Las Vegas, Nevada – On the second day of CES 2009 I had the opportunity to meet with Capcom in their suite at Planet Hollywood. While in the suite I spent about an hour with Street Fighter IV.

You see, Street Fighter II was likely the video game that began my love for gaming. As a kid I had played all the arcade games out there. Playing games was great while I was at a pizza parlor or arcade, but I never went out of my way to play. Then in the late 80’s I ran across Street Fighter II in a bowling alley arcade. I was Dhalsim and my father was Ryu. Needless to say I got my tail whipped.

Since my introduction to Street Fighter I have spent thousands of hours playing every version that has come my way. So it would be fair to say that I am a Street Fighter fan. So with all these decades of playing Street Fighter behind me, what did I think about Street Fighter IV? Let me just say right up front that I really enjoyed it.

Street Fighter IV is a one-on-one fighting game. The graphics are entirely next-gen, polygons and all, but still feel as if they were hand-drawn. Even with the 3D backgrounds the traditional 2D Street Fighter gameplay is completely in-tact.

I started off on my mission by choosing my go to man Ryu. I’ve played many versions of Ryu, and it is important that he looks and plays like he should. And Capcom has done it again; Ryu is looks and feels completely as he should from uppercuts to fireballs and supers.

When I started the Arcade mode with Ryu I was treated to an animated opening. The opening is unique for each character, and helps drive their individual story. From that point on Arcade mode was pretty standard. You fight your way to the end revealing more of your chosen character’s story along the way.

SFIV has a couple of newcomers to join fan favorites such as Cammy and Akuma. My stand-out favorite new character was C. Viper. Viper’s moves have a bit of spice to ‘em. From electrified uppercut kicks to drop flame kicks, Viper can really dish out some major damage. Other newcomers are Seth the Ying-Yang stomached boss, to Gouken the legendary trainer of Ken and Ryu.

The arcade version has Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, E. Honda, Blanka, Zangief, Guile, Dhalsim, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, M. Bison, Abel, C. Viper, Rufus, El Fuente, Seth, Akuma and Gouken. The home version ads Dan, Fei-Long, Sakura, Cammy, Gen, and Rose. With a roster like that everyone should be able to find a fighter that fits their style. 

My only gripe with the game so far is some of the off the wall character designs. The first time I saw Seth, I couldn’t imagine why they would put a giant Ying-Yang in/on his stomach. Viper has a bit too many accessories, and the bizarrely obese Rufus. But when it comes to the classic characters, I must admit that I don’t think they could look any better.

Street Fighter IV will definitely have plenty to offer fans of the franchise and new-comers alike. Trust me, nobody can do fighting games like Capcom, and they prove it with Street Fighter IV.