The Hint Book is a very bare bones introduction to the four new characters introduced in Street Fighter IV. These include Crimson Viper, El Fuerte, Abel and Rufus. Within the pages of the Hint Book you’ll find one combo for each, as well as a few special moves, all wonderfully drawn by Udon (the people behind some of the SF comic books).

As a collectible, the Hint Book is a must have for SF fans. The artwork is very nice and it has a comic book feel that you won’t find in the Official Strategy Guide (although you will find plenty of artwork). However, it’s in no way a replacement for the Strategy Guide. You won’t find any frame data, character strategies, general strategies, or anything remotely similar to these assets.

Hopefully that helps to clarify the difference between the two for people on the fence about choosing between them. Collectors will probably want to pick up both, while people looking to take their game to the next level, or simply learn the basics should opt for the Strategy Guide.

Now that I’ve covered that, I’m off to do some Soul Calibur IV training. I just came off of a displeasing 5th place finish at a regional qualifier over the weekend, so I need to ensure I do better at the next regional qualifier in San Diego this coming weekend.

Don’t forget about the $2,000 DEVASTATION Street Fighter IV tournament in June, or Evolution in July.

The layout is looking phenomenal; huge props to Jody for hooking up a stellar layout and using the high resolution Capcom artwork perfectly. I’m generally not a big fan of game artwork, but the SF4 art is really nice. In addition to the artwork scattered throughout the guide, there’s a small art section in the back with a few character montages.

I think this guide should appeal to the new players and the returning veterans. Coming from a Tekken and Soul Calibur background, I had to change the way I think about high level play. Playing a 2D fighter at high levels is very different from how a 3D fighter is played. But while I learned the differences (playing on a local SF4 arcade machine before heading to Capcom), it helped me develop the early chapters of the guide, informing newcomers about the intricacies of SF4.

For the advanced players, there’s a frame data index in the back of the guide. It only covers the 17 arcade characters, but it’s more than you’d find in most US-based strategy guides and the first time I’ve been able to include frame data in one of my fighting game guides. I ask for it every time because it’s something that high level players use regularly and something that I personally use religiously, but I always have to import a Japanese guide to obtain it. Now the SF players have it in the US SF4 guide.

The guide should be heading to the printer very soon to release alongside the game on Feb 17th. I’ll be gracing the Capcom Unity blog later this week with info on the new characters, along with another Prima blog next week.

For you tournament goers, keep in mind that there will be a $2,000 SF4 tournament at DEVASTATION 2009 in June. In addition, Evo 2009 was just announced to include SF4 when it takes place in July.