OK GAME BUT I LOVE SF !

Reviewed by spencethmn on October 21, 2007  |  report this review

By now ¿ the year 2000 ¿ players ought to know a few things about Street Fighter. Ken and Ryu rule the roost; everybody else is secondary. Secondly, the moves will never truly change in SF. Third, you can always come back to Street Fighter and pull off a Dragon Punch or Fireball, and it will make you happy. Those are guaranteed Street Fighter qualities. I also must admit that in my own humble opinion, the 2D versions still beat out the three dimensional versions in look, feel, and playability. So, having laid down those weird opinions, let's get to Street Fighter EX3.

In a nutshell, EX3 is 3D Street Fighter with tag team combat and multiplayer capabilities. The game uses some of the PlayStation 2's massive polygonal power, but rarely ever scratches the surface. Even though it's probably the best looking of the three in the series, EX3 simply feels rushed, uninspired, and downright mediocre.

Although players might be instantly dazzled with the size and look of the Street Fighter characters, once you take a good look at them, the honeymoon quickly ends. Simple shaded characters that depend on boxy frames and bright colors simply don't do the imaginative, former 2D characters any justice. Unlike games such as Midway's Ready to Rumble: Round 2, which smoothens out connections using soft skin techniques, all of the SF characters look unrealistic and primitive in comparison. They look like really nice PlayStation characters, but nothing like the characters other next generation games offer, such as Soul Calibur, Tekken Tag Tournament, or Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore.

As for the backgrounds, these are disappointing, too. Little detail, and basic, unimaginative design shows off nothing more than the fact that Capcom hasn't even scratched the surface of the PS2, nor has it really delivered a product that's worthy of its best efforts. Heck, you can still see flickering in the background.

What can I say here that will shock or amaze you? The sound effects and music in Street Fighter EX3 will not bend your mind, nor will they put you to sleep. Some familiar tunes are weaved into the in-game battles. Strangely enough, the voice acting sounds different than other Street Fighter games. Although it may just be me, these voice actors are slightly off, too.

All in all, Street Fighter EX3 keeps the tradition going, but not at its peak. While the framerates have been sped up, what keeps this game from really standing out is a litany of little things. Character response time isn't great. Even with the power of the PS2, it seems that the response time in a game such as Street Fighter Alpha 3 is better. The characters are all stiff and mechanical in movement. With the increased technical features of the PS2, most people would conclude that lighting quick movements and blindingly fast attacks would make this Street Fighter the best in the EX3 series. But that's far from the case. The character design and overall level of detail leaves much to be desired