I love fighting games in general. More specifically, I love the Street Fighter series. It never gets old to me in spite the frequent rehash. Imagine my excitement when SF 4 was announced. So, how does it fare? And by the way, the fact that SF4 takes place before SF3 just proves the fact that Capcom cannot count. 4 COMES after 3, not BEFORE!

At first I was skeptical about the graphics. Street Fighter, for the most part of it, has always used 2D graphics, and I always prefer Street Fighter to be 2D. Their first foray into 3D graphics was the Street Fighter EX Series and look how it turned out. So, at first, I was not too ecstatic from the screenshots that I saw. But truth to be hold, you've got to see it in motion to appreciate it. The animation was awesome. The background although not epic, is lush and jam-packed with stuff. The effects was cool. Fireball looks really nice in this game. Facial expression is over the top which adds more to the 'ouch' factor. Ultra moves are flashy and lengthy which will really rub it in to your opponent. My only complaint is that, eventhough the character models are very detail, most of them look plain ugly. Look at Ryu for God's sake, he is like on steroids or something!
Graphics: 4/5

The sound is pretty average technos with the inclusion of some pretty good tracks in between. The character specific BGM is awesome and it's a shame that you cannot play it during VS Mode. The voices are good and given the ability to choose of either English or Japanese voices or even a combination of both adds an extra layer of feature to the sound department. The announcer is just plain annoying. Too bad there aren't any options to turn the announcer off.
Sound :4/5

The gameplay is what makes SF4 awesome. You have your Focus Attack, Special Moves, EX Moves, Super Moves, Ultra Moves, Cancelling, FADC and Linking. The fighting system is deep and satisfying yet accessible to beginners. The fights are fast, furious and intense. I kind of miss the ability to parry like in SF3, but FA makes a good substitute. It's like a user friendly parry. And using Ultra Moves as a come back maneuver adds a little bit of tension in a match. Superb system, not exactly a step forward from SF3...but nevertheless a step towards the right direction.
Gameplay:5/5

I can't seem to play online due to my shitty connection. However, if you can find a fellow SF4 enthusiast, then most probably you are gamed for life. SF4 will be played for many years to come. Not only that, a huge character roster which consists of 25 characters add a lot of depth and variations. It will take a while for you to find your favorite character and to play well with him/her. The new characters fit well into the SF universe and it's good to see some returning Alpha characters. Gouken has been a long time waiting and did not disappoint. Too bad that there aren't no love for any SF3 characters. I would love to see Dudley, Alex, Yun, Yang, Ibuki and Hugo mixing it up with the SF4 cast. Besides this, there are plethora of modes:survival,practice and training. There are also official artworks and movies to unlock. A word of caution, the movies do not make sense and are animated rather poorly. Watch it at your own risk.
Longevity:5/5

I love SF4. It is one of the best fighting games that I've played. Absolutely an early contender for this year's game of the year. An awesome game overall.
Final score:5/5