In what’s likely to provoke the Dragon Punch heard round the world early photos have leaked showing what is purported to be the upcoming new game teased by Capcom on their ?????? site, Super Street Fighter IV.

The internet has been ablaze with rumours of what this New Warrior game will be with all set to be revealed at 9am British Summer Time tomorrow.

Hadoken!

Title: Street Fighter IV
Release Date: February 17, 2009 (US), February 20, 2009 (EU), February 19, 2009 (AU)
Developer/Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Fighting
Platform[s]: PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360

Storyline

Street Fighter needs no introduction.  It’s fighting at its highest calibre or it was… after Street Fighter II the series never really hit the same levels of success, that’s not to say the games didn’t sell because they did but the sequels thereafter never met the expectations of old-school fans. 

Obviously story was always a minimal affair – as you’d expect and SFIV is no exception.  Arcade mode might start and finish with an animated cutscene but to be honest these are weak at best.  This is not a game about story!     

Gameplay

This is Street Fighter and long-term fans will know there’s more than one way to play.  Each character is different; some focus more on normal attacks, others on special and a few have both focused perfectly.  With all this in-mind it has to be said that not every character is equally balanced much like previous entries in the series.  To compensate for this some players choose button mashing – throwing out random combos in the hope that they land.  Others will strategically blend low kicks, high punches and special moves with focus attacks whilst commanding a full understanding of SFIV’s Super and Ultra Meters (leading to Super and Ultra Combos).  The beauty is that with practice both approaches work and there are twenty-five playable characters to practise with!

The multiplayer aspect is simple enough; it’s the same as the singleplayer but with more unlockables, more achievements, psychological tactics and the usual XBL advantages.  Everything is well rounded and great fun!          

Graphics

Core gameplay graphics are visually stylized 3D character models upon 2D backgrounds.  These look amazing; it’s an effort to bring Street Fighter II into the next generation which without a doubt has paid off.  It’s all very anime but with an ounce of oo-la-la.

Sound

Excellent music coupled with voiceovers available in English and Japanese as well as all those traditional sound effects we know and love.  It’s all brilliantly executed.   

Overall Score & Replayability

There are a few bugs, not many though and Street Fighter IV isn’t quite its predecessor twice passed but it is a great game which offers everything the genre should.  Some say Fighting games are a dying breed, I say this is the second coming.