Should you actually play the single player, you’ll notice the necromancy of car-destroying and barrel-breaking bonus stages – and my excitement when first encountering them was palpable – but after the 2nd or so time they become nothing more than nostalgic distractions. People are encouraged to jump right in to multiplayer – which is the meat to the arcade mode’s potatoes.

Capcom listened, and all our cries for a better lobby system have been heard. The original release of SFIV curiously lacked a proper lobby. Instead of the fantastic quarter matches seen in the earlier Super Street fighter III Turbo HD, SFIV allowed only 1-on-1, 2 player lobbies – a crucial misstep for such a multiplayer focused game. Super now features “Endless Battle,” which is just quarter match by another name. It grants 8 player lobbies complete with spectating and trash-talking, harkening back to the glory days of arcades. Team battles are another addition – allowing for 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4 setups to see which group is the most skilled. Another fantastic change to online is that all battles have your opponent’s character selection obfuscated – so there’s no more counter-picking.

Something really cool for locals players is that you can filter out games by region – meaning we can finally have ranked matches with only fellow South Africans if we choose. You’ll earn player points for your ranked wins and losses, as well as character specific battle points which allow you to rank up based on your skill – and these stats work together to ensure you’ll always fight against players of a similar skill level, even if you’re using characters you’re not perfectly proficient with.

The new replay channel also allows you to save and filter replays and watch them with your friends online – sort of like a Street Fighter dedicated Netflix with Mystery Science Theatre potential. It’ll prove to be an invaluable tool in improving one’s game, showing your weaknesses and helping learn others’ strengths.

Super Street Fighter IV provides an enhanced fighting experience – tweaked and rebalanced, an exemplary update to an already incredible game. It’s not all roses though – my biggest gripe with the game has to do with its challenge mode, a sort of virtual training room to learn and practice combos. New players would benefit immensely from a more “back to basics” tutorial, and even seasoned players would appreciate a “demo” mode for some of the crazier combos, to develop a sense of timing. it’s also missing a tournament mode – but that’ll be coming in June by the way of Free DLC.

Still, Capcom have taken what is arguably this generation’s best fighting game – and made it even better. If you don’t already own Street Fighter IV, this enhanced version represents incredible value for money. If you do, it’s still worth getting – particularly if you play online. It’ll be harder and harder to find a game online in the next few weeks, as the community inevitably migrates. It’s maintained ethos of easy to play, but oh so very hard (and incredibly rewarding) to master makes SSFIV the very best fighting game available at the moment.

For fans of: Street Fighter, having sore fingers

Scoring (not an average)

Gameplay: 10.0

Tight controls and sublime gameplay that is both rich and deep enough for enthusiasts, but still fun for newcomers.

Presentation: 9.0

Visceral, resplendent visuals that never drop below 60 fps. While the menus have been streamlined, the new menu artwork is a bit hit-and-miss.

Sound: 9.0

That awful song is gone! Celebrate!

Value: 9.5

There’s so much to do, both offline and online. This is as close to the perfect fighter as you’re likely to play – and with the new content and  its new budget price it’s excellent value for money. you’ll likely pour hundreds of hours in to this game.

Quite probably the best fighting game on the planet.

[Reviewed on Xbox 360]