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Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition

It's the definite version of the definite 2D brawler. Practice your quarter-circle roll as we head onto the online streets.

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It's the kind of label you expect from tabloids and overexcitable marketing execs, but Street Fighter III isthe deepest 3D fighting game ever. While its got plenty of competitors, there's good reason III is still one of the most popular games in the competitive scene some twelve years after release.

This must have given Capcom a headache when it was decided to bring 3rd Strike to the digital realm. Correct the original's flaws in the process and potentially draw the anger of dedicated fans, or publish an arcade perfect version, warts and all?

The latter's the case, meaning fans can test their skills against the world's best players online. There's some legwork for newcomers though as you weed out the weaker of the characters who can't keep the pace further up the rankings.

If you're one of those first-timers, 3rd Strike may be off-putting due to the wealth of aggressive competitors and the seemingly counter-intutative mechanic of parrying, in which you have to tap <i>towards</> the other player as they launch an attack to deflect it.

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However, Capcom has added a very well thought out selection of in-depth training missions. It offers far more than the usual "how to perform a fireball" tasks, instead leading you through a succession of lessons to learn setups, guard breaks, Parry, combos and even a hint of frame counting. You should end up as a competent duelist.

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition

The Character Gallery comprises 20 different combatants and although you will learn how to sort each from you will also discover how every playing style is represented. While you might have played
previous and subsequent Street Fighter games, here you will find unique characters that require you to learn techniques not found anywhere else in the series and thus 3rd Strike still feels fresh and new compared to its contemporaries.

Move online and the digital version really separates itself from the original, with a lavish treatment due to online workouts handled by GGPO tech.

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This ensures some of the best and smoothest online matches we've ever tried in a game of this sort. Additionally Capcom has added the ability to create tournaments and ranked matches, both of which are welcome additions. There's the odd issue with the system once in a while, and it can happen that you get kicked back to the menu, just as you thought you had started a new battle. Generally it works flawlessly. Get beaten online and you've no longer got tech to blame.

There is no doubt that Capcom has done what they could to make this the definitive version of what many believe is the definitive fighting game. The developer has tossed in bonuses, and while the possibility to set the individual DIP switches will be welcomed by experts, the collection of money to buy extras will certainly delight the new players.

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition

Capcom has been clearly committed to keeping the title as authentic as possible, and its only for those not already familiar with the series that it seems perhaps a little strange to not spent more time trying to update the original pixels or 4:3 format (though you can stretch the screen to fit HDTVs). But for the rest of us, it's great that gameplay is the main focus here.

Those of you who already have dedicated much of your time to Street Fighter III can safely swop your bundle of arcade coins for an online pass. And, as long as you've the patience to go through the training missions, newcomers have a clear start to digging into one of the most rewarding technical fighters in history.

HQ
08 Gamereactor UK
8 / 10
+
Incredible depth. Lots of training missions. Fabulous online matches.
-
A few "hiccups" when trying to set up online matches. Severity can be intimidating for new players.
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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