A superb game for fans of the series but...
Graphics: 9/10: Very well presented and I truly loved the artstyle. Not only did it convey what you expected it to, but it actually brings an interesting element to the game compared to many other fighters. However, it is what you would expect so I would not exactly say "perfection" so a 9 is a fair score, amazing but not in the surprising sense.
Story: 6/10: Basically every character has their own story, but, obviously because its a fighter, it is less than impressive to say the least. Most of the character's stories are monumentally generic, and are mainly just 2 cutscenes sandwiched above and below a series of fights...Its basically what you would expect from it though so I cannot really knock it. However, playing fighters with surprisingly rich storylines such as Blazblue that have been around lately, I have to sort of knock down SF4 because even coming out before Blazblue, I still actually wouldve thought it would of presented something new, of course it wasnt the case.
Gameplay:7.5/10: What you would expect, but the amazing aspect of this are the awe inspiring finsihing moves and some of the faster paced action. Its surprising, however it loses points for a personal opinion. To me, the difficulty is just way...too...tedious. It does not give newcomers much time to learn, in fact, there really is such a hard learning curve. Not only just this, but the move list does not seem to help at all. Rather than having a clear cut move list thats easy to follow such as Mortal Kombat, you need a key to even begin understanding the move list at all. Fighters are "pick up and play" games to me and SS4 does not accomplish that at all. Despite this, it welcomes older players and fans of fighters and the series itself, and the gameplay is utterly satisfying.
Multiplayer:8/10: No real flaws here that arent present in the gameplay, its what you would expect, and it holds up quite nicely.
Overall:30.5/40: Its not bad, I like it personally, however I think its nothing special and its very overrated in my eyes. With amazing graphics, good gameplay and a difficult learning curve, its nothing special, but its a solid fighter and still holds up even a few years after its release.
GRADE: C (76th Percentile)