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Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Fighting
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 21 Feb 06
User Rating
8 (1 vote) -
- Those hoping for a taste of the old good times best look elsewhere, as the game ruins the arcade classic with terrible camera and barebones-simple gameplay.
Overview
It seems like so long ago that people actually went out of their homes to go play video games at a local arcade. Those days are almost long gone, and we just don't see arcades around like we used to. Since the transition the classics in the arcade are just forgotten on the home consoles. One of the beloved series from Capcom was the Final Fight series, which was a classic fighting game that had a very unique and arcade style that was actually a lot of fun. Now here in 2006 we are ready to see if Capcom can successfully bring the Final Fight series to the Xbox in Streetwise. So how does the game end up doing? Read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
So let's talk about Final Fight, which is a game that places you in the role of Kyle, who for those of you who don't know is the brother of Cody from the original Final Fight game. The story of the game definitely takes a very mature approach, which shows you Kyle who is really caught up in the wrong stuff. So how do you get yourself out of a bad situation? You fight your way out, and that is exactly what the game of Final Fight does. The sound of the story may sound good, but let me tell you I found the story to be in bad taste and poorly created. And for those who are easily offended, you might want to already stay away from this title.
So obviously the story doesn't add a whole lot to the experience, but can the beat em up style action make up for this? Well actually the game takes all of the great things that the arcade games had going for it and just throws it away. The game does attempt to go to more "open" environment style approach, but this you can see is more of a suggestion of what open actually means. There are some side missions that go in this game, but for the most part these are just merely as a distraction and are nothing overly interesting.
So the core of the game is obviously fighting, and let me just say that the fighting in this game is as standard as they come. When you try and look at the game at the positives of this game, it's a pretty short list. The controls do work I suppose, but they also lead to one of the game's biggest problems, which is the camera. We all know that you either have a good 3rd person camera or a bad one, and the camera in Final Fight: Streetwise is a very bad one. It is probably one of the most frustrating cameras I have had to deal with this year.
If I had more to say about this game, I would continue talking about this game but really there isn't. This is just one of the most ridiculously dumbed down, simplistic fighting games out there. It is just so disappointing to see a game that actually had potential to be as poor as what we have in this game. You can unlock the arcade version of the game, but I doubt many people are going to be very thrilled with this bonus feature. In the end, the camera is terrible, the gameplay is overly simplistic and the story is a joke. All that leads to a pretty bad game.
Graphics
Visually Final Fight: Streetwise is very bland and never once do you see a push from the developers to do anything but reach average levels. The game's environments are probably one of the lower areas of Streetwise, which is pretty bad. The game has a real lack of imagination and you can see that from the very beginning. There is really no detail in the environments, nor is there any unique character found in the game. Like I have been saying, this is a game that just never manages to do anything right.
Fun Factor
I actually enjoy a game that is just mindless action; in fact at times these are some of my more enjoyable experiences. I mean, who doesn't at times want to sit down and just take out tons of enemies? But Streetwise is not a game I would ever choose to do this in. The game's camera is just extremely frustrating, and the action is as basic as they come. I mean even if you just love the thug life, and want a game that allows you to take out other thugs, there are still better games out there to do this in.
Overall
I am sure there were many late nights put into Final Fight: Streetwise, but unfortunately the hard work just didn't pay off. This is a game that is plagued with problems from all angles. This is a game that just never manages to get itself on its own two feet and stand as at least an average game. Even if you thought this game might bring back some arcade memories, unfortunately that is just not the case.
- Gameplay
4.0 - Graphics
4.0 - Fun Factor
4.0 - Overall
4.0
