One of the best fighting games of all time just got better.

User Rating: 10 | Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition PS3
Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition is basically the final re-release of the one of the best fighting games of all time. The core game play is completely unchanged from the arcade version, but the major addition of online matchmaking gives new life to this amazing game.

For those who have not played Street Fighter 3 (or 2 for that matter), you should know that it is considerably more challenging than new-generation fighting games (SF4/MVC3/etc). Third Strike was released in 1999, before fighting games were "dumbed down" so to speak to appeal to a wider audience, and this is one of the major reasons why SF3 never gained the level of popularity as some other fighting games have. Inputs are more strict in SF3 than in SF4 (for example: to do a dragon punch in SF3 you MUST input Down > Forward > Down/Forward, where as in SF4 you may simply quickly tap Down/Forward twice). In addition, this game is more fast paced than SF4 (characters move/attack faster), and certain mechanics such as parrying require quick reflexes and good timing. I am NOT saying SF3 is impossibly hard, I'm just saying that it will take some getting used to if you are coming from SFIV.

Anyway, if you liked third strike on PS2/Dreamcast/Arcades, you will love this game. Even if you have never played third strike but are looking for a fighting game with deep mechanics, rather than mindless button mashing, give this game a try. All in all, for $15 this game is an amazing value for any fighting game fan.