Street Fighter IV

On February 20th 2009, the wait was over. The eagerly anticipated Street Fighter IV was finally released, and it was well worth the wait.

Taking the classic fighting system from the SF series and combining it with crisp, state of the art 3D character designs and 2D/3D backgrounds for fighting designs is probably the main selling point for this game, and the main reason why it's such a fantastic game.

Updated takes on the classic character's theme music tracks are also a winner as well as the amazing Japanese dub voices, but unfortunately it's the English dub that once again lets it down. The voice actors are in good form, but it's really the dialogue in cutscenes that are the poor point. The choice of characters receives a mixed reception from the fans, with huge favourites from the classic series returning , including 14 of the original 16 SFII characters and 5 from the Street Fighter Alpha series. 4 new characters are introduced and it's tough to adapt to their command lists and fighting styles at first, but the training and challenge are a huge help in helping the player master characters' abilities.

Like most fighting games however, it's the arcade mode's final boss that sticks out like a sore thumb as the worst character in the game.

Nevertheless, the game is still a huge winner, and easily a top contender for one of the top games of 2009, proof that when it comes to fighting games, Capcom will never be beaten. The SF series just keeps getting better with age, and this is as close to the perfection of the fantastic 1991 Street Fighter II original.