Remember back in the days when people were lining up to play Street Fighter 2? You could always tell who the champ was since they would line up all of their quarters on the counter of the machine but they would only need one. Super Street Fighter 2 HD Remix attempts to recapture some of that arcade glory with a remix of the game that created an entire genre of its own. For 1200 Microsoft points (roughly 20 bucks), you can download the ultimate SF2 experience. The PS3 also has this download available from the Playstation Store for a similar price, and while the 2 versions are supposed to be identical, this review only covers the 360 version.

GRAPHICS 10/10

The graphics for this game are awesome. They took the original SF2 character models and backgrounds and infused them with birght colors and reanimated cell shaded graphics. As a result, everything looks great.  Its also cool to see the minor new details they added to the classic environments that fans of the original will immediately notice.

GAMEPLAY 9/10

The gameplay is exactly as you remember from the original SF2 games. It’s nice to know that not much has changed. Still, the only thing preventing this game from getting a perfect 10 is the controller set up. The 360 controller is horrible for SF games, and most fighting games in general. The thumbstick provides decent control, however for certain moves requiring precision inputs (ex: Ryu’s Shoryuken), it can be hit or miss.  This becomes crucial as certain moves are used as counters and need to be executed in a split second to be successful.  It can be a real pain wondering whether or not the move will register, due to the awkwardness of the controller. Unlike most games where you can simply switch to using the D-pad, the 360′s D-pad is even worse than the thumbsticks in this game. It is really unresponsive and almost impossible to execute special move inputs on.  The whole time I played I couldnt help but wish I had picked up the PS3 version as that controller is almost custom made for games like this.

SOUND 8/10

While the various sound effects are fairly good overall, there is nothing really ground breaking here.  All of the favorite themes from the original games are here, remixed with a slight techno edge.  The original sound effects that many fans will remember are also intact.  In today’s modern era of gaming, the sound of this game seems quite dated when being compared to the dolby digital explosions of Call of Duty.  However, for a remix of a game that came out roughly 20 years ago, its actually quite decent.

ONLINE 9/10

There are a couple of different modes, however nothing really new here. The real highlight of playing online is the quality of play. There is very little to no lag, and most matches feel almost like you’re playing someone on the same console in your living room. It is pretty easy to find a match and for those who have been playing SF games for a while, there really isnt anything you’ll see someone do online that you haven’t seen before. The matches are usually straight forward and if you wind up losing it is usually because you were beaten by your opponent, not by lag. 

OVERALL 9/10

For those of you who may be jones’in for a slice of old fashioned Street Fighter 2 goodness, look no further.  SF2 captures everything good from the original, while updating its look and feel. Fans of the series will be right at home with this game, while newcomers will have the opportunity to find out what made this series so great that it not only was a huge hit, but spawned its own genre of gaming.  This is the perfect game to just pick up and play a few quick rounds or to spend hours playing through a tournament.  Super Street Fighter 2 HD Remix is an excellent sample of what is to come later this month with the impending release of Street Fighter IV.  If they can make a 20 yr old Street Fighter game look and play this good, one can only imagine what they can do with a current gen Street fighter game tailored to the gamers of today.  Whether you’re a long time fan or a newbie to the series, this is definitely one worth checking out.