Street Fighter IV

I'll be honest with you and say I've never really been any good at Street Fighter. Perhaps this is because when I was growing up all my friends were combo masters and I was simply no competition with my basic punch and kick routine. So when Capcom announced Street Fighter IV, you can forgive me for not jumping on the excitement bandwagon. Anyhow, it's a new dawn, it's a new day, so with an open mind and more experienced thumbs, I'm willing to insert the latest instalment into my console and take on Ryu and co in the tournament for the world's strongest fighters (I just hope they go easy on me)!

From the outset, there are plenty of characters to choose from, including the usual suspects - Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Blanka, Guile, Dhalsim, Balrog and so on, but there are also some debutants, such as a speedy wrestler El Fuerte, a fire wielding female fighter Crimson Viper and a martial arts expert Abel. Plus there are several characters to unlock, including Gouken and the last boss Seth, who you can unlock as a playable character when everyone else has been unlocked. With so many old and new characters to put through some street fighting action, there's a character for every occasion and enough to keep you fighting for months.

Capcom remains loyal to the 2D beat-em-up formula, but it's evident from the start that the game play has been refined and tweaked to move the series along. The primary innovation of SFIV is the Focus Attack, which can be performed by holding the Medium Punch and Kick button simultaneously. Unleashing this unblockable attack will floor your opponent, giving you the time to pull off some health bar damaging combos immediately after. It's perfect for starting a chain of destruction, but also great for ending a string of combos going against you.

Pulling off attacks will increase the on-screen EX Power Meter. Filling this up will allow you to pull of Super Combos. These extremely damaging moves are easier to pull off with some characters and a lot harder for others (or in my case, hard for some and damn near impossible for others). Not only will they inflict maximum damage, but they also create stylish animations. If you're a Street Fighter master, you can exit the animations early and perform different combos, confusing your poor opponent to a certain 'KO' (one step at a time huh).