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" Also available on: PS3 Genre: Beat-Em-Up Developer: Dimps/Capcom Publisher: Capcom Release date: February 20, 2009 The majority of self-respecting gamers who were big enough to grip an arcade stick back in 1991 spent more time with the likes of Ryu, Ken, Chun Li and Guile than they did with their own families. Street Fighter II was, and still is, one of the most popular and influential video games of all time. The number of titles that owe their very existence to Street Fighter II is beyond count, yet despite their numbers, very few have come close to matching the game&amp;#039;s quality, let alone bettering it. Its influence is so great that it even topped Digital Spy&amp;#039;s recent &amp;#039;Top Ten Fighting Games&amp;#039; list.  Street Fighter II featured a simple, albeit not wholly original concept, that was executed to perfection by Japanese gaming giants Capcom. Two fighters face off on a 2D plane and by using a variety of punches, kicks and special moves, the player must deplete their opponent&amp;#039;s energy bar before the same happens to them or the time runs out.  Over the years Capcom has released multiple updates and ports of Street Fighter II and is still doing so today; most recently with the release of Street Fighter II HD Remix as a downloadable title on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. Street Fighter II&amp;#039;s influence is no more prominent than in the long-awaited sequel Street Fighter IV, which, while being billed as a sequel, is more of a re-imagining or homage to the game that kick started the beat-em-up genre all those years ago. Prepare yourself for Street Fighter II perfected. The first thing that will strike players when turning on Street Fighter IV is how good everything looks. So mesmerising and hypnotic are the game&amp;#039;s graphics, that the second, third and fourth thing to strike you will be your opponent&amp;#039;s fists and feet. From the use of water colours during the introduction video to the 3D-triggering Ultra moves; every time you play SF IV you will see something that makes you stare and drool. The animations are fluid, the sprites are bold and the action is bright and beautiful. While many contemporary titles opt for realistic colours and lighting, Street Fighter IV utilises a hand-drawn art style and garish colour scheme that when viewed in full motion has the potential to make your eyes bleed - screen shots really don&amp;#039;t do the game justice. Perhaps the only graphical oddity is the size of skinny school girl Sakura&amp;#039;s thighs, although they pale in comparison to series favourite Chun Li&amp;#039;s child-bearing hips. Dead Or Alive may have big breasts, Street Fighter IV has big legs.  The other thing that becomes immediately apparent is how well presented the game is. From the inclusion of individual anime storyline videos to opponent specific put-downs after bouts; SF IV contains a raft of major and minor features that all add something to its magic. Nobody could accuse the developers of being lazy, as everything that featured in the arcade version has been expertly squeezed onto a disc - as well as a whole lot more. A lot of love has gone in to making this game and even more love will come from playing it. Sampling and unlocking the generous amount of content will keep even the most hardened player entertained for some time. In terms of gameplay, SF IV doesn&amp;#039;t deviate much from its predecessors. The aim of the game is still to dish out a beating to your opponent before they do the same to you. Despite the characters and backgrounds being 3D rendered, the battles remain on a 2D plane and so everything looks and feels familiar when the fight is in full flow. For those who appreciate the familiarity and want to jump straight into the action, the Arcade mode is the place to visit. After picking your character and viewing their intro, the action begins and a series of fights ensue until you lay waste to the game&amp;#039;s boss Seth. As well as the handy Practice mode, which is fully customisable, there is also the Challenge mode, which in the absence of an out-and-out tutorial serves as a training ground to learn some of the combos and techniques that are so important to victory. Perhaps the most important mode of play in Street Fighter IV is the online mode, which thankfully suffers from very little of the crippling lag that often ruins the split second world of online beat-em-ups. Assuming both players have a decent internet connection, very little seems to go wrong with the fights; although there are still a few occasions when slight delays play havoc with your health bar. As well as a host of customisable profile features, Street Fighter IV&amp;#039;s online mode contains a handy ranking system that generally ensures battles are fair and contested on a level playing field. Despite the well-executed online aspect of SF IV, close proximity one-on-one Versus bouts are the preferred mode of play. There is nothing more satisfying then performing a victory dance in full view of a friend, after an expertly fought battle goes to the wire and is won with a flashy Ultra Combo. The Ultra Combos are one of the new gameplay features and are variations of the familiar Super Combos. The Ultra Gauge (or Revenge Gauge) only fills up when you take damage. When full enough, the Ultra command can be inputted which leads to a stunningly spectacular cinematic attack, which is viewed in all angles from a 3D perspective. Not only do the Ultra moves look great, but they&amp;#039;re also devastating and are often the difference between winning and losing.  Perhaps the most significant new feature is Focus Attacks. These Attacks replace Street Fighter III&amp;#039;s parry system and ensure that while the game is easy to pick up and play, it\u2019s tough to master. Focus Attacks are achieved by simultaneously holding and charging medium punch and medium kick (releasing the buttons delivers the blow). While in the Focus stance, players are able to absorb one hit, while instantly being able to counter with their Focus Attack. Connecting this attack knocks your opponent to the ground and can be followed with a special move or combo. Despite absorbing the initial attack from your opponent, the player still takes damage, but successfully landing the Focus Attack allows the player to regain that lost health, provided they don&amp;#039;t get hit in the following couple of seconds. There are some moves that can&amp;#039;t be absorbed with the Focus system and the player charging the attack also has the option to cancel it and move into something else. Focus Attacks are easy to execute, but the challenge comes from knowing when to use them. They can be used offensively, defensively and psychologically and often lead to cat and mouse battles with explosive finishes.  The parry system isn&amp;#039;t the only feature to be dropped from Street Fighter III. Practically all of the new characters that were introduced for the third instalment have been replaced by familiar favourites. All of Street Fighter II&amp;#039;s characters return, with the exception of T. Hawk and Dee Jay. The familiarity of characters is one of the main reasons this feels like a remake, but it\u2019s great to see all of the old favourites looking so good. In addition to some extra characters from the Alpha series, there are also four brand new characters to master. The new characters are all suitably eccentric and handle quite differently from the old-school fighters. The newbies do take some getting used to, but once mastered, El Fuerte\u2019s speed can be as deadly as Rufus&amp;#039;s power. \u2018The man without a past\u2019 Abel and agent Crimson Viper offer the best balance in terms of power, speed and specials and have already proven to be quite the handful in single and multiplayer battles. With 25 characters on offer, SF IV is generous without being overwhelming and it&amp;#039;s a good idea to master most of them, in order to adapt to a particularly pesky opponent. Street Fighter IV\u2019s only major flaw comes in the form of the Xbox 360 controller, which doesn&amp;#039;t really suit this type of 2D game. It can be mastered, but initial battles call for constant experimentation with the control scheme, in particular with which directional system to use. However, it&amp;#039;s not just the directional controls that stifle play, but also the 360 and PS3\u2019s trigger and bumper buttons, which can be a bit fiddly and are no match for a six button pad or stick. It may not make too much difference on easier settings against the computer, but you can nearly always tell when you&amp;#039;ve faced somebody with an arcade stick online, so it does pay to invest in one. Also, despite being a welcome addition, some of the cut-scenes lack the polish of the rest of the title and can occasionally be a little vague. A proper tutorial mode would also have been nice, but the lack of one means that the game needs to be played more in order to get to grips with it, which is no bad thing. All-in-all Street Fighter IV has taken the foundations laid down by Street Fighter II and perfected it, resulting in one of the finest games of this generation. There is an endless amount of game in here; one that keeps getting better and more satisfying the more you play and the more you improve. With so much to unlock and the infinite promise of online and multiplayer, it&amp;#039;s a game that keeps on giving. Say goodbye to your families once again because Street Fighter is back and it&amp;#039;s better than ever.  &amp;gt; What do you think of the game? Share your views "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/review/a147650/street-fighter-iv-xbox-360/>