It’s hard to believe that CAPCOM’s Street Fighter series has been around for 20 years that has not only spawned a live action movie but also an anime series about these wonderful and sometimes over the top characters. In relation to the gaming world, Street Fighter has always been synonymous to the fighting genre and after a lengthy time in the gaming wilderness, the franchise has finally returned to the world of home gaming.

With that said, Street Fighter IV is actually based on the latest arcade fighter and it has been flawlessly converted to the XBox 360 featuring state of the art and anime inspired graphics plus a great in-game engine. After mixed reviews with the previous Street Fighter games, Street Fighter IV is a fan’s dream come true that can also be accessed by the broader gaming community.

The originally Street Fighter was a 2D fighter and as the gaming world has evolved, so has the latest incarnation of the franchise which now boasts an interactive 3D environment and wonderfully designed 3D characters. Ironically, the title has a 2D feel to the fighting, ensuring that much of the original gameplay remains in tact, however with a 21st century feel. It should be noted that all the greats of the Street Fighter mythos return in the latest incarnation from fan favourites that include Ryu, Guile and some new updated characters.

Where the game does devolve from the original is the use of the 3D environment and the characters, however when it comes to the main gameplay, it becomes a side scrolling fighter with a variety of great Street Fighter maneuvers that include classics maneuvers and some new ones to boot. Some of the special maneuvers that are available to you, provided you can pull them off does make use of the 3D world  with a brief cut scene which actually assists with the enjoyment of the title.

Although the game may seem like a button masher to some gamers, Street Fighter IV is actually quite complex at times and uses just about all the buttons on the 360 controller, ensuring a variety of different moves and blocks.

The controls are reminiscent of the previous games, however the latest version has been tweaked for improved gameplay and faster response times. Even so, you don’t have to be reliant on all the buttons to win as more casual gamers can easily pickup this title and start playing, depending on which difficulty they choose to play.

The more seasoned fighting professional will be pleased with the ultra combo’s that are available or a mixture between focused and super. Whether competing against an AI player which can be difficult at times or a human player, the developers ensure for a rather fair balance that is great as the title does get ridiculously hard after the first one to five encounters.

Graphically the title is a visual delight on the XBox 360 with detailed and colourful interactive environments, however the stars of the game is the characters themselves who move like Jacki Chan on speed. There are even some anime inspired cut scenes that flawlessly meld with the in-game graphics engine and the game does pay homage to the Street Fighter games of yesterday. Musically, the title features your robust Street Fighter Soundtrack with over the top voice acting and some great sound effects. You can even listen to the cut scenes in Japanese if that is your forte.

At the end of the day, CAPCOM have created a true successor to the Street Fighter series with great anime inspired graphics and good old fashioned fighting fun that has probably not been seen in quite some time. Although it’s easy to pick up the controller and start fighting, mastering the title is a little more difficult, however the journey is definitely worth it.

Check it out!