Combo Breaker: Ultra Street Fighter IV Trailer

In another life, I didn't spend the entire Easter weekend managing virtual football teams, but instead spent it practicing fighting game combos. I like to think that this dimensional doppelgänger has enough good taste to make Street Fighter his puncher of choice. I've never been good at it, but I've read enough to know that it's good. And the trailer below for Ultra Street Fighter IV, due out early June August, makes me wish I could trade places with my other self for a while. Check out the stage with the dinosaurs in the background.

The new Ultra edition adds new characters and six new stages, but I suspect the largest change will be the new Red Focus ability, which allows you to absorb chains of attacks before launching your own counter move. I have no idea how it works, but tweaks like these tend to have large repercussions for competitive communities. SF4's competitive scene is excellent.

I used to play Super Street Fighter II Turbo on the SNES. Back then, I liked the game for its distinct character designs; even as a child, I could understand the differences between Guile and Blanka in a way I couldn't with characters in Mortal Kombat or Body Blows or, lol, Rise of the Robots.

Today, the appeal for me is similar. I love the art design, the backgrounds and the colourful characters of Street Fighter IV. I'm a little sad that fighting games are never going to be a focus for me - I think I'd need a nearby arcade, a group of friends who play, and the slower rotation of planet earth - but every part of its world seems joyous. I kind of want to live inside it. Heck, I'd live inside almost any fighting game. I have a print of this on my wall. Can you ID the game?