Super Street Fighter IV

Super Street Fighter IV (SSF4) is an expansion of the eagerly anticipated Street Fighter IV that came out last year. There was huge hype in the run up to the game because Street Fighter III was released only in Japan, and it has been 15 years since the classic 'Super Street Fighter II Turbo', renowned as being one of the best fighting games ever, was released.

Added to this expansion pack are 10 new characters, some from earlier versions of the Street Fighter franchise like Dee Jay and T Hawk, and some that were made especially for this game, like the evil female Taekwondo fighter Juri and Turkish oil wrestler Hakan. Also, a second ultra combo has been added to each character, giving the player the choice of two devastating manoeuvres to select before a match. The players have also been rebalanced to make the characters pretty much as good as each other in their own way.

Another feature, which will probably be the one you'll be playing most, is the updated online play. There rarely is much lag, which means good, clean, exciting and consistent fun. There are many modes to choose from. You can fight ranked matches, fight team battles, endless battles, and if you're serious about improving your strategy, uploading replays to watch after a fight.

The one disappointing feature of the last instalment was the laughable story modes, with the lack of depth and down right silliness in some stories and rivalries between characters, such as the 'Are you Fei Long?...Yes...Really...I do not have to repeat myself!!!...FIGHT' scenario or Blanka's decision to fight El Fuerte simply because he doesn't like people who wear masks, frustrating. The Street Fighter story has been progressed and updated from the last game, which is a nice touch, and it has been mostly kept simple and serious, which is what a Street Fighter fan wants. Also, many characters now have two rivalries, which gives the game more depth.

Finally, the infamous barrel and car challenges from Super Street Fighter II Turbo have been included as an optional extra, as well as an updated trial mode where you are given increasingly difficult combos to perform in the training arena. This is a great way to learn combos you might not learn through simply training and looking at the command list of each character.

All in all, this is a great game to buy, whether you've bought the original SF4 or not. It is cheap enough to not be a hassle, and the modifications from the last game show that the makers Capcom have listened to the Street Fighter community and responded brilliantly. Although some characters like Guile have as little as two special moves which makes the game very approachable for new fans, there is an endless amount of depth behind these characters, with combining light and medium jabs and kicks with EX moves essential, as well as grabs in the air and floor, Focus attacks, counter moves, barrier breakers, super and ultra combos to consider. It's a game that you'll find almost impossible to complete with 35 characters and an endless amount of trophies to collect along the way, so you'll never want to put Super Street Fighter IV down any time soon.

First up, if you have a Street Fighter IV (PS3) save data on your PS3, when you first load up the game you unlock two unique colours for each character, so that's a good bonus for anyone who owns the previous game.

The best thing about this game is that ALL the characters are unlocked from the start, so you can enjoy playing your favourite characters right off the bat, however you still have to unlock colours and taunts etc... I've noticed that I seem to unlock them playing online and in arcade mode.

As for the challenges, there are no time trials or survival modes, instead there is just 24 move challenges for each character, and as you go up you unlock titles and icons for your profile.

Online is pretty good, for me so far connecting to people has been more satisfying than the previous game.

Arcade you do get story lines for each character, don't expect too much as they seem pretty short and are just pictures being narrated by the characters, but it's still interesting.

Background music support is still available so you can select your favourite tracks to listen too while in arcade mode, doing challenges or even fighting online.

And finally there are tons of trophies to get, most being impossible to the average player like me.

Overall this game is at a fantastic price that you cannot argue with, it will bring a lot of fun and amusement to you, and is a great add on to your Street Fighter collections.

Super Street Fighter is the best fighting game for console. Fast, great level graphic and shoryureppa!
Buy it because it is a great games