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[SapientWolf]

With Spring looking like the new Fall I thought it would be a good time to launch a thread for people to post their thoughts on their first time playing a game. The first impression of gameplay can be the longest lasting and the most important, and can often make the difference between a purchase or a pass.

So, to participate, post on how you felt about a game during your first time playing, whether it be a beta, demo, or the full retail game. Or, alternatively, post about a game that you anticipate playing in the near future and then quote yourself and add the impressions later.

Some background information, such as your expectations of the game, where you played it, how much you paid to play it, etc. would also help give the post context. It will be interesting to see how people's opinion of a game can change, and how expecations or the playing environment can color the experience.

 

[SapientWolf]

One last post before this thread hits the graveyard.

My first impressions of Street Fighter IV

Background
I'm a huge fighting game fan so I've been anticipating this game since it was announced. I stopped playing fighting games seriously after arcades died but improvements in online play have made them viable for me again. I've played SF2 casually before but I didn't start getting serious until after I moved on to 3D fighters. I never appreciated all the depth the game had to offer so in many ways it feels like I'm starting from the beginning. I played the game at 1360x768 on a 27" HDTV that doubles as a computer monitor. I used headphones for the sound. I used the default XBox 360 controller with the dpad mod. These impressions are from last Thursday.

Impressions
I was immediately impressed by the game's high presentation value. The intro is very slick, as are the menus. Load times are almost non-existent on the 360 version. I wasn't exactly blown away by the graphics, but the game still looks very good in motion. The special moves are impressive looking, the facial expressions are very well done, and it runs at a snappy 60fps.

I started out by picking Guile and trudging through the arcade mode on medium. I wasn't prepared for the beating I took. Abel and Seth absolutely destroyed me. I think it took me 2 hours to finish arcade mode. The fighting system is suprisingly fast and fluid compared to the original SF2, but it was clear that I had a lot of learning to do. So I went to the trial mode right afterwards and completed normal without much trouble. I turned off the console after beating the first hard trial. That might take me another 2 hours.

I used to think that 2D fighters were simpler than 3D ones but now I realize that is clearly not the case. I can't wait to go back and improve my skills and start playing people online.