When Street Fighter IV was confirmed to be coming to Xbox this generation, a peculiar thing happened. Somewhere, a gamer had a wet dream become reality; and ashamedly, that gamer was I. I grew up with video arcades – and naturally coin-op gaming goodness. Street Fighter II was perhaps the sole reason I'd often find myself pawing underneath my couch cushions in search of silver to feed the machines in my local Timezone. Street Fighter IV has done a fine job in restoring my faith in a series I'd feared long lost in the crowd of monster franchises of today.

Conceived as the direct-sequel to Street Fighter II, this one slots between the second and Third Strike. Although, as is with pretty much every beat ‘em up franchise out there, the story doesn't manage to make a lick o' sense! I guess it's hard to tell what is going on when I don't have the ‘Muscles from Brussels' Jean Claude Van-Damme to help spell it out for me! All I can be sure of is that the World Warriors are back, each with their own agenda that conveniently crossroads with an expected rival of old. Thrown into the fray is a brand new boss, named Seth, a being whose abilities consist of everybody else's rather than his own. And you know what? It's a generic concept that has been flogged to death, and I thought it a little stale of Capcom. Other than Seth joining the fray, there are four more new characters that make their debut; all reeking of a certain Japanese quirkiness.

You have balloon of a man Rufus, aspiring Mexican gourmet chef El Fuerte, Crimson Viper who is apparently a spy and French amnesiac Abel. It's certainly a mixed bag of unique individuals alright, and yet none of the debutants manage to come across as memorable to me. Maybe I'm one for the classics, or maybe Capcom are scraping the barrel of creativity? Regardless, it's warming to see my old favourites returning such as M. Bison, Ryu, Vega and everyone's favourite professional wrestler, Zangief. It's an impressive roster once everyone is unlocked.

I bet you're sitting there thinking ‘yeah, but what about the fighting?', after all that is the key factor in a game like this. And to put it simply, I can safely say Street Fighter IV is the most technically sound, engaging and brilliant fighting game I've ever played. Yet somehow, it also manages to be brutal and frustrating at the very same time. The formula hasn't changed a great deal over the decades, and in this case it's undoubtedly paid off. Unlike most modern day fighters, Street Fighter decides to keep it real, remaining two-dimensional – but really, who could accept it any other way? Super Combo techniques, a mainstay since Super Turbo returns coupled with Ultra Combo moves, a brand new addition to the series. These, for the most part, are bad ass! It works similar to the Rage Gauge from the SNK games; the more you're pounded on by your adversary, the more your ‘revenge meter' increases. Once above half-way, you're set to rain hell down on your opponent in spectacular fashion.

You're also now able to perform counter-attack techniques, known as ‘Focus Attacks'. Timing is essential here, and if you're able to successfully nail it, you'll absorb an attack whilst launching a furious counter-attack. You need simply press medium kick and medium punch to execute it, so it's fairly accessible in the grand scheme of things. In terms of scheme, the traditional six button system returns; Capcom have done quite well to ensure the classic gameplay is mixed with the newer, finer things to create a near-perfect ‘beat ‘em up cocktail'.

Sadly, as is common with a lot of console fighters that rely on button-command combos, these can be tedious and brutally difficult to pull off in the heat of battle using the standard Xbox 360 controller. So if you consider yourself a bit of a ‘beam ‘em up buff'; you may be one to invest in the ‘Tournament Fightstick', which will be landing on our shores soon enough through MadCatz. It basically emulates the joystick and six-button interface you'd experience in the arcades; and as testimonials would indicate, it is far more efficient than the 360's troublesome d-Pad or analog stick. Unfortunately, the stick is pricey; so unless you can justify a joystick that tops over two-hundred clams, you might just wanna invest the time in dealing with the 360 pad.

Every fighter in Street Fighter IV is well balanced. If you allow yourself to be drawn in, and put in the time, you can become competent enough with any fighter; giving yourself the chance to beat anybody. I did find that Ken, at times, was a slight bit overpowered – his Shōryūken can occasionally do more damage than some character's Ultra Combos. Along with this, Zangief's lariat can prove quite damaging when repeated over, and over, and over again. In the online community, this ‘cheap exploit' is often referred to as getting ‘Gief twirled'. You'll also experience points at which the A.I. is just unbelievably ruthless. To me, it seems to happen quite suddenly, I'll spend one minute Psycho Crushin' my way through the ranks, and the next backed into a corner barely able to stand amidst the flurry of kicks and grapples! It can be quite unfair, to say the least. Other than these rare instances, Street Fighter IV is one of the more balanced games of the genre.

Players have a robust array of options when deciding what to do first in SFIV. You've got the traditional arcade mode to breeze through, culminating with the ever-frustrating boss fight with Seth. A challenge mode is also present, consisting of time trials, survival and a trial option. Time trials and survival pretty much offer what's to be expected, either requiring the player to breeze through foes adhering to a time limit, or simply going the distance until you can't go no more. Trial mode on the other hand requires you, as any one of the twenty-five fighters, to execute a string of combos that literally exhaust each fighter's arsenal. These can be extremely challenging, but when you're done it's satisfying to say the least. The player is rewarded with a medal following each challenge, ranging from bronze to gold.

Oh did I mention Street Fighter IV also has online? At long last, it doesn't require a trip to the local arcade to play your buddies in sweaty, tense bout of street fightin'. It's not hard to find games online; however it is difficult to find a stable connection. Luckily, the game doesn't suffer too badly on a weak connection; I've only ever had one match that more resembled a slideshow presentation than a real fight. The only gripe I have with online play is the people. So many people seem to opt for a cheap victory via shady tactics – sure, they win, but what happens to the spirit of the game? It renders it damaged, and far less appealing than it really should be.

As I mentioned much earlier, Street Fighter IV, to match the rest of the series, remains a two-dimensional fighter. Graphically, however, character models and locales have been rendered in 3D, much similar to the Street Fighter EX spin-off. On this occasion, the art crew, led by Daigo Ikeno (who worked on Third Strike), have stylized the series, giving it an almost cel-shaded impression as it looks, for the most part, hand drawn. We've seen many cel-shaded games over this generation and last, and one thing has been consistent through them all, it just looks stunning in motion, and Street Fighter is no exception. A fine touch to an already impressive looking game is the visual accents used during the action; the use of calligraphic strokes and what looks much like ink render even the most devastating of techniques a work of art. It's certainly a buffet for your eye sockets.

On the other end of the spectrum, visually, you've got the cut-scenes that prelude and cap off each fighter's respective arcade experience. Now, these are simply abysmal. The animation is poor, and they literally offer nothing to what I've already established as a scattered story; if anything, they stir up more ambiguity. The voice-acting isn't the highest tier either, however you'd never expect much from a Japanese game dubbed in English; that's always a recipe for mediocrity. On the other hand, the game's standout feature by way of audio has got to be the track "Indestructible” that so brilliantly welcomes you to the game. A typical j-pop sounding affair, yet bloody catchy!