bit-tech Shopping: Capcom Street Fighter Anniversary (PS2)

Rating: 6

Time with product:

Strengths: An excellent fighting series on a current generation console, the ability to fight different versions of characters from Street Fighter 2

Weaknesses: The graphics should have been upgraded, no online play.

Summary: I picked up this game just to give me another reason to pack up my old systems. With the Street Fighter collection on PS2, that's just one less reason to own the originals. The transfer to current generation was interesting. The SFII game contains all the different versions of SFII. This allows you to fight different versions of the same character, depending on your preferences and skills. However, when this was ported over to PS2, the graphics were not upgraded and so you find yourself staring at the old backgrounds and animations. While some may enjoy the nostalgic value this brings, I personally would have preferred a graphic upgrade.The SFIII game is a port from the Dreamcast. The graphics and animations are definite upgrades from SFII, but could still use some work. Despite the graphics, gameplay is smotth and very competitive. The soundtrack is awesome as well.If you were a street fighter fan of the 80's & 90's, you will definitely enjoy this game. Unfortunatley, rather than compiling all of the Street Fighter iterations, they left out a few and added a poor quality Street Fighter Animation movie. While I appreciate the attempt at variation, I would have preferred the games instead (I mean- this is a collection, isn't it?).

Rating: 10

Time with product: 1 Year

Strengths: two games in one, extra bonuses

Weaknesses: no online for PS2 version

Summary: Although 3rd Strike has existed for a long time now, it's still probably around one of the best fighting games out. This, along with a sweet version of Street Fighter II with a new arranged soundtrack (and the original SF anime movie for some reason), makes for a great deal.

Rating: 8

Time with product:

Strengths: Great old school fighter, includes the animated movie

Weaknesses: No online play, animated movie is edited

Summary: This is a great game for any hardcore Street Fighter fan. The two games are 2D and still have that old school look to them. The fighting system is rather simple unlike some of the newer 3D fighters. This collection has Street Fighter II and Street Fighter III on the disc and also includes an edited version of the animated movie. This 'collection' could be better if more Street Fighter games were included in this release as well as added online play.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 1

Strengths: All the great gameplay you remember. Two games for one low price.

Weaknesses: Not online mode for the PS2

Summary: What is there left to say about Street Fighter? If you've followed videogames at all in the last 15 years you should have at least heard of it. In the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection you get two things: Street Fighter II, which is the game that revolutionized a genre. This is the Hyper Fighting version which is an amalgam of all the other Street Fighhter versions and you can choose different iterations of all your fighters. Ever want to see World Warrior Guile go up against Turbo edition Bison? You can get it here. The core gameplay remains the same, which is to say great. You get about 20 different fighters each with their own moves such as flying kicks and fireballs. You can take it one on one against the computer to win it all or what is even more fun, play for hours on end with your friends. The other game you get is Street Fighter III, which is the next evolution in the series. You get new fighters such as Alex and Hugo and new gameplay techniques. One such is the parry which in a way changes everything. Instead of simply blocking ou can opt to parry which will allow you to retaliate with a hit right away. It adds a whole new depth to the gameplay. You also get aout 20 fighters here, and old school favorites Ryu, Ken and Chun Li return. The only downside to these games are, especially in the case of Street Fighter II the graphics are really old. They aren't as fancy but that shouldn't be why you're playing these games anyway. It should be about the gameplay. Another thing missing from this is online support. It's hard to imagine this game without it, but it's not here and a little disappointing. Otherwise though, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection is a solid game. Any fans of fighting will do themselves well to pick this up.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 6 Months

Strengths: Great compilation. Two games for the price of one. Street Fighter 3.

Weaknesses: Why couldn't they replace the movie (edited and dubbed) with the original Street Fighter and Street Fighter Alpha 3. Crazy difficulty level in Street Fighter 2.

Summary: Street Fighter 3: Third Strike alone is worth the purchase. The gameplay mechanics and controls are great. The parry system and usage of only one super arts per fight makes a fighter play strategically. Definitely, no button mashing here.Hyper Street Fighter 2 while good, can be annoying due to the increased difficulty level. Even playing at a lower level can be frustrating, but overall still a good compilation of the Street Fighter 2 series.Very disappointed that Capcom wasted the space with the edited and dubbed version of the Street Fighter movie instead of including the original Street Fighter and Street Fighter Alpha 3 series. Inclusion would truly have made this the one and only Street Fighter Anniversary Collection.