Street Fighter IV

It’s tough being Capcom. There are fanboys of every stripe in the gaming world, but rarely are there more rabid and stubborn fans than those of fighting games. Die-hards analyze every frame and gameplay change down to its core, and they petition endlessly for their favorite obscure character to be included in every game Capcom releases.

When the last ‘proper’ Street Fighter came out, almost 10 years ago, it’s safe to say that the fighters had lost much of their appeal and the fanbase they enjoyed during their heyday of the early ’90s. Street Fighter 3 3rd Strike didn’t exactly make much of an impact, with old favorites Ryu and Ken joining a bunch of weirdos and misfits many people couldn’t care less about.

Knee-jerk reviews after ten minutes' play-time. As is only right and proper.

There's not a lot left to say about Street Fighter IV. After talking to Capcom's SF master, detailing 12 tiny nuances we love and comparing classic combos to their SFIV counterparts, we're at a loss for words. Well, we were until the latest character, Rufus, was announced and we couldn't take our eyes off his pulsating belly. It's hypnotically disgusting, trust us.

Last week Capcom revealed one of its strongest lineups in ages during the Captivate 08 event (we briefly talked about it on TalkRadar). The embargos have lifted and now we're able to say what we saw, what we played and what totally stole the show (it surprised the hell out of us, that's for sure). We'll be adding links throughout the day, so read on!

Yes, that's your chin that's twelve feet off the ground and that's our chunky fist propping it up. Sho-ryu-ken! You know what Street Fighter's all about, from the first baby steps mashing the SNES pad to the intricate magic of SF III's parry system - it's all about knocking people out of their socks. And Street Fighter IV is going to knock a hell of a lot of socks off. Oh yes.It's taken Capcom a long time to come to SFIV (a good 10 years since