Back in 2008 Street Fighter IV revitalised the beat ’em’ up genre. It was huge and has become a mainstay for big fighting game tournaments like EVO and more. On release I went straight over to a friend’s house and we played it all day and night, quite simply because we loved it.  The original Street Fighter and Street Fighter II revolutionised the beat ’em’ up genre and with the release of Street Fighter IV, it also influenced fighters of today such as Injustice: Gods Among Us and the reboot of Mortal Kombat.  Street Fighter IV included a wealthy cast of characters that starred in Street Fighter II and beyond, along with its very own new additions to the series.

Ultra Street Fighter IV is the 4th and most recent version following on from Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition and serves as the most complete version of the game to date. Including all aspects from the previous editions, as well as the various fighter balances from the previous SFIV additions. Now you can see how much Ryu and friends have changed and which version is the most powerful with Ultra Street Fighter IV.

Ultra Street Fighter IV adds five new fighters into the mix and brings the roster to an incredible 44 combatants. Well, I say new but that’s not strictly true. Four of these fighters, Poison, Rolento, Hugo, and Elena, have been in previous Street Fighter games and most recently in 2012s Street Fighter X Tekken. With that clarification made there is one new fighter that makes her way into the latest instalment. Decapre makes her playable debut in Ultra Street Fighter IV after making background appearances in previous games.

Rolento is a fast striking, multi-hit combo specialist. Elena uses her legs to attack, kind of like the opposite of the boxer Balrog. Poison is a better rounded character with specials similar to Fei Long. Hugo is a beast of a man, with the looks of Andre The Giant with a fight style including multiple grapples, similar to the Russian wrestler Zangief. Finally we come to Decapre, kind of a re-skinned version of Cammy with a similar move-set, but are performed through charge moves. She also has a touch of Vega with her claw attacks.

The fighting system feels just as tight and responsive as ever with each character receiving new revisions. Unhappy with the new Ultra update of your favourite character? No worries, Ultra Street Fighter IV now allows you to choose the Classic, Super or Arcade Edition version of a character. USFIV now allows you to take both Ultra attacks into battle, previous games only allowed you to choose between one or the other. I preferred the strategy that went into picking Ultras before, but Capcom knew this could upset seasoned veterans. Choosing the Double Ultra option comes with a catch as their damage is substantially reduced.

The online play is also just as addictive as ever. Newcomers to the series may find it a little daunting at first as many of the active players are very good, knowing how to cancel moves with ease and having learned devastating combos. Any lag in a game like this would be a game killer, but I’ve had very little issues with that. You can opt out of games against those with a bad connection, but thankfully these poor connections issues were few and far between.

Unfortunately Capcom still haven’t fixed the challenges issue from Arcade Edition as new fighters still don’t have their own challenges. This is a huge shame as the challenges mode serves as a fantastic way to learn fighter’s moves, combos and style of fighting in a controlled way instead of having to try and learn while getting a constant beat down.

Ultra Street Fighter IV is quite simply the best version of the game. If you haven’t played any version of the game before, then buying this is a no brainer. Similarly if you haven’t played any of the new revisions then you’ll find a lot to enjoy here. But if you’ve grown tired of the constant new updates, then this may not be for you. Which brings us to the question. Are Capcom milking a successful game for all its worth or are they actually supporting it with these huge updates that are well-timed and well-priced?

For me it’s a little of both. USFIV is the most complete version of the game we’ve seen, but having also owned the previous two revisions it seems there just aren’t enough new acquisitions and improvements here to justify the purchase. Though the difference between the original Street Fighter IV and Ultra Street Fighter IV is massive.

USFIV is a great game, but if you are happy with previous versions of the game, then you may want to avoid this latest instalment, but if you’re a huge fan of the series and want more, then it’s really a no brainer.  At the end of the day, it all comes down to the individual gamer as to whether this is worth upgrading.  But there’s still no denying, that the Street Fighter franchise is still the pinnacle of the beat ‘em’ up genre.

Ultra Street Fighter IV is out now as a digital upgrade for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Do you want reveal the Review Score?