In my opinion, Capcom will forever be remembered for the industry revolution their original arcade game, Street Fighter II, caused in the early 1990’s. In that area, beat ‘em up games reigned supreme. Who doesn’t remember Double Dragon, Streets of Rage, Mortal Kombat, Rival Turf or Final Fight? For those of us who do, these games represent a wonderful period of entertainment in which roaming cities, punching, kicking, and mastering complicated controller button combinations were a part of life. Those who don’t are treated with new versions of the licenses that dazzle visually, but fall flat when compared to the original titles of yesteryear. Enter Final Fight: Streetwise.

The graphics in Final Fight: Streetwise are, all factors considering, pretty tight. Capcom has certainly mastered the art of using visuals to capture mood. A majority of the game play leads across a decrepit city of poorly lit streets, back alleys, and run down clubs. The background visuals are appropriate and contribute to the theme of the action; the character models, however, aren’t quite so clean. Expect muddy textures and choppy animation during the game play. Adding to the disappointment is a pretty lame script (clearly the result of a poor English translation) complete with a generic roster of cliché punch and kick noises. The soundtrack (though licensed) is fairly weak as well with tracks that distract rather than subtly go with the flow of the in-game atmosphere. As a small redemption, the cut scene animations are well done, as is the in-game lighting.

Fans of the original Final Fight may remember choosing between playable characters Mike Haggar and Cody Travers in attempting to take on the crime world; one beat down at a time. Final Fight: Streetwise drops the player into the role of Kyle Travers (Cody’s younger brother) literally in the middle of a club brawl. It turns out older brother Cody has gotten himself tangled up with a bad crowd of crime bosses and underworld meanies and through endless punches and kicks, it is your responsibility to bail him out.

The game offers two primary game play options (Arcade & Story) as well as a full (unlockable) emulation of the original Final Fight. Suffice to say, Story mode offers the most involving of the gameplay options (and perhaps the most rewarding) through cutscenes and an attempt at drama. Unfortunately, the plot does little in regard to masking the reality that progressing through the missions is a (single) button mashing affair.

While no single game play element is particularly tricky or frustrating, the game’s difficulty (and perhaps downfall) is derived from repetition. The environment itself is fairly free-roaming, however the real core of the game is mashing the attack button in the presence of the enemy characters who arrive in large quantities and wait their turn to get pummeled.

For better or for worse, the video game industry owes a lot to the Grand Theft Auto series for starting but another oft-duplicated trend: the free-roaming city with a staggering number of side-missions to complete in order to fully beat the game. Streetwise is set up with destinations to advance the plot (for those who wish to put forth minimal effort) with a cast of characters in need of your assistance on the side. The side missions themselves are oddly disconnected from the main game play elements (leaning more toward elements of puzzle-solving and simple, primitive, arcade-style action).

Thankfully, the game’s creators were kind enough to include a brightly-lit flashing arrow to guide the player on his quest, as the grimy backdrop locale can become repetitive and losing one’s way is a very realistic possibility.

Fans of the original will most certainly be soured with the latest incarnation of a once proud license. For them, perhaps nostalgia of the original emulation included will be motivation enough to sludge through the main game. For everyone else, this is a solidly mediocre entry to an over-populated genre.