Here we go Steet Fighter EX 3 one of Capcoms best
fighting games if not the best
Overview
Everyone knows Street Fighter is famous for setting the standard for 2D
fighting games, and that's what most series of Street Fighter games has
spun off too. But there has also been a 3D series of Street Fighter
games around for a while too going by the ''EX'' handle. The first two
were released on the original Playstation, and featured some decent 3D
graphics. But now the third features the 128-bit power of the PS2. So
let's find out to see how this game stacks up against such other rival
fighters on the PS2 like Dead Or Alive 2, and Tekken Tag Tournament.
Graphics 9/10
I've heard a lot of mixed reactions about the visuals in this game, but
I admit that I was astonished at them at first, and still am. All the
characters are designed in true 3D. Most of the characters from the old
2D Street Fighter games got a great translation into the 3D world. Prime
examples such as Guile and Dhalsim look exactly as you'd expect them to
be in 3D. The special attacks also made a great 3D translation. With all
the hadoken's, and sonic boom's looking just fantastic. The hyper and
meteor combos look fantastic, with the fighters doing long, unrealistic
attacks. These are complete with dazzling special effects such as a
statue of something I've never seen before popping up if you finish an
opponent with a hyper combo. The backgrounds also look marvelous. The
mountainous terrain and pillars featured in some of the several
backgrounds look as realistic as they can. This game goes the Tekken Tag
Tournament route and does that ''infinite'' border thing where you can't
get ring outs, and the border never ends. Compared to other PS2
fighters, the loading times are very fast and take half the time they do
to load up all your fights. And as Capcom always has achieved, their
game menus have a simple, yet effective lay out so you can easily hop
right into a game.
Gameplay/Controls 8.3/10
If you remember the controls for any of the previous Street Fighter
games, then you are in luck. The controls in this are the same as most
other Street Fighter games, with the same button combinations required
to do all the Sonic Boom's, Fireball's, and Hyper Combos. And if you
don't like the default controls, you can always customize them to your
liking. I wish you could control your characters with the analog stick
in this game, like in other fighters like Guilty Gear X, but no such
luck. This game adds a few new methods to game play. The first
noticeable one being the option to do the popular Tag Battles now, which
is two on two fighting, with the option of tagging in your other fighter
if you're low on health. This allows you to do special two-on-one
special attacks called ''meteor parades.'' The other main new feature in
this game is the ''meteor combos'' which are just like hyper combos, but
last twice as long, and do nearly three times the amount of damage. They
require three full combo meter bars to pull off.
The game's main mode of play is ''Original Mode'' where you go through
several battles, starting by yourself. The opponents you defeat have the
option to join your team. They come in handy in the in the boss battles
against Sagat and M. Bison. Also by beating original mode, you can
unlock up to eight hidden characters. The other main mode of play is the
vs. mode which three ways of playing. There's ''Arena'' which is your
two on two tag battle fighting. Then there's ''Dynamic'' where all four
characters battle at once. You have the option of having your partner
being controlled by yourself (which can be very difficult at times) or
by the computer. The last mode is ''Multi Play'' mode where up to four
players can play with the use of the multi tap adaptor in Arena or
Dynamic modes. All these modes play out well, except for Dynamic, where
the camera keeps on zooming out to focus on all four characters at once.
Training mode is up next, where you fight against a computer dummy. This
mode comes in handy because you can practice and master all your moves
in here. The last mode is character edit where you can customize to
versions of a fighter named ''Ace.'' In this mode you complete special
tasks such as performing certain moves in a specific situation. You get
points for completing the tasks, and you use the points to buy special
moves for your character to use.
Sound/Music 8.8/10
Most of the classic voice acting from the fighters as they do their
special moves is kept intact. Like Ken and Ryu's Hadoken. But some
others sound slightly different from the way you remember them, like
Guile's Sonic Boom. But either way, the altered voice acting sounds
better in the end. The same goes with the new character's voice acting.
It matches their persona perfectly. The sound effects is the standard
stuff we're use to, with all the kicks, special attack, and throws all
sounding the way they should.
Replay Value 9.1/10
There are so many fighters to play as you'll want to through each of them.Tons of
characters so little time to decide.Plus there's a nice amount of characters to unlock
in both arcade and DC versions.
Overall 8.8/10
This was way better than I originally thought. I always held off on this
game because everyone was telling me to stick with Tekken Tag Tournament
or Dead or Alive 2 instead. But after this game got reduced to $20, I
just couldn't hold off any longer. And it is worth it, because this game
is just like the classic Street Fighter, but in 3D. And now up to four
people can play in the tag modes that DOA2 and TTT made famous. So if
you were like me around PS2 lauch and decided to get the more popular
games instead, then go out and give this game a chance right now!
- by Juan Colon
