Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting - Video Game Review

If you are a fan of the original Street Fighter II arcade game or Super Nintendo version, you will love Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting. While the graphics do not appear next-generation and do not excite, they appear exactly as the game did years ago. Moreover, the same players from the arcade version are available for use: Ryu, Ken, Guile, E. Honda, Dhalsim, Zangief, Chun Li and Blanka. You can also play with the four original boss characters: Balrog, Vega, Sagat and M. Bison. All original special moves are conducted with the precise controls as the arcade, such as the "Shoryuken" and "Hadouken" from Ken and Ryu to the "Yoga Flame" from Dhalsim. If you have only played the arcade version, the moves may be somewhat difficult at first to perform with the pad-style joystick. Accordingly, if you enjoyed the original arcade version, you probably will want to purchase an arcade-style joystick to play this game more effectively.

With today's next-generation system graphics and three-dimensional environments presented in other games, some may feel that this game is not a worthy addition to the Xbox 360 library. However, this game is a classic and is not purchased for its graphics. For fans of the original Street Fighter, for anyone looking for some nostalgia, or anyone attempting to find a great fighting game, Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting is a must buy. What makes this game stand out - just like the original - is the incredibly balanced fighting and counter-moves that create a challenging and extremely fun game to play. The true improvement added by Xbox 360 is the connection of this game into Xbox Live. Limitless human opponents with varied approaches and styles are available to challenge online. In addition, unlike other drawn-out games, this game requires little investment in time on your part to participate because the matches occur quickly. The game is also cheap to download, and for stat tracking gurus, Xbox live will score your ranking and won/loss record online. Moreover, the old single-player mode is included as part of this Xbox 360 version. Thus, players will have an opportunity to beat the game arcade-style or they may simply play the computer to improve their special moves and combo skills, .

The bottom line: if you haven't played Street Fighter II before or you are looking for incredible graphics, you probably should stay away from this game. However, if you are a fan of the original game, or if you are looking for a great balanced fighting game, this version is perfect for hours of online enjoyment on your Xbox 360.