressing the mid punch and kick together and they are really helpful when executing a ultra combo but that needs a lot of practice and getting used to.

The super combo “EX” meter fills up by attacking your opponent and when it fills up that u can perform a super combo. You can also use your EX meter to perform specific Special Moves, but this time they’ll yield a lot more damage than they normally do. To find out which moves can be used  try the practice mode.

The sound completely fulfills the requirement of the game. It really adds to the overall gameplay . You’ll really feel the sound when you land a punch or a kick. The background sounds are distinguishable and are amazing.

The online play is superb except that there is no tournament mode. Other than that there aren’t any issues with the online gameplay . You win medals as you win matches online and they can be used to put up an avatar and a short logo in front of your gamertag. That you can see in the pre-game lobby before the start of a match.The connection bars show how good your online game session will be.The game carries a lot of replay value as long as you’ve a friend or you play online. And if you’ve one then you’ll likely play it forever. That doesn’t at all mean that the single player isn’t great or boring. It’s really diverse and has a lot to offer.

SF4 really proves the potential of fighting genre. With its gorgeous graphics and amazing gameplay its one of the best next gen fighting games available. A must have for fighting games fan and worth checking if you aren’t one. I m sure you’ll become one once u play this game.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.