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Ah Street Fighter II….I remember you so well, my dear friend!
Super Street Fighter II Turbo in fact. Back in the day, my mate and me used to get back from the pub, boot up the SNES and go round the board on said game…ah- happy days. Now I must admit, Street Fighter III kinda passed me by. Since those days, lots of shiny pretenders to the beat em up crown have pushed their weight around. Tekken, Soul Calibur, Virtua Fighter and Dead or Alive have come in their 3d glory , to take our minds away from the joy that was doing a “Shoryuken”.

this is one of the best multiplayer games out there

Now all the above-mentioned grapplers all have their merits, and I have spent many an hour sampling all of them. But when I think of Street Fighter II, I go all misty eyed. Now, ever since hearing about Street Fighter IV, I have been hungry for info, once hearing on the grape vine that this game would be the natural successor to SFII. All the screen shots looked stunning, and as the roster of fighters was announced it sounded like all my prayers where to be answered. Names like Chun Li, Blanka, Guile, Vega, E Honda all return as well as Ryu and Ken of course.

Now apart from the old boys (and girls!) returning, you will also be glad to hear that the gameplay is just how you remember it…you still have to do a quarter circle on the d pad followed by a punch to do a fireball with Ryu (and a half circle to do the rising uppercut!). Now the backgrounds are all rendered in glorious 3d, but the action is still 2D and all the better for it. As well as the usual special moves, this time we also get focus attacks as well as some ultra combos, which are pretty hard to nail.

Now Street Fighter has never been the game of choice for all the button mashers out there. It has always offered a more tactical approach to the beat em up genre. Just mashing the buttons on this game will only get you so far, but it will certainly not get you past the final boss in single player mode. This time round, the final boss is called Seth and is absolutely rock hard, and totally un-bloody-fair! Hell, when I first fought him I thought the damn game had broken. Talk about ramping up the difficulty at the end!

Now if it wasn't for Seth, I think I would have given this game a fat 10/10. As it is, I can only give it a 9. Graphically, this is stunning HD to the max. Animations are top notch as is the sound. The 3d backdrops are vibrant and detailed. The cut scenes are straight outta a manga cartoon, and up to the quality you expect from Capcom. Now, since most fighting games are best played against human opposition, you will be glad to know that the multiplayer does not disappoint. Both off and online, this is one of the best multiplayer games out there. Online fights are lag free and furious.

One warning though, if you have never player Street Fighter before, be prepared to suffer pain and agony on the physical front as well. There is a condition known as “Street Fighter Thumb” that is caused by trying to pull off all the special moves. I had forgotten about this, but after a particularly furious session trying to batter Seth for the umpteenth time- I looked down at my left thumb to see it had blistered up, and was still throbbing the next morning….(oh err misses!). But as they say: “No pain, No gain”. HADOUKEN!