The
Street Fighter and
Tekken franchises have been some of the best in the genre, and as such,
Street Fighter X Tekken is a fighting game. Period. If you are expecting anything more, you should likely stop reading now. However, if you're reading this line, I can assume that you are a fan and want to know the low-down.
The gameplay and performance of Street Fighter X Tekken on my test machine was absolutely flawless. Fighting was as smooth as can be expected and there were no hiccups or slowdowns in the system whatsoever, once I enabled V-Sync to help with the laptop's refresh rate, that is.
While I've never been a huge fan of the stop and go style that is Street Fighter, I have to admit that it really works well in this title. For me to say this is a green light for others who prefer their fighting games to be more fluid and real-time. So while you do lose a bit of Tekken's old-school 3D flair in lieu of the pseudo-3D side-scrolling fighter that is before you, it still plays quite nicely. The game's main feature is the tag-team style of play that allows you to switch characters on the fly, essentially doubling the amount of combat styles you can choose from for each match.
There are vast numbers of characters to choose from, of course coming from both franchises, and most of them look and play great. The number of game modes is a bit lacking, but as I mentioned earlier, Street Fighter X Tekken is a fighter and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. For newcomers, there is an extensive (i.e. long) tutorial that covers everything from basic controls to mastering special moves and the use of gems that give you extra attributes as you play. [For more on the gem system, visit the Official Street Fighter Website and look under SFXT's "Features" tab.]
The game allows up to four players (due to the tag-team style), but only two fighters will ever be controllable at any given time. What this means, however, is that the game isn't limited to two players, so it can make for a pretty fun party game. Still, 2-Player Co-Op isn't ever as fun as head-to-head. The Arcade Mode offers head-to-head at its finest, and in true arcade action, you'll be challenged by online folks when you are connected to the Internet, so be prepared. I have mixed feelings about this style, but if it does one thing, it helps simulate someone putting their quarter down from the days when arcades were far more popular.
