Street Fighter IV - Collectors Edition (Xbox 360)

... and by God it is still holding the Number One spot all these years later.There was an online poll held by an unmentionable but well established gaming magazine some years ago, listing the top twenty beat 'em ups (fighting games, not side scrollers) since the dawn of the Megadrive. Suffice to say, the usual suspects were all there, the very best including Primal Rage, Mortal Kombat II, Dead or Alive 3, Tekken 3, Virtua Fighter 2, Killer Instinct and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. All classics for not only taking part in the evolution of the very best of what these games have to offer, but for being totally unique in their own control layout. They may well have looked at one another for a basis of what a good fighter entails, but the button mapping and gameplay was totally unique to each.It is for this reason that Street Fighter 2: Champions edition took the number one spot with absolute vengeance. Six buttons: Light Punch, Medium Punch, Heavy Punch, Light Kick, Medium Kick, Heavy Kick. A quarter moon swipe of the joystick combined with punch or kick was the basis of special attacks for half the characters; holding back and then tapping forward combined with one of the six attacks forming the basis for the other half. This resulted in offensive and defensive characters respectively. Every character having his own range of special attacks, and all being so well balanced that it resulted in simply NO combination of two characters where one had a clear advantage.Over the years almost all of the classics have been revamped and re-release and, most importantly, had sequels released. As with all sequels, for better or for worse, the designers feel that in order to justify the cost of the game etc., they need to make it fresh with new characters, new backgrounds and music, and *gulp* new controls. Well I am happy to say, in the case of Street Fighter 4, it is simply not so.Yes, there are a couple of new characters amongst the original dozen or so. Yes, new colourful backgrounds have been added to the batch of polished originals (Chun Li's china market is still there!), and yes, the once cartoony 2D characters are now rendered in marvellous cell shaded 3D, still complete with oversized feet and hands. But one thing, apart from a couple of made-for-the-best tweaks, which are totally unchanged since the 1991 release, are the untouchable, classic and unbeatable controls. If you've spent hours of your childhood or teen years honing Ken's fiery uppercut, Zangief's super-spin slam or Guile's flash kick then you can pick up the control's to this super-slick cutting edge fighter and jump straight back into the action. The special moves are (thank God) more forgiving, making it easier to pull off move after move in quick succession, even if you over-sweep your half moon. And the revenge-orientated super moves coined in the alpha release are back, balanced perfectly to allow a beaten-down player the chance at pulling the round back with a well timed button combo. And whilst the camera remains to one side in the classic position throughout the match, pulling off the super special often results in a variety great 3D animations as your character beats seven shades of bat crap out of their opponent in a of impressive visual display of fireballs and spinning punches and kicks, depending on your character.Ryu and Ken are still equally matched, although now Ryu favours the fireball and Ken is more powerful with the uppercut, resulting in the classic epic Ryu-Ken slogging matches. Each character has probably got on average one or two new moves, although nothing that takes away from what was already there, adding successfully to the roster of specials in most cases. Power amendments have been made throughout, such as E. Honda's eviscerating hundred hand slap being toned down (nooo!!!!!) and the respective fire/energy balls no longer taking a third of your life. All in all, the characters are still equally balanced, but the matches simply last a touch longer.Although it does not have as many characters as Marvel vs. Capcom, as many moves as Soul Caliber, as much violence as Mortal Kombat or the variety in character types as Tekken, Street Fighter has its own indescribable charm that can only be experienced from playing it that carries it to the top spot. Possibly the fact that it pioneered the concept of special moves having as much, if not more effect on a match than punches and kicks themselves with the invention of the legendary quarter-moon, possibly the fact that the two main characters are the absolute proverbial definition of all-rounders making it easer for newbies to start out fresh, or maybe because unlike so many games today, despite being violent by its very nature, by refusing to add gore, and choosing to replace blood with fire, the game possess a childlike quality which remains crisp, colourful and cheerful and never leaves a bad taste in your mouth.Simply put, Street Fighter 4 is Street Fighter 2 with improved gameplay, updated graphics and all the charm of the original. If you loved the original like so many did, or even are somebody who likes beat `em ups, button bashers or otherwise, then this is the game for you. I would give it 11 out of 10 if only I could.

Product was damaged

It's best to ignore the disappointed reviews below as they're from the perspective of people who paid £70 for this edition. Now the price has dropped to £30, this is a great package.As a sucker for collectors editions, I feel the need to point out that as well as getting all the extras listed, you get the game in a different sleeve to the regular version, with a much nicer looking blue cover instead of the normal white one. Unlike the reviews below, I didnt get my anime disc in a plastic sleeve, it was in the same case as the game.True, the figurines are a little bit tacky, and they cant be removed from the packaging without cutting it open. But the presentation is second only to Fallout 3's great lunchbox package to me.The game itself is Street Fighter. Theres not much else to say, it's been the same game since 1992, only now it looks a bit different and you can do more moves etc and stuff blah blah blah. If you didnt like Street Fighter 2 or 3, don't buy this, it's the same game.

ace game but the special edition is a total rip off. just buy the normal edition and save 30 quid.

To be honest, I only bought this special edition because it was massively reduced in price, and now I can see why. I was going to buy the game anyway and bought this as it was virtually the same price. The figures are just like kids toys, infact they are now as my son plays with them. The rest is ok but was never worth the original asking price. The game is ok but not as good as I thought it was going to be, a bit repetative and one gets easily bored with it. To be fair I haven't had the time to play alot, but these are initial impressions. All in all a mediochre game.

When I was younger we used to play Street Fighter 2 for hours. We would compete and battle each other for hours as little boys.Since then, there hasnt been a game with the power of SF2.With Street Fighter 4, it has come back for me. The old and new characters are superbly animated and bring back the feel of the SNES times. The characters have become more bulky and the series has become more mature in its storyline which becomes apparent in the CE anime as well.The gameplay is fluid, easy to learn, hard to master.The only point of critique might be is ridiculous level of difficulty. But then again, it isnt for me. I finished the game in easy mode for the first time after two weeks of owning the game and I rejoiced. It was a party, Endorphines running. A superb moment of triumph. In most of the gaming world there is no moment like this. Everything seems achievable and if only through hours of hacking away. In SF4 the joy comes with getting better and knowing that it was YOU who achieved that victory. And that it came with a vengeance. And after hours of playing with your friends you will realize that the true gem here is playing this game against human players. It is the fun of multiplayer competition that brings us back to the oldschool experience we had before. And I would argue, this time, it is even more addictive.If you are not afraid of high difficulty, grinding your teeth while learning the ropes and are stubborn enough to play this, buy the game.The Collectors edition comes with a DVD and two figurines. The figurines are not that well made but I always enjoy some story, which is why the Anime saved the day. There are better street fighter movies, but the 63 Minute introduction into a game is something that is definitely worth throwing your money on.

Disc works, cover damaged but expensive to send back so kept it.