Can Street Fighter still pack a punch?
Street Fighter V is an interesting game, Capcom promises that there will be no Super-Turbo-Hyper-Edition or anything like that. It launches with only 16 fighters and story sections for each that build up to the eventual story of Street Fighter V. These sections only last 3 or 4 fights, so they are very short…leaving multiplayer the really only thing left to tackle, that is until the game is fleshed out more via DLC or patches.
Combat is swift and fluid as in past entries, I’ve never been good at fighting games…but even I managed to win the odd fight now and then. When the game launched, it was wrought with online issues…but a patch seems to have fixed some of them, but it’s not out of the woods yet. Hopefully future patches will make it a much more seamless experience, not to mention fix it so rage quitters are punished in kind.
I guess the problem with Street Fighter V is that at the moment it feels more like a demo or prologue of what’s to come. It doesn’t feel like a finished game and no I don’t mean like MGS V (Although that too was unfinished in terms of Chapter 3), so I can’t help thinking that it’s probably best to leave Street Fighter V for a few months to reach it’s potential. I’m confused as to why Capcom decided to release it like this, but I guess they have a long game plan in mind for the series.
Visually, Street Fighter V is stunning. I would have liked to see actual cutscenes during the short story sections instead of voice-over comic book style slides. Birdie and Charlie Nash return to the Street Fighter universe alongside the other fighters that include classics like Ryu, Chun-Li, Cammy and M.Bison. Pulling off critical hits is always difficult, but they look superb in action when you do, and the soundtrack isn’t too shabby either.
The Verdict
Street Fighter V is a superb fighting game, without a doubt…but it just feels unfinished in terms of content. I’m sure it’ll be fleshed out over time through DLC and patches, I just wish it launched in a more complete state. That aside, it’s the best fighting series out there for a reason…and it looks like Street Fighter V is going to be around for quite some time, which is no bad thing.