Street Fighter IV: New screens & character
by Terrence Stasse 
{ Feb 14th 2008 at 10:30PM }
With multiple good fighters coming out in 2008, will Street Fighter IV's name be enough to have it succeed? (Assuming it's released in 08, as it has no official date.) It depends. The game does have a rabid fanbase, and now that all their favorites are confirmed, we're starting to wonder who the new characters are. To placate us, Capcom released screens featuring a new character, Abel. Abel appears to be kick-boxing inspired, though just that of course that tells us nothing about how he will play (which is the important part). The semi-controversial, over-the-top facial animations are here in full form as well, and the graphics, though again not loved by all, are nevertheless very well done and have a very close feel to that of the old 2D hand-animated games. With all these reveals regarding the game, here's to hoping that it hits shelves before the year is out.
Abel's character bio and concept shot after the break.
"Abel - The man with no past"
"With no memory of his past, this young man has no choice but to move forward, using any clue he can get his hands on to rout out what may be left of Shadaloo. His fighting style represents a mix of multiple martial arts. Though he appears gruff and unfriendly on the surface, he is not the misanthrope he seems to be. His serious and polite nature is easy to misinterpret as indifference, but these still waters run deep indeed."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Werm2002 @ Feb 14th 2008 10:23PM
Wonder what he'll play like?
danny. @ Feb 15th 2008 11:31AM
It says his style is mixed martial arts which is commonly used when describing events like UFC and other such events. He is shown going for a takedown in one of the last shots, and the kickboxing influence points in that direction as well. I would guess that is the style he'll be loosely based on.
I have no idea how I broke the thread replying to the post.
N @ Feb 14th 2008 10:39PM
I want my parries back. :(
On topic:
Anyhoo, he looks kinda cool, I look forward to seeing how he plays at AOU in a few days. I'm more interested in seeing how they'll handle Crimson Viper with her technology based fighting and all, though. Not to mention this save/revenge system I keep hearing about.
AoE @ Feb 14th 2008 10:40PM
Terrence, I hope you're joking about SFIV's success being up in the air?
Also, welcome to the X3F team!
terrence @ Feb 14th 2008 10:43PM
I was indeed joking, its going to be Day 1 for me.
And thanks for the welcome :)
NukeAssault @ Feb 14th 2008 10:55PM
I just hope Sakura is in it... shes my second best character next to Ken.
y2ace2 @ Feb 14th 2008 11:55PM
Anyone else see the resemblance in the moves in the 5th and 7th pictures to Sean from SF 3. They look identical to his tackle and to his alternate Hurricane kick.
Magic Whiskey @ Feb 15th 2008 1:56AM
I bet Abel is Bison's son...
ccc @ Feb 15th 2008 2:48AM
@Terrence
Cool, I look forward to test your metal in sf4:)
Terrence Stasse @ Feb 15th 2008 4:00AM
thats "mettle" good sir ;)
Skyfire360 @ Feb 15th 2008 3:36AM
lol @ guile's face in the first image
Digital Limit @ Feb 15th 2008 4:01AM
Guile kind of looks retarded. The art style is interesting, but is stealing some of the badassery away from otherwise kickass characters.
Techno-Kid @ Feb 15th 2008 12:41PM
The characters have always made stupid, goofy faces when getting hit. It was just harder to notice cause the graphics weren't OMFG SO CUTTING EDGE.
danny. @ Feb 15th 2008 9:08AM
terrible double leg in the last shot... I guess he's got some wrestling in his style as well. It'd be great to see a character with a genuine wrestling influence (outside of the vapor UFC game) instead of the pro wrestling representations in games like Tekken and VF5.