Hello, my name is Nick de Bruyne and I am an addict.

I play way too much Street Fighter IV. How much is way too much? Well, I’ve clocked over 700 hours in Street Fighter IV since its release last year. That means that in the past year, I spent a solid month playing Street Fighter instead of doing other things, like climbing trees, or breathing.

No doubt then, that when I received a preview copy of Super Street Fighter IV a while back, I felt somewhat qualified to do the write-up. I also felt a lot of excitement. It’s been a while since it first arrived, and I am still excited.

Since Street Fighter players are split into casual and hardcore competitive gamers, I will give the basic information of the game, and then go into more detail for those who know what the heck I am talking about.

Hit the jump for my full preview.

What’s In The Box? What’s In the Booooox?

Street Fighter IV made a huge leap forward, re-invigorating the fighting game genre by taking the series 3D, but keeping the gameplay 2D and building features onto the winning formula that they have had all along.

What you basically need to know is that Super Street Fighter IV is basically a glorified expansion, but for that exact reason, Capcom have opted to sell the game for only around R400 instead of the usual R599 or R699.

So what does the game have to offer over it’s older (and now much cheaper) younger brother. Firstly, the game now features 10 more characters to play with (8 returning, and 2 brand new) and are all available from the start. Here they are (with a basic description):

Characters returning from the franchise:

• Dudley – A British boxer who has a thing for roses, and punching people in the face
• Makoto – Strong willed little Karate chick that packs a heavy punch
• Ibuki – Ninja schoolgirl with crazy target combos, super jump and fast moves
• Adon – Bat-s**t crazy kickboxer from the original Street Fighter
• Deejay – Guile, with better moves and a big smile (because he has better moves)
• Guy – Ninja that flies around a heck of a lot
• Cody – Jailbird that throws stones and uses all sorts of tools
• T-Hawk – Huge Native American who likes pounding your face into the ground

New characters:

• Juri – Evil Korean girl with a serious case of pink-eye
• Hakan – Turkish wrestler with a fetish for oil and hugs

Every character in the game has been given a second ultra (revenge) combo now, which you will select before the match starts and they all look really great with some good effort being placed into the animations to keep them fun and interesting.

Along with the new characters there are also four new “stages” to play on. The new stages include an African wilderness, a construction site, an Asian market and an Indian street (complete with big-ass elephants). Lots of effort has been made to create very vibrant, busy stages with nifty little features, such as the African wilderness having a solar eclipse take place and lots of animals move forwards and take interest as the match progresses.

A great old returning feature from the old Street Fighter games is the inclusion of bonus levels. The car and barrel smashing levels are back and better than ever.

The really big addition to Super Street Fighter IV, and the one that should make a lot of people pay more attention to, is the multiplayer.

The new multiplayer system is fantastic, and with the ‘endless battle’ mode allows up to 8 people to jump into a lobby together and play. Better yet, those who are not playing can talk smack while they spectate the match that’s underway, with the winner staying and so on. Lobbies and spectating were two features that Street Fighter IV sorely lacked, and with these new additions the social aspect of the game will improve significantly. Capcom also plan to have a tournament mode, which will be added as free DLC in the near future.

While the Street Fighter IV had the ability to save replays from top online games, Super Street Fighter IV now gives you the ability to save your own replays for later viewing. The replay gallery has now also been significantly improved, allowing you to watch replays that only feature certain categories of characters, such as boss characters, new characters etc.

All you really need to know is that Super Street Fighter IV is looking great, running great and playing great and with the added multiplayer modes and new characters (not to mention the price), anyone interested in a fun fighting game should keep their eye on this one.

Super Street Fighter IV will be hits stores at the end of April. (South African release date is still uncertain but will be between 30 April and 7 May)

If you are only a casual Street Fighter fan, then this next part may seem a little confusing. If however you play on a competitive level or are interested in more of the advanced information about Super Street Fighter IV, carry on reading on Page 2.