REVIEW : Streets of Rage 4 (PC/XBOX one)
Playing Streets of Rage 4 is like turning to the old neighbourhood and realising that your childhood home still stands. Very unusually does a media property get a well-crafted follow-up year following its initial success that builds and expands upon the original concept. Streets of Rage 4 offers the awesome battle, dreary city surroundings, and pure fun that’s set the series since 1991. The few configuration problems in this PC game don’t stop Streets of Rage 4 from gaining popularity as one of the best modern beat-’em-up titles.
The Streets of Rage Story Continues
Streets of Rage 4’s tale begins ten years after Streets of Rage 3’s story. The series’ stars, ex-cops Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding are drawn back into vigilantism when a modern crime family holds their city with a vice grip. The pair ally with two unique street soldiers with familiar goals, the guitar-wielding Cherry Hunter and cybernetically improved Floyd Iraia, to take back their city.
The experience takes you through a town seemingly caught in an alternate dimension where gentrification and rising living costs haven’t disinfected the locales. Each frame bursts with life, from beating neon signs to rats scampering across stages. The development teams aimed to catch urban living’s flavour something that the former Streets of Rage games do with aplomb.
As you play through the play, you’ll unlock additional fighters, such as Adam Hunter and characters from the first three plays that are played in a 16-bit visual style evocative of their Sega Genesis appearances. You’d think that those retro styles would clash with the game’s modern elements, but they do not. Their additions are celebrations of Streets of Rage’s storied history. Sadly, you cannot have an AI-controlled partner to help you control the mean streets.
Characters and Controls
The brawler’s default four-character roster fights way through more than 10 levels of goons, mini-bosses, and bosses. Like the different games in the series, Streets of Rage 4’s figures each have their combat styles. Floyd, for instance, is a slow-moving hunk who tries big damage. Cherry, on the other hand, is the fastest of the bunch. As a result, it’s essential to select a style who suits your playstyle.
Though Streets of Rage 4’s warriors all share a conventional control scheme that combines a standard attack, special charge, throw, and super attack, some figures have unique skills that cause them to stand out from the rest. Cherry, for example, can run across the screen, which is excellent for closing the gap between you and an enemy or instantly getting to a life bar-extending health bonus. Adam has a special move that works a similar idea but to a lesser degree. It’s sad that not all roles can run or dash because once you move from one that can to one that cannot, you’ll feel as though you’re craving a valuable gameplay technique.
Combos, Specials, Supers, and Difficulty Spikes
Still, Streets of Rage 4’s fight is highly fun, and part of that happiness lies in what the play borrows from fighting games. mixed attacks are a remarkable focus, as the battle engine enables juggles, aerial extraordinary moves, and wall splats. With precise timing and vision, you and a partner can link attacks for high hit totals. The combos not only looks badass but give a score bonus based on your damage amount that leads toward extra lives and character unlocks. Thankfully, the play is lenient in how it manifests combos, which provides you with the opportunity to explore what goes toward building the wild hit and loss numbers.
Rambunctious Requirements
Streets of Rage 4’s 2D, comic book-style graphics don’t need particularly high-end PC system specifications to fitly run. This game requires at least an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU or AMD Phenom II X4 965 and o graphics department it requires Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 GPU or AMD Radeon HD 6670,4GB of RAM, and 8GB of storage.
In terms of controllers, the beat em up supports gamepad and consoles. A gamepad option lets you use both a modern and legacy control set up. If you choose the legacy option, the controls are stripped down to three buttons, so you can similarly play Streets of Rage 4.
There are a surprising number of customizable PC selections, too. The graphics choices carry V-Sync, Shadow Quality, Particle Volume, Resolution Scaling, and several more.
