From: sg7017095@v9001 (tomwoof)
Subject: Re: Street Fighter 2: HAHAHAHAHA
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Nanyang Technological University - Singapore
Review: Street Fighter II
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 13:41:00 GMT

After months of waiting, I finally got my hands on the Amiga version of 
Street Fighter II, the arcade craze. Are all those hype worth it? Is it any
better than those crappy demos going round? Read on.

The most important question asked about arcade conversion games is - is it
faithful to the original? With SF2, I can't give you a straight answer. I'll
break the quick review into a few sections each covering Graphics, Sound,
Playability, and my own comments in Verdict.

Graphics
--------
Considering the limited number of display colours, the graphics look really
great. The sprites are large and well-animated. All the major moves are 
included, and though not pixel for pixel, I'm amazed by how close they managed
to make the sprites resemble the original arcade version. I paused the game
at various stages and compared it to lots of photos of the arcade version from
a magazine. The graphic artists did their work real well. The colours remain
quite true to the arcade version, and even at such low resolution the sprites
are well proportioned and the actions well defined. 

As for the backdrop, they ARE animated, but not as much as the original and
only one layer of scrolling. The only complaint is the lack of colours, but
you don't play SF2 to admire the background, do you?  

Sound
-----
This is one area which I'm totally amazed. I'd expected the Amiga version to
sound just like the original, but apparently the programmers did their own
sampling and music scores. The music is rather monotonous, but well suited to
the fighting mood. But the sampled speech sounds completely different...
rather short compared to what I'm used to hearing at the arcade. Some sounds
are missing (Chun Li's laugh), and others sound constipated. And they could
do with more and louder fighting noise. 

Playability
-----------
SF2 Amiga is surprisingly playable, after you get a hang of the controls.
The arcade version has 6 buttons, but the US Gold programmers managed to 
reduce the control to ONE! Actually you have a selection of input modes in
which you can use the joystick solely (1 button), a combination of keyboard
and joystick (2 buttons), keyboard (1 or 2 attack buttons), and the Nintendo-
type control pad. Of course, the most fun comes from playing in 2 player mode
with another person.

The controls are sensitive and you can execute almost all of the moves
present in the arcade version. However, certain controls have been redefined
to fit the fewer number of buttons, hence SF2 arcade players may find that
some control techniques have changed. In general, the Amiga version is 
easier to play. It's very playable, but feels very different from the original.
I suppose most of the old tricks and tactics from the arcade cannot be used
in the Amiga version, so veteran SF2 players will have a new beast to contend
with (albeit a much simpler one).

Verdict
-------
This could very well be the next top game in the charts. If you don't expect
miracles, you'll be more than satisfied with this game. Although the game
leaves something to be desired (more in the sound department rather than the
graphics or gameplay), it is well worth buying. 

When I saw the arcade original, I didn't think it was possible to convert
Street Fighter II to the Amiga without losing much of its special edge in 
graphics and gameplay. I'm glad I was wrong.


In article <Bzr4Bn.A8K@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu>, shulick@navajo.ucs.indiana.edu writes...
> 
>Wow, this game is a joke!  A little review for y'all:
> 
>What a pitiful excuse for a production!  First of all, it comes on 4
>disks.  And the graphics/music/sound/animation sucks!  Any experienced
>person could easily put ALL this data on ONE DISK.  Maybe two.  But
>FOUR?  The graphics were probably the best point, and they aren't even
>that good.  The animation is WAY too jumpy to see what the hell you're
>doing.  And the playability?  Gag.  Don't even THINK about pulling off a
>hurricane kick on first or fourth try!!  Also, if on an accelerated
>machine, you should use Degrader to slow your machine down, otherwise
>you can't see what you're doing (too fast).  Good thing I didn't buy
>this trash (got to play it in a local store).  What was US Gold
>expecting?  All the SF2 junkies to go head over heals?  Well, I was
>quite disappointed.  Oh, plus, the game sometimes glitches and crashes.
>You'll do some move and the screen will get graphics fuzzies all over
>and you have to reset.  Advice?  Don't get it.  US Gold needs to get a
>major clue before they'll get my cash.
>          -4 (negative four, that is) stars
>In case you're wondering, no, the game did NOT improve any from the demo
>you saw.  I thought "Hmm, maybe it's changed a lot."  Not at all.
> 
>-- 
>    // Amiga 3000   ___ \ Sam Hulick: shulick@indiana.edu (NeXTmail OK!)
>   // 68030 25 MHz /__/\ \ My opinions wear combat boots.  Or whatever.
>\\// OS 2.04       \__\/ / "Walk!  Not bloody likely.  I am going in a
> \/                     / taxi."  --George Bernard Shaw