STREET FIGHTER II' HYPER FIGHTING: FIRST IMPRESSIONS
So before I headed to work yesterday morning, I bought Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting. It would go and figure that the one time I picked up an Xbox Live Arcade game without trying the trial first would turn out badly. Simply put, at least through the little I've played of it, it's a huge disappointment.
To start off with, the Xbox 360 controller is completely unsuited to the game. The d-pad is stiff and unresponsive and using the triggers as the "strong" kick and punch buttons just doesn't work well at all.
Even worse is the way the game plays. Simply put, you'd get a more "honest" game of Street Fighter II playing a pre-pubescent "cheezer". The game seems content to sit back and just execute special move after special move, constantly countering whatever you do. I'll give a prime example; if you're fighting Ryu, he'll simply blast fireballs non-stop, and if you try to jump over them, he'll hit you with that flying uppercut every time. While you might be able to beat that kind of strategy with a good controller, with the 360's it just becomes an exercise in frustration.
Finally, while I haven't experienced the online component yet, the 'net is filled with complaints about lag, disconnects, failures in the matchmaking software's filtering and worst of all, the complete lack of penalties for those who disconnect from a game. This last one seems to be the biggest complaint players have right now, with some people claiming they've yet to score a win because just before the match ends, opponents pull the plug to avoid getting a loss. Sad.
So there you have it. My advice is to be sure to download the demo of the game before you make the decision to purchase - I sure wish I did. There's one of the biggest problems with downloadable content - once you've bought it, you're stuck with it. You can't sell it to friends, trade it in, or do anything else but just live with your bad purchase.
As for the experience itself, If ever there was a game that screamed for an arcade stick on the 360, this is the one. I've been unhappy with the controller on quite a few of the Live Arcade games, and this one has finally convinced me I need to make an arcade controller.
I've got a ton of parts lying around, and while it's not enough to make a truly amazing controller, I should be able to throw together a simple one. The only part I'm really missing is a spare wired 360 controller - I'll probably price around over the coming week or so and then order one. If it turns out really well, maybe I'll spring for the cost to make a truly nice control set.
Posted by nylatenite
at 12:44 AM EDT