“Street Fighter V” is the highly anticipated proverbial cash cow developed by Capcom. Was the wait worth it?

“Street Fighter V” isn’t bad but isn’t good either. What is great about the game are the graphics. They are absolutely stunning, with beautifully rendered sprites and backgrounds and cleverly designed characters. Using V-Triggers also adds to the beauty of the game. The special moves are great and look fantastic. Capcom really took its time to create a beautiful game. The Super moves are even better, creating flashy and aesthetically pleasing combos.

The characters are fairly good as well. You can tell that each is different and has its own personality. Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Bison remain the same, however, new characters like R. Mika and Necalli have special moves and Super combos that differentiate them.

Some characters have lasting effects; F.A.N.G has poison, while Ken has burning. However, the gameplay is exactly the same as the more warmly received “Street Fighter IV.” That’s not good at all; with “Mortal Kombat XL” and “Storm 4” reinventing themselves, “SFV” should have done the same. Instead, the gameplay is exactly the same as other Street Fighter games. Again: not good.

Even worse? There is almost no substance. Yes, multiplayer is a big part of fighting games, and when it works, it’s great. However the crux of the game shouldn’t be the multiplayer. The single player should be interesting and engaging.

The game offers just two single player options: survival and story. The story mode isn’t worth the time and effort to get invested in, so that only leaves survival. Even so, it’s not like other survival modes. It’s more like an arcade mode with “battle supplements” that the game offers in exchange for points. It’s fun for the first time playing, but then it gets stale and – for lack of a better term – boring.

At the end of the day, “Street Fighter V” is disappointing on many levels. While the graphics are appealing, the gameplay remains mostly unchanged; the lack of content and too similar gameplay make it somewhat boring. The fact that Capcom is going to have DLC characters and modes just makes the game much worse than it actually is.

If you’re looking for a great fighting game, get “Mortal Kombat” or “Ultimate Ninja Storm 4.” I recommend you skip “Street Fighter V” until Capcom comes out with a real game.