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| | Title:
Final Fight: Streetwise
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System:
Xbox
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Genre:
Fighting
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Publisher:
Capcom
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Developer:
Capcom
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Release:
Novemver 14, 2005
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
M
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Final Fight was one of the best arcade games of all time. It was a simple side-scrolling fighting game which took you through the mean streets of Metro City. It was definitely one of the most enjoyable games in the arcade, right up there with other titles such as Super Smash TV that are now being revived in places such as the Xbox Live Arcade.
Final Fight would be a great addition to the Xbox Live Arcade, but instead Capcom is reviving the classic with a current generation title known as: Final Fight: Streetwise. Did Capcom create another extremely fun game on par with the latest titles coming out, while still keeping to the roots of the classic Final Fight? In some ways they did but, sadly, overall it’s lacking.
Gameplay
The biggest changes between Streetwise and the original game are the three dimensional environment, a more in-depth storyline and a multitude of new things you can do around the city. For example, in order to upgrade or practice your moves you can stop by the gym. There are a lot of buildings you can go into in every city and they either serve the purpose of furthering the story, buying/upgrading, or silly side missions.
No matter where you are, fights seem to break out left and right, so first you have to know how to fight. The combat system is very basic and easy to learn, but gets slightly more complicated as you purchase new moves in the gym. The basic maneuvers allow you to: perform light attacks and strong attacks, block, switch between weapons and move around and target enemies in a multitude of fashions. By combining these basic moves, you can create a number of combination attacks to further deal out the pain.
The left trigger is used for Instinct mode, which increases your attack damage. You can only be in the Instinct mode as long as you still have something on your Instincts meter, which is located next to your health bar. The right trigger is used for a counter attack, which allows you to counter an enemy’s move as he is performing it, which results in a great amount of damage to the enemy.
After just a short time of playing the game, you will begin to find and use weapons. You can do things such as pick up trashcans and throw them around, but this does next to no damage. The baseball bat and knife are the first real weapons you will come across. These weapons are extremely useful, but you can't use them forever. Later in the game you will begin finding guns such as a pistol, shotgun and submachine gun. Grenades and Molotov cocktails can also be used. You can even wield a katana!
With this many deadly weapons and a game based completely around fighting, Final Fight: Streetwise definitely deserves its mature rating. Reading right off the box, this game includes: blood and gore, intense violence, sexual themes, strong language and the use of alcohol and drugs. I don't really see how this game could include anything worse; it pretty much has the worst of the worst when it comes to mature content. Cursing is used often and honestly is not needed. The violence is very detailed (especially when using weapons such as the knife) and there are a number of "sexual themes" throughout the game. If this kind of stuff bothers you, then definitely stay away from this game. If it doesn’t, expect a lot of it throughout the game.
Since you are on the rough and tough streets, gangs seem to be all over the place looking for trouble. At first, they will just throw a few punches; as the game progresses they will start packing weapons such as knives, pistols, and shotguns. The enemy A.I. in these group fights is very basic and the enemies pretty much wait in line to get the snot beaten out of them. They don't really gang up on you, and if you are occupied by someone else they will just sit there until you are finished. This makes taking out a huge crowd extremely easy and the overall gameplay less challenging than it should be.
Besides the group fights (which you will get into often) you will also get into a number of boss fights. These fights are definitely the best part of the game. They are difficult, so they require much skill; they’re very different than fighting the average Joe on the street. For example, in one boss fight you fight a guy that is on a fork-lift equipped with spikes in the front. You have to dodge the fork-lift while fighting a number of normal enemies who keep coming, while trying to attack the guy on the fork-lift from behind. Each boss fight is unique, and they are always more intense than the normal action in the game.
Final Fight: Streetwise also allows for cooperative play with another player, which is always fun. You can do this by entering the arcade mode (instead of the story mode) and can also unlock a number of things in the arcade mode by playing the story mode. Possibly the best thing of all is that the classic Final Fight (the old arcade/SNES version) is included. If you have played this game before, it should bring back some memories.
Graphics
Easily the weakest aspect of this game is its graphics. Everything in the environment is dull and there seems to be no color. Character models aren't half bad, but they aren’t good, either—especially compared to other newer games. There are a number of different parts to the game and different areas you can travel too, but none of them will wow you, and all of them are far from amazing. Animations are mediocre and nothing too exciting. All and all, this game falters when it comes to the graphics department.
Audio
The soundtrack in Final Fight: Streetwise includes artists such as RZA, Slipknot, Lil' Flip, NappyRoots and Soulfly, along with thirty-five others. Voice acting isn’t that impressive, and it doesn’t really seem to bring the characters to life. Sound effects sound almost like the old arcade game, which is pretty neat and keeps the whole “arcade feel” intact. Other than that, the audio of this game is decent, but nothing great.
Overall
When you get down to it, the only part that seems fun is the fighting, and luckily there is a good amount of this. The story is pretty weak, but it does add variety to the fighting. The side missions are a waste of time; you will have as much fun doing a crossword in a newspaper. The graphics are horribly done, very dull and boring. In terms of the fighting and very basic gameplay, Capcom has stayed true to the original Final Fight game. However, Streetwise adds too much crap in between. If you still only have an Xbox and enjoyed the classic Finial Fight, this should make for a really enjoyable rent. Beyond that, it is honestly not worth purchasing despite the $40 price tag, due to the amount of better titles.
| The Core Score |
Overall
5 |
| Fun |
|
7 |
| Gameplay |
|
6 |
| Graphics |
|
3 |
| Audio |
|
5 |
| Replay |
|
4 |
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