Hey, did you hear about the new Street Fighter 4 that just came out? Oh, you did huh? Well hold your horses my dear Griggers, for I speaketh not of the disc release of SSFIV Arcade Edition that’s just hit the shops, oh no! Intrigued? Probably not! But read on regardless my friends!
Imagine if you will, an alternate reality version of the ‘Smell my cheese’ meeting from I’m Alan Partridge, series 1…
Partridge: What does this tell you? SF4 (original arcade), SF4 (console/PC 8 new characters edition), SF4 iTunes edition, SSF4, SSF4 3D Edition, and of course SSF4 AE?
Head of programming: There are too many of them?
Partridge: Yes… or, people like them – let’s make more of them.
Well I think Capcom must’ve been listening, coz with this in mind my Grigs, I give you Street Fighter IV Volt!
Volt – possibly the stupidest name this year after Wii U – is the latest i-gizmo-of-your-choice incarnation of Capcoms portable SF4 and is gestating on iTunes as we speak!
Volt is the result of Capcom clearly having had enough of updating the iPhone/Pod SF4 for free, having ceased occasionally adding more characters to the very thin on the ground starting roster that we originally shelled out top i-dollar for. And so instead of continuing down that path, in time-honoured Capcom tradition they have decided that it’s time for a new injection of cash as they peddle what is essentially the same game once more whilst waving their upturned palms beneath our noses.
Naturally we here at Grig rage against all kinds of machines, sticking it to the man left right and centre and obviously won’t be taken in by such underhanded thievery. But… it is Street Fighter. Thus in the name of journalistic duty… oh, go on then!
So! Let us not focus on Capcoms Scroogery, nor the simplified controls customised for these i-devices that despite Capcoms best efforts to prove otherwise, are still useless, because we can all get hype over the inclusion of 4 new characters (One being hidden. Why?!)!
Joining the team this time are Vega, Balrog and Cody, while its being reported that the hidden character is Akuma (of course). Anyway, this brings the number of characters up to a total of 18, finally passing the roster of 1994 prequel Super Street Fighter 2. At last we’re getting somewhere! Other features boasted by this new handheld behemoth is mildly enhanced presentation (nothing to write home about, but since AE had NONE AT ALL this could be something of a Capcom-shaped revolution) and more importantly, Online play meaning you no longer have to bother with laggy blue-tooth vs battles with your friends. Heck no! Instead, we get to enjoy the wonder of laggy online matches with rage-quitting strangers instead! Woo hoo!
Anyway, if its your cup of tea its worth a look-in, especially since Capcom are using a strange price scaling method meaning that the game starts off cheap (59p), and gets more expensive over the next few days until it finally levels out at its full price on the 6th of July. It’s a bit like being held at gunpoint but having the assailant use the word ‘please’ when demanding your cash.So if you’re having trouble leaving your shiny new copy of SSFIV Arcade Edition at home – which by the way currently receives the overall Grig score of N/A, since while it’s undoubtedly brilliant, it’s frankly not a new game – then snap up Volt before the price hike!
Man you’re on blogging fire – me and the jackass are both downloading this sucka as we speak. Can’t resist a bargain – even if “not buying” is free af so technically cheaper…
Yeah I figured if I didn’t illustrate everything I wrote and kept it under 1500 words I might actually get some stuff out there quicker!
The game seems good though. Feels a little slicker than the previous version but might just be my imagination. Still, can’t go wrong being armed with SF4 at all times!