Ultra Street Fighter IV

The ultimate evolution of the game responsible for growing the fighting games of the previous generation, but also one that can fill the expectations of beginners and veterans.

By implementing new fighters, tweaking some of the old, and addressing some balance issues, Capcom offers a great update to an already superb fighting game.

The original Street Fighter IV sent the series back to the top of the fighting game heap, and Ultra Street Fighter IV does everything it can to make sure it stays there.

It feels, in other words, an awful lot like classic Street Fighter, and praise doesn’t come much higher than that.

If you’ve somehow managed to stay away from the phenomenon this entire time, then Ultra Street Fighter IV is the perfect gateway to becoming a World Warrior.

The most interesting of the mechanic additions is the implementation of red focus – a souped up version of a regular focus attack. Red focus cancels moves that you normally could not, creating more aggressive playstyles. Additionally, you can absorb more attacks, giving characters a defensive boost.

Ultra Street Fighter IV is a great DLC with dramatic changes to the previous editions of the popular fighting game. The new characters and arenas are just the smaller additions to the game, while the new balance and gameplay mechanics are the real deal.

USFIV is definitely the Street Fighter IV ultimate version; huge roster, good balance changes, new and needed tools for pro players and content sharing via social media, in a game that can make Street Fighter IV last for a decade.

Ultra Street Fighter 4 takes an already incredible, content-rich fighting game, and builds upon it in ways that fighting enthusiasts can get lost in and casual fans can enjoy. Every addition and refinement, both big and small, works.

Sure: It isn’t as fascinating as it was five years ago. But still the fighting mechanics and even more so the visuals stand the test of time. This is one of the best beat-em-ups of its generation.

While most of Ultra Street Fighter IV‘s new characters are little more than port-overs from Street Fighter X Tekken, the characters are still welcome additions to the roster—and the rest of Ultra‘s features and expanded online modes make upgrading a decision worth making for fans.

Ultra Street Fighter IV adds even more characters and enhancements making this version the ultimate version of Street Fighter IV.

Ultra was a great time over a weekend (especially trading off between rounds with my kids) and I'm sure that players who've stayed current with Street Fighter have already purchased it and sussed out the new tweaks and systems, but as someone who popped in to see how things are going, I quickly popped back out and wished the series well

Still enjoyable after all these years, the new content of Ultra helps revitalise Street Fighter IV and will no doubt keep it going for a good while to come. [Issue#113, p.81]

Hands-down the best version of Street Fighter IV yet, and that goes whether you’re a complete newbie or an online veteran of the game.

Ultra Street Fighter IV looks and feels fantastic, and despite the fact that many of its "new" pieces of content have been seen and used before, it's still very much an exciting riff on an already-solid fighting game.

A little (tiny) bit lazy but still polished and very well balanced. Capcom does it again.

Capcom has shown a good deal of skill in refining an already great fighter in Ultra Street Fighter IV. Surely, now, it's time to move on to a proper sequel.

Ultra Street Fighter IV (again) changes our favorite fighting game for good, and the fans will love it... but if you're not an hardcore player of SFIV, it's not necessarily a must-have.

The retail version will offer better value for money, but for existing fans this is a determined effort to drag Street Fighter IV even closer to perfection.

In the end, Ultra is a game growing old with grace and dignity, going in for one more round before retirement, signified by the inevitable arrival of SFV. Nothing more, nothing less.

Nearly every aspect of the game has received some sort of enhancement or upgrade, and the result is an expansion that makes a great game even better.

Regardless of the differing packages, Ultra Street Fighter IV is unequivocally the best of the lot, though the series is showing its wear after six years. Whether that means yet another SFIV installment will be arriving in the pipeline remains to be seen.

The definitive version of an already excellent fighting game, Ultra Street Fighter is the pinnacle of Capcom's tinkering with the title, and shows just how far one game can go with a little bit of love from its fans. That said, we're ready for Street Fighter 5 now, please.

It offers highly refined gameplay married with a rich art style, and by acknowledging fan feedback in an effort to make a well-rounded game even more polished, Ultra feels like the work of a developer that's content to please its core audience rather than trying to grab everyone else's attention. That's rare, especially from a studio that was responsible for Resident Evil 6.

Ultra Street Fighter IV renews the formula of the wonderful fourth chapter in the Capcom's fighting series another time with a good selection of new characters and a balanced new set of revisions that can appeal the pro player, but after 4 years and various iterations the average consumer starts to feel the need for something completely new.

Since this is technically a rehash of a game from 2009, the retail version can be had for a relatively low price of $40, with the downloadable upgrade (if you have another version of SF4 in your library) setting you back only $15. If you are deciding between download or retail, it basically all comes down to if you want the 100 costumes found on the disc, or if you have enough HDD space for the upgrade.