So, just bought the game today and played a few hours of it. Might not seem alot but for a 2d fighting game I'd say it is enough.

So I'm sure you guys know by now that the game is a cross over between Tekken and Street fighter. It includes up to 40+ characters, with a fair share of each game, also including Cole from Infamous, Megaman, Pacman, and these 2 weird japanese kitens who I have no Idea about. The character choice selection is very substantial and allows a great variety of choice, especially with the games tag team feature. ( this is forced on, you cannot play single )

The gameplay is very similar to the Street fighter style. It's slow and tactical, and the combo's/controls are practically the same. However, the element of "juggling" from Tekken, has been introduced. In my opinion Id say it was 90% SF and 10% Tekken.
Even with the similarities, the core mechanics of the game are slightly different. Most players will have to find them selves " getting used " to the new style of gameplay, but this should be picked up very quickly. I'd say it would be more "noob friendly" then to SF4 as button bashing can result into some short combos...

The interface of the game is pretty similar to SF4. The graphics of the game are practically SF graphics ( maybe a bit more flashy or polished ) and the frames per second are very smooth. I don't think I have encountered any frame rate issues at all.

The combat is practically the same ( on the SF side at least ) Some of the ultra moves have been taken out from the SF characters, and are now much more easier to do. Combat with the Tekken characters is much more CQC, but some of the ultra moves are excellent! For example, Jin tempoarily transforms into devil jin and uses his laser beam, or Raven performs a great Ninja assault in the air, etc etc... Even though the Tekken characters have less projectile moves, it is made up in there combos. However, the fighting is still very slow and rigid like SF.

The game also introduces a new feature, something called "gems"
These are basically power ups which activate in game to give you a certain bonus whilst fighting. Like increased power, speed, endurance, or even evade all grabs.
It has been said that these gems do not affect the game play that much as they are tempoary. But I hate this, when playing against my friend, the power up gem is way too overpowered in my opinion. Normally it takes a good amount of hits to kill the enemy ( without them switching characters ) however, with this Gem activated its almost like 200% power and the game is finished much more quicker. I really wish that there was a way that you could play WITHOUT the gems, however this is only possible in training/trial mode ~_~.

The game offers a few selection of game modes. The standard Arcade mode, versus, trial, and even mission mode. Mission mode's are basically normal fights but with different circumstances, e.g fight in different conditions etc... There is also 'Scramble mode' which allows you to have all 4 characters fighting on the screen simultaneously.. Id say this was a bit chaotic, and prefer the standard fighting style...

The network features on this are poor. What's available is decent, it's only the connection issues that bring this side to the game down heavily. Even with the filter on of same region ,and maxium connection quality, the online games tend to be laggy or slightly unresponsive. Playing a flawless game ( connection wise ) is not as common as it should be. But when facing an opponent with bad connection, the frapes per second reduce by a great amount, and turns unplayable.

Overall, I'd give this game an 7.5 out of 10. The game is not just a cheap spin off the normal series, but actually offers a unique style to the whole franchise. I'm sure that every beat em up fan has always wanted to play a game allowing Street fighter and Tekken characters to fight each other and this game delivers this very well. The gameplay, visuals and presentation is excellent and may attract to most type of players. It is unfortunate that the network issues are horrible, and the Gem system is something which may not attract to everyone. But if you are a fan of beat em up games like me, I am sure that you will love this game and chip in many hours. Instead of it turning out to be " a cheap spin off " the game is presented to be unique, and definitely worth it's price.


Corrisve.