Street Fighter IV arrived on my coffee table last month.  I can’t stop playing it.  There are too many reasons why.  Being addicted to Street Fighter II when it came out, I had been waiting a long time for the game to evolve significantly.  Everything post Street Fighter II until now has felt like an experiment in what to do next, and with Street Fighter IV being released, it has finally stepped up.

3D is a big aspect graphically in the game, but fighting is still 2D.  Ultra moves/combos when in action allow for some camera play, as it zips around giving a truly dramatic feel.  In game music is excellent, and the sound FX are top notch.  I would however pay for someone to mute the announcer, and the boy band that plays during the title screen.

Where SF4 really shines is in online multiplayer.  Create a lobby, wait a minute, bam, you’re online kicking but with your leet skillz.  The best online feature is being able to play arcade mode, and still having a lobby available online for people to join, meaning that during quiet times online you can dive straight into the game practise pulling off your 94 move combo.

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The new characters are excellent, with 25 characters available (16 available initially, and 9 unlockable characters), and each character feeling just right.  The stories in arcade mode are fun to watch, and the challenge modes provide some extreme combo challenges.  Titles and Icons are a great way to earn some street cred, whilst giving the game more legs.

And then when you think you’re starting to get the new game, you discover focus moves.  Focus moves are the first step in the master part of ‘easy to pick up, hard to master’.  But when you start learning how to use them, watch your online ranking halve overnight.  Moves that were hard to deal with will become trivial, and block turtles now have more to worry about than fireballs and throws.

A game that may not appeal to those who aren’t Street Fighter fans, it’s a must buy for those that were or still are, and it will have you playing online for many months, if not years.

And yes, playing it on a big HD plasma between the two Street Fighter Rubixels is awesome.

Big thumbs up.  5/5.