Get your beat on with Capcom's classic fighter. by Patrick Evans

When I booted up Street Fighter II on Xbox Live Arcade, I was taken back to the day where crowds would surround arcade machines. Throughout the crowd, you could hear "Who's got next?" whenever a new challenger approached. Fighting games really couldn't match the quality that Street Fighter sported until the genre went 3-D. Now, gamers can play one of the greatest fighting titles ever made with the new online port for Xbox 360.

Hyper-Fighter's roster consists of the original eight combatants plus the four bosses: Balrog, Sagat, Vega, and M Bison. Everyone knows what characters to avoid and what characters are cheap, so look out for them here as nothing has changed. Balrog still stinks, Blanka is still cheap, and Ryu is still the most popular fighter. The action has been tweaked a little quicker than some players may remember, but for the hardcore that should be a welcome change.

A hardcore Street Fighter player I am not. Unfortunately, seeing this game in the arcade when it first came out was before my time. I was certainly fortunate enough to play the countless console ports to the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo all throughout the early 90's however, so I would consider myself a veteran of sorts. Having gone over that, I must say that the computer opponent in the single-player is ridiculously difficult. After a dozen or so tries, I have still yet to beat the arcade mode on anything higher than one-star difficulty. The computer uses all the better-known traps ruthlessly and combos constantly. For anyone but the hardcore, the single-player experience could be overwhelming.

While the Arcade mode is supplemented with a training mode to help you knock the dust off of your game, the real action is of course on Xbox Live. There are both ranked and unranked matches available. For unranked matches, there are simple match-ups for one on one, but the Quarter Match is the real draw of the unranked section. Players group up in fours and play against each other, each taking their turn at the previous match's winner. The two players that are waiting get to watch the match run, scheming against the strengths and weaknesses while they wait. For those that don't wish to deal with the rankings, this mode is really the way to go.

Ranked matches are the real motivation for most Xbox Live players. Each person is trying to etch their name at the top of the leaderboard listings, declaring their Street Fighter supremacy. The problem with the online play is the terrible lag that you must cope with during a fight. Games that I played exhibited lag that ranged from bearable to unplayable. And by bearable, I mean a half-second or more behind. There would be times where I would walk straight into a fireball because my jump to clear it was a full second late. Hardcore players will certainly find issue with this problem. One would hope someone could clear up the lag problems in the near future, but a week after its release has seen no change thus far.

Some players may also find issue with the Xbox controller as well. Moves using one or more diagonal inputs on the D-pad or analog stick are inconsistent, while the button layout doesn't lend itself to the Street Fighter three-strength move system. Heavy strikes are on the shoulders and are clumsy to reach for on the off-hand. The controls are customizable, but wrestling with four face buttons will be a problem that some may have difficulty overcoming.

Street Fighter II is one of those titles that everyone grew up playing, but only a few actually mastered. Those who mastered the game as a child will be the only people that will get the full experience out of the Xbox Arcade port. Casual players will be instantly turned away by the daunting single-player difficulty and the outrageous lag experienced online.

By Patrick Evans
CCC Staff Writer

Rating out of 5 Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting (Xbox 360) 3.2 Graphics It looks exactly like it did fifteen years ago, but now you can stretch it to take up your entire widescreen TV. 3.0 Control Diagonal moves are tough and there aren't enough face buttons on the Xbox controller. 3.4 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting Old-school synth music that will keep you humming along while you get your ass handed to you by either an online or computer opponent 3.8 Play Value The idea of online gameplay is nice, but as it stands now the service is rather broken. Add a .5 to this score if Capcom works out the glitches 3.4 Overall Rating - Fair Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.