Streetfighter X Tekken: Is it a knockout?

 If fighting games have always been your passion or ever sparked some interest Streetfighter X Tekken proves itself as the prospect to fulfill such roles. Capcom proved again how a simplistic learning curve and an extremely in depth mechanics system demonstrate a welcome gaming experience for all. The professionals can continue what they're doing with new mechanics and characters while people who are new to the genre get to awe in the beautiful graphics and interesting technicalities.

 Capcom is not new to the idea of crossovers, with predecessors such as the extremely successful   Marvel vs. Capcom and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, but Capcom was able to prove how this was their best yet. Utilizing stylized graphics and a few new features Capcom was able to reinvent the fighting genre and make it a revolutionary experience.

 Streetfighter X Tekken looks gorgeous, by improving on the stylized graphics of Streetfighter IV and throwing in exceptionally ridiculous backgrounds that are detailed and would catch the eye of anyone.

Akuma and Kazuya fighting in a hovercraft being chased by a techno-mammoth (strategyinformer.com)

 Combat in Streetfighter games have always been fluid, bright and flashy, and in combination with outrageous backgrounds and fast paced gameplay and breathtaking stylization is eye-candy at its finest.

The gameplay further propagates that of a Streetfighter title, keeping mechanics in the game stable and crisp. You're fighters feel like an extension of your controller, and you'll never miss that vital hadouken unless it was the players reaction time. The game never fails the player, which is a common gripe with highly responsive video game genres such as first-person shooters and fighting games.

Ryu is kicking Kazuya's face in while a curious dinosaur watches (vglounge.com)

 Accompanying the splendor and fluidity, Streetfighter X Tekken's soundtrack is explosive and high paced never letting up and allowing the mood to further engross the player in the action. Capcom used a score with high RPM and strong bass line, which does nothing but augment the atmosphere while playing. In contention with the score, the sound effects allow you to hear every bone crunch and hadouken fly with distinction. All this adds up to be an amazing listening experience, further engaging the player.

In addition to crisp gameplay, beautiful art styling and an explosive soundtrack are a few new unique features, custom to the game Streetfighter X Tekken. These two include Pandora Mode, an all or nothing, fight for your life, and a Gem System, which further adds to the strategy of Streetfighter X Tekken.

  Pandora Mode can be activated any time during a match to sacrifice a teammate and allow infinite cross-art meter. The catch is, whilst Pandora Mode is active you have a 10 second time bomb active. If you are not able to defeat your opponent within the allotted time, your fighter will be instantly defeated irrelevant of the situation.

Ryu has activated Pandora Mode (kotaku.com)

 The other new feature to Streetfighter X Tekken is the Gem system. Much like an RPG's inventory a player can preset an arrangement of 3 gems, which self-activate during certain situations. The gems come in six different flavors split into two categories. Firstly, Boost Gems, which come in red for attack, yellow for defense, green for speed, blue for cross gauge and lastly orange for vitality. Upon certain conditions your gems automatically activate to provide passive bonuses for limited amounts of time. For example, blocking five attacks in a row activates a red gem for a ten percent damage increase assuming you have that specific red gem equipped. The other category of gems are Assist Gems, which work differently. Assist Gems are constantly active and able to perform their tasks at hand, assuming you have the cross gauge meter to support it. An example of an Assist Gem is the "Auto Block Gem", every time one would miss a block the gem would block for you, but at an extreme cost. For the gem to block an attack, it uses  1/3 of the cross gauge meter.

Both Ryu's have gems activated. Notice the red and yellow orbs above the crossart meter (eventhubs.com)

 Picking the right gem combinations can be the difference between winning and losing a match, another layer of strategy to add to a complex game.

 Many gamers were worried that the Gem System added such game changing attributes that they would never be able to balance the game and keep it from being  competitive, but so far they have done quite the opposite. The Gem System is effective in its own matter, not breaking the game whilst being strong enough to require true strategic thinking to assemble. The Gems add another layer of complexity and enjoyment to a forever unchangeable archetypical genre.

The other concern many gamers had was the composite roster  in Streetfighter X Tekken. Historically Tekken was always a slower paced game than Streetfighter, with harder hitting chain combos in a closer vicinity, whilst Streetfighter focused more on long range, full screen combat with shorter, more precise attack strings. Although, the two groups melt together seamlessly.

 Players will be able to experience some of Tekken's most notable such as Jin, Heihachi, Kazuya, King and Yoshimitsu going head to head with Streetfighter's stars like Ryu, Akuma and Chun-li.

Guile putting King in his place (ign.com)  Streetfighter X Tekken is a great well-balanced game, which has taken a few risks that paid off in the end. The gameplay surpasses that of existent fighting games, the soundtrack is superb and the comic-book graphic stylization fits the atmosphere and genre well. The combination of both rosters proved to be nothing but interesting and the ability to watch in awe as Ryu combats Jin is extraordinary. Overall, Capcom did a great job with producing Streetfighter X Tekken and people should look forward to seeing what exciting turns the fighting genre takes after Capcom paved the way.