For those who want some expansion I shall do so.
The graphic style of course is a matter of opinion. I find the brush stroke style appealing but many forum posts seem to find them less than inspiring. Rather than descending in to this I will say that they are smooth and the frame rate is solid (maybe 60fps, but I cant really tell beyond 40 when I?m focusing on the game), and there are no clipping issues I noticed in my 5 hours or of play. The camera maintains the classic SF angle for the most part (albeit a little zoomed in during close action) a cuts in for close ups when ultra and special moves activate. This is done well, and is unobtrusive to the game for me at the moment though I suspect it may become annoying, especially tournament level players. What this camera work does do is add some drama to the game for spectators as you wait to find out if a move has been countered.
Game play wise, as I said in the initial 150 words, things feel similar to SF2. Of the changes they have made (changed from 2, I have played all others but my memory of them is less than reliable) the most obvious is that throws are now bound to a double button press (LP. LK). On the ground this makes things feel more planned. It also means that you can miss a throw, leaving you completely open instead of throwing a punch or kick.
Double button presses in fact are the order of the day with taunt on the HK,P and the new ?inky counter? on the M?s. This counter seems to work by absorbing damage then unleashing a stronger attack back at the opponent. In fact in this state you take damage, and if you successfully manage a counter the energy lost in the attack slowly refills, but stops if you are hit.
The ultra moves are bound to Px3 or Kx3 with the necessary stick manipulation. The ultra meter builds as you sustain damage or defend allowing you to turtle and then unleash a super powered attack. This reward for excessive defending could swing either way, only time will tell if it?s a legitimate counter measure for when you?re pinned under fireballs or a cheap exploit.
The other two game play points of note come in some slight changes in the priorities and the allowance in precision when pulling off special moves. As I said I have only had about 4 hours of play, but it seems to be that where as in previous games torpedos/diving/rolling moves were susceptible to counter just before the struck (with the exception of M.Bison.) Now it seems that this counter window is much smaller. For example, when fighting Vega would do a wall dive and the only defense seemed to be to block or dodge, there was no counter. In honesty this could be a necessary balance for characters that had no fireballs, but it was a noticeable change. The allowance with move is another change from 2 (though I seem to remember it being in the alphas). When executing and sweeping move now there is less need for the same accuracy as there used to be. Zangif?s full circles can now be executed at will and fireballs are noticeably easier to execute. That said the affordance means characters that have both quarter turns and dragon punch motions getting their moves confused more frequently than previously.
The arcade game is lacking in environments currently. Or so I notice when waiting for a machine to free up, when playing they seem detailed enough and look in keeping with the SF universe. The China stage especially is detailed and a nice throw back to 2. More are expected fro the home version (along with new characters to bolster the current roster.)
Details on the new characters abound. Basically complaints are aesthetic. They look strange but handle like SF archetypes. The two most interesting are Rufus and El Fuerte. Rufus is interesting because he is faster than you would expect from his appearance. Other than that (and how bad he looks) he is unremarkable. El Fuerte on the other hand controls like Chun Li on speed. Where the rest of the game feels like (forgive the SNES reference) 3 starts on the turbo game El Fuerte feels like 8. This makes him hard to fight. Fortunately though you?ll have plenty of time to work out his weaknesses as due as games against him seem to last 2x as long as any other character due to you not hitting him, and him being about as strong as my girlfriend.
Finally those who hoped for movies when you beat Seth (http://dofuss.net/seth/) are in for a disappointment. The old still screens remain and a short story, but this in no way affects the game.
As I said originally the game feels right. It captures the feel of the original and that is what most are hoping for. What will be interesting to see is if gamers who didn?t play SF2 when it first game around will be as enamored by this as I am. What I feel is timeless game play may in fact not hold up to a generation of gamer who are used to 20 hit combos in 3D.
