Thirty seconds into my first match of the "Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix" beta, I remembered what I loved so much about the "Street Fighter" games - the single player.
For years I have played different version after different version of the tried and true classic "Street Fighter II" but I'm still not very good. I bow down to anyone with a modicum of skill, but I still love to play. It's always been a fun, yet challenging title, and after spending some time playing the beta it is pretty evident that the newest version will be a welcome addition to the series of sequels.
How different is it from the game many of us played years ago?
The most obviously striking feature in the new version is the updated and redrawn graphics; they are absolutely amazing. Even though I am usually a fan of sprite-based games, these characters look gorgeous in high definition and it really adds to the overall experience, and helps rationalize anyone's purchase of an HD TV. With only two playable characters (Ken and Ryu), and one stage (Ryu's Japan) to ogle, it really is more a sign of things to come than anything else, but the sign looked stunning.
The second thing that was most striking about the beta was that it was pretty much half broken. About 50% of the time that I tried to get into a match my 360 froze and I had to restart it. While I do understand completely that this was a beta test, and will most likely not happen in the final game, it's more than a little frustrating. However, once you can get past that frustration, this beta was and actually get into a match you could see that "SFII" fans have something really special to look forward to.
The trial beta offered three playable multiplayer modes - local, ranked, and player. Of the three modes, local is your best bet if you have a couple of controllers and a friend that deserves to be taught a lesson in your presence. Whereas the ranked and player matches are online only (and subject to the aforementioned freezing issues). Ranked matches are a straight one-on-one winner take all setup, whereas the player matches are similar to the "Quarter Matches" that were available in the XBLA version of "Street Fighter II Turbo," where you basically had to wait your turn to go up against the winner of the previous fight.
Both Ken and Ryu moved very smoothly, and I didn’t once experience lag when I was in the middle of a match. However, the Xbox 360's thumbstick did present some challenges when trying to pull off some of their special attacks, and the one match that I tried to use the D-pad with could only be described as a bloodbath. If you play with an arcade stick you should be fine, but for everyone that grew up playing "Street Fight II Turbo" on their SNES, there is going to be a bit of an adjustment period.
The full game is set to launch on the PS3 and Xbox 360 as a downloadable game this summer.