Street Fighter IV is definitely not a game for everyone but if you are an old school 2D fighter than this game is going to be one you will fiercely enjoy. This is even more so if you are a fan of the Street Fighter game series. Tekken, Street Fighter, old Mortal Combat, are all games from the mid to late nineties that took 2D fighting to a whole new level. This game will bring you back to the arcade where lines would form at the Street Fighter machine and everyone would try to take down the champion.

All of the backgrounds and characters are rendered in 3D but the game play is strictly two dimensional. This 3D rendering gives the game a much more realistic feel while the 2D game play gives it a straightforward interface. The other thing that really brings back memories of the older games is the character roster. Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, E.Honda, Blanka, Zangief, Guile, Dhalsim, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison are all back in this one. This list of characters is straight out of the first two games and has many classic characters that fans have come to know and love. In addition there are four new characters: Abel, a French style mixed martial artist, Crimson Viper, a female spy who fights in a form fitting suit, Rufus, a chunky kung fu fighter, El Fuerte, a Mexican luchador. These four characters round out the classic ones and give players more than enough options as far as character choice goes.

The one thing that Street Fighter IV complete dominates the competition at is game play. Never has there been a fighting game that moves this fast, this crisp, and has this much depth in the combat system. Players have all the familiar moves from years past but now can also use focus attacks and ultra combos to really liven up the fighting. A focus attack is a counter attack that lets you take a hit and deliver a crushing one in return. Timing on this attack is key and if done wrong you can be caught in a pretty bad spot. Ultra combos are long combos moves that go into a cinematic cut scene and take advantage of the 3D rendering of the environment. Beautiful and deadly ultra combos offer you a dynamic way to take your opponent down. All in all this is one of the best games I have ever played