Oh How I Hate You

You know who you are. I am talking to you Street Fighter IV. I have never been very good at fighting games but I have always enjoyed them quite a bit. I think that most of this stems from Soul Caliber on the Dreamcast. It was the first fighting game that I played a lot and I really liked it. One of my favorite parts of that game was the really long story/quest mode.

The story mode in Street Fighter IV is nothing like this mode. Of course it isn’t a story mode; it is an arcade mode, an arcade mode that punishes me. My first attempt at arcade mode ended in frustration. This happened because the computer cheats. This isn’t just the anger of a bad gamer, it is the anger of a person being punished by a computer that is bitter about getting its ass handed to it for years and years.

Graphically this game is beautiful; they took the look of the old 2d game and 3derized it. The backgrounds are all fun, with people moving around and cheering, not so much that it is distracting but enough that it makes for some entertainment when they computer is kicking your ass.

The AI in this game is ridiculously good. I think that the developer modeled it after that kid in the arcade that could play all day on one quarter taking on anyone and everyone that challenged him. On top of that they have horribly unbalanced characters. Take Abel for instance. He will grab me, throw me and then the instant I stand up again he throws me, repeat this and it makes for a pretty quick fight.

Abel is one of the four new characters that come unlocked. Rumor has it that there are other new characters, I will probably never see them since I cannot get past the third opponent in the arcade mode. I even practiced, using the training mode to learn the moves, and I still cannot make it through the arcade mode.

Aside from Abel, a big burly fighter and the most traditional of the new characters, the other three are just ridiculous. There is Rufus, a big fat fighter who thinks he is the best fighter. C. Viper who can shock you and light you on fire. Lastly there is El Fuerte a cooking luchador. None of the new characters have any sort of projectile weapon and therefore suffer when fighting any of the traditional characters that have projectile weapons.

I can’t lie. I am really enjoying Street Fighter IV. Frustration and all it is one of the most enjoyable games I have played in a while. The nice thing about it is that by being so damn frustrating it forces me to do homework. I will be so made that I was just beaten by Ken again that I will pull out my history book and read it. It is crazy.

I would like to send a message to Street Fighter IV. I am coming for you. You suck. I am going to kick you ass at the arcade mode. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but maybe tomorrow.

Just a heads up.