Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Old-school"

Street Fighter II has always been an influential game for the fighting genre. About five updates have added newer characters, tweaks to the gameplay and new additions (i.e. Super Combos) and it allowed players, casual and hardcore alike, to dissect and really study their character of choice.

It should come as no surprise that Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is another update to SFII...The difference this time is that it's in scintillating HD. The arenas, music, visuals and character sprites have been given a contemporary facelift.

The gameplay remains virtually untouched. You can pick it up and do all of your moves but HD Remix makes an honest attempt to make it more accessible to newcomers. The controls for certain moves are much easier to do here than in the past. For example, Cammy's Hooligan Combination is easier to do with a quarter-circle motion.

The visuals are the main draw of this update. Certain characters like T.Hawk and Zangief "fill up" the screen than normal and the arenas look more lively than ever. It's presentation is very anime-like. There's also the choice of switching to the old-school sprites if you feel nostalgic.
Also, the music is revamped by OCRemix and it has a contemporary spin on the character's themes

The online play is fantastic. It is lag-free courtesy of the GGPO netcode. There is a spectator mode so players can watch two high-level players go at it while waiting for a match. It's a very arcade-like approach.

If you have an appreciation for fighting games, there's no reason SSFIITHDR shouldn't be included in your collection. It has new tweaks and all the bells and whistles to make it more than just a run-of-the-mill update.