Dust off those arcade sticks and get ready to rumble; Street Fighter is back and better than ever!

User Rating: 9 | Super Street Fighter IV X360
Dust off those arcade sticks and get ready to rumble; Street Fighter is back and better than ever in this latest iteration of the venerable franchise! Featuring a slew of improvements over the previous entry along with multiple online and offline game modes, SSFIV is a welcome addition to the fighting game genre.

For those new to the series, SSFIV is a 2-D fighting game that emphasizes one-on-one combat. While the characters and backgrounds are 3-dimensional, all the fighting takes place on a 2-D plane. Players select a character and then attempt to knock their opponent out through the use of normal combos and special moves. Every character has a unique set of attributes and special moves, and the developers have taken great care to ensure that the fighters have balanced abilities. While a few characters may have the advantage in certain match-ups, the development team has done an excellent job in preventing any fighter from feeling too overpowered.

SFIV introduced a couple of new mechanics to the game and these have been transferred into SSFIV. The first of the new mechanics is the "Focus Attack," which functions as an all-in-one substitute for parrying, guard crushing, and canceling. On defense, the Focus Attack can be used to absorb one hit of an attack (with certain exceptions such as guard break moves and Ultra combos) and retaliate with a counter-attack. The strength of the counter-attack depends on how long the player charges the attack prior to release, with the strongest version serving as a guard break hit that leaves the enemy in a crumpled state. On offense, the Focus Attack can be charged and released to break an opponent's guard, or it can be used to cancel the animation of a special attack, thereby allowing a greater freedom when building combos.

The second new mechanic featured in both SFIV and SSFIV is the "Ultra Combo." While similar to the Super Combo, the Ultra Combo generally does more damage and the game governs the gauges of the two combos a bit differently. Players build up their Super Combo Gauge through the use of special attacks such as the famous "Hadouken" fireball. Meanwhile, players build up the Ultra Combo Gauge by either dealing damage to their opponent or receiving damage themselves. Once the gauge is at least half-full, a player can unleash a character-specific Ultra Combo that deals high damage at the cost of leaving the player open for counter-attacks should the combo whiff. The interplay between all of these mechanics makes for a fighting game that frequently feels like a fast-paced game of chess, with both players vying for space on the fighting plane.

As mentioned earlier, SSFIV improves on several aspects of the original game. The most notable difference between the two games is the addition of 10 new characters to SSFIV. This addition brings the total number of characters up to 35, which means there is now an even better chance to find a character that matches your play-style. Also new to this edition of the game is the inclusion of new game modes and the refinement of pre-existing ones. Offline game modes still include Arcade, Versus, Training, and Challenge modes. Of these, the Arcade and Challenge modes have each received a face-lift. The Arcade mode now features animated cutscenes and includes the fan-favorite Car and Barrel Smash bonus stages. Character Trials, the main attraction of the Challenge mode, are now easier to use as well. The combos featured in the trials still require practice and patience, but players can now choose which trial they would like to attempt, which is a welcome improvement over having to unlock each trial in a linear fashion.

The online portion of the game is where the majority of players will spend their time, and it is this part of the game that has received the most drastic overhaul. In addition to ranked and casual matches, players can now partake in team battles, endless battles (where the winner stays and fights the next in line), and tournament battles (added through a free DLC patch). The addition of eight-player lobbies makes SSFIV a blast to play with friends and new acquaintances alike, promoting an environment for both helpful mentoring and competitive smack-talking. Online fights run smoothly for the most part, with lag becoming more of an issue when fighting someone with a weak connection. However, players can reduce the chance of a laggy fight by searching for opponents within the same region and selecting those with strong internet connection speeds. Players seeking a brief rest from battle can instead browse the latest replays from other competitors or start a lobby to show off their own replays. The addition of the Replay Channel allows newcomers and veterans alike to hone their fighting skills by watching a continuous stream of fights featuring a certain selection of characters.

Bottom Line: With the addition of 10 new characters and improvements to several key game modes, SSFIV warrants a purchase even if you own the original game. Newcomers should not hesitate to pick up a copy and witness the definitive fighting game of this console generation.