Street Fighter + 3D = Good Game?
Written: Jun 17 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Tight gameplay; hidden characters; super cancels
Cons: Minor polygon dropout; blocky characters; hit-or-miss music
|
|
|
| offspringer's Full Review: Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha for PlayStation 1 |
Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha brings the world of Street Fighter in the 3D realm with decent results. While the 3D graphics might remind gamers of a poor man's Tekken at times, Street Fighter EX keeps the classic Street Fighter gameplay intact, and even adds a couple of twists to it to keep it fresh with new game modes, characters, and moves. The objective still remains the same... defeat any opponent that stands in your way and work your way up to the final stand-off against that big red meanie, M. Bison.
The first thing that you'll notice is the graphical shift from 2D to 3D. The character models are a bit blocky and suffer from polygon dropout at times, but it is easy to distinguish who they are. Ken and Ryu look just like Ken and Ryu. To go along with the classic cast of Street Fighter characters, SFEX developer Arika added some characters of their own, such as Cracker Jack (armed with a baseball bat and a big foot), Darun (who is very similar to Zangief), and Allen (a Ken/Ryu clone). The new characters range from the cool (Kairi) to the odd (Skullomania), but there's something for everyone here. Backgrounds are nice to look at, but the arenas that the characters face off in are similar to Namco's original Tekken effort for the PlayStation. There are some nice lighting effects every now and then, and replays at the end of each round display some 3D power (plus they're kind of a nice touch). While not displaying the cleanest 3D that we've seen, SFEX's graphics are functional and don't detract from the SF experience. SFEX's music is all new, but there aren't that many tracks that are really noteworthy. The sound effects fare better, with thumping kicks and punches and the usual clean-sounding vocal effects. SFEX also lacks the Q-Sound option found in the other 2D Street Fighter titles.
Even with it's graphics overhaul, SFEX's big asset is its classic Street Fighter gameplay, which has been ported over almost without a hitch. Fireballs, dragon punches, and other moves can be pulled off with the same amount of ease as in the other Street Fighter titles for the PlayStation. Similar to Street Fighter Alpha, characters are also capable of super combos; however, players are now able to cancel midway through one super combo and enable a second one. The makes for interesting gameplay and for some potentially damaging combinations. Along with the tight gameplay, SFEX also introduces a cool game mode in which you can unlock hidden characters by pulling off certain moves and combos for each character in the game. The difficulty ranges from basic to extremely difficult, but the rewards of new characters are great; Akuma, Garuda, Evil Ryu, and others are waiting to be unlocked. SFEX also has Survival, Arcade, Practice, and Vs. modes. SFEX provides a nice gameplay package, which will entertain fighting game fans (espeically of the Street Fighter variety) for a decent amount of time.
SFEX2 is becoming increasingly difficult to find, and the retailers that still do have it are selling it pretty cheap (around $25). It is a solid fighting game that proves that Street Fighter can exist in a 3D environment. This isn't Tekken, however; the gameplay is Street Fighter through and through, so you'll need to brush up on your fireball and charge skills to succeed in this game. It is a nice tribute to the Street Fighter franchise and pretty well done overall, save for some occasional graphics glitches. This is a game that deserves a home in any fighting gamer's library and is a no-brainer for Street Fighter fans.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
offspringer
|
|
Member: Peter Skerritt, Jr.
Location: West Springfield, MA
Reviews written: 141
Trusted by: 72 members
About Me:
I am an avid video game player with 30 years of gaming experience.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.