Friday, July 17, 2009

Review Fighter IV

I know it's very nerdy to rage over video game reviews -- in most cases, reviews of games that you've never played but want to like and can't bear to see get anything less than a 10/10 -- but the gaming press does have its fair share of legitimate annoyances. Take, for example, the IGN review of the PC version of Street Fighter 4. Some have complained about the fact that the graphics scored lower than on the other platforms, and other such minutiae. I can accept that; even though the PC version's graphics are objectively better in every way, a different reviewer approaching the same game is going to rate its graphics differently.

What is a bit irksome, though, is the lack of any mention of some of the PC-exclusive features, most notably the inclusion of three graphical filters. Whether the reviewer loved these filters or simply found them not worthwhile, it's something that should be commented on in some way, since it was one of the PC version's only unique selling points.

The more baffling issue here is that the reviewer claims to have had severe difficulty finding anyone to play online with. I find this hard to believe, assuming he tested the game during (and not before) its release week, which he asserts he did. I can say from first-hand experience that since the very first day of release and to this day, over a week since, finding an opponent online has been remarkably easy. In fact, in my several hours of play I have only ever managed to complete one match of Arcade Mode, because I am constantly interrupted by fight requests, often before my fight against the computer even begins. The only thing easier than finding a match in this game is breathing. Hence my assertion that this reviewer must have tripped on either his network cable or acid.