Just wanted to drop everyone a line that we're working on a patch and it will have several fixes for the open beta. I'll be dropping details shortly, but the overall experience in the beta will be vastly improved.

Street Fighter IV Tournament

Be one of the first to play the final arcade version of Street Fighter IV straight from Japan! Think you're good enough to take on all challengers? Throw you name in Capcom's literal boxing ring and join in on our twice-daily SF4 Tournaments to win fame, cred and prizes such as the limited-edition Chun-Li statue signed by producer Yoshinoro Ono himself, or a fully-loaded AT&T smartphone with Street Fighter Eternal Challenge already loaded! Tournaments run daily at 11am and 3pm, but you must sign up first thing every morning to get a chance to play.

Celebrity Appearances and Free Stuff!

It wouldn't be a convention without some famous people and a ton of free schwag, and the Capcom booth will be delivering on both fronts! Kristin Kreuk, star of Smallville and the upcoming Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, will be gracing the Capcom booth with her presence, along with Udon artists Adam Hughes and J. Scott Campbell. Producers of Street Fighter IV, Yoshinoro Ono and David Clislip, will also be on hand to chat, and we can't forget Mega Man and Bionic Commando! Both heroes will be roaming the convention floor ready to mingle with fans.

So how does it play? It plays fast and relatively tight. It's not ZOMG TOO fast like the 1UP editors would have you believe. The players, including myself were busy figuring out the hit boxes on the characters and where this fell in regards to SF II and SF III.

There was a lot of eye candy on some levels and layers of details on the Chun-Li stage (as it was the longest stage in production) where you can almost lose yourself staring at the details.

There were some nuances to figure out yet and the whole EX, Saving thing is very strange. Mr. Ono went in trying to balance the game for everybody with his unblockable attacks but what I think happened is he found out a way to make top players dominate the scrubs even more.

Only time will tell how players adapt to these new moves.

Now that I have played SFIV, I feel pretty damn good about the game. I was a bit apprehensive about the whole 2.5D, the return of the original 8, and no parries. But this is a different game compared to the other SF game. For you, what are the slight and obvious things that make SFIV stand apart from the other games in the SF series?

The first thing that jumps out is the look of the game. It has a really strong artistic style that stamps it as uniquely Street Fighter, instead of just another random 3D game going for photorealism in unrealistic situations, or a lot of funny hats.

The game also really has a ton of details. In addition to all the tiny gameplay features that hardcores work hard to discover, there are also a lot of really great graphical flourishes that just take a loooong time to notice, because you’re staring at the on-screen action.

The thing I am also really liking about SFIV as a hardcore player is the aggression of the game. Between very dangerous focus attacks, new cancel options, ultras, and even throws, SFIV is shaping up to be a real slugfest. Meter also charges REALLY slow if you try and sit on the other side of the screen and spam specials, so if you want to power up you’re better off mixing it up than running away.

When playing the game for the first time, it's easy to draw comparisons between it and the Street Fighter III line of games, and the Street Fighter EX line of games.

The game's pacing seems to resemble a cross between the later EX games and a slightly slower version of the Street Fighter III series (namely the last one, Third Strike), while it also has forward dashes that move a pre-set distance (rather than free-running) and uses counter-able two-button throws using the jab (light punch) and short (light kick) buttons, like Third Strike.

PC ACTION: Why do you use so many characters from the very old cast?

Ono: I think that fighting games are essentially different from the usual "entertainment” type of game. They focus a lot on understanding the rules, analyzing the movement and actions of your opponent, and trying out different strategies based on your character's particular strengths and weaknesses.

If you win, you feel as if you've grown as a player. And if you lose, you learn from your mistakes and improve yourself. In that way, fighting games share more in common with strategic board games like chess or Settlers of Catan than they do typical action video games.

Because there has been so much time since the last entry in the Street Fighter series, I think it's important to leave a good portion of the original rulebook intact rather than starting from scratch.

This allows a more even playing field and widens the potential audience a great deal. My goal is to preserve the legacy of the great men who have come before me and laid the ground rules with Street Fighter and Street Fighter II and bring players a game that is comprised to a degree by the rules that they are familiar with but with a facelift and new dynamism made possible by today's technology.

To me, that's the best way to bring as many people as possible to the Street Fighter table and allow everyone to enjoy playing against one another. Bringing back familiar characters is a great way for lapsed players to jump back into the fray, as they can once again control a character they remember in the way they remember doing it so many years ago.

Street Fighter 4: Characters: E3 Interview

• Cammy
• Hugo
• Dee Jay
• Ibuki
• Fei Long
• Sakura
• T. Hawk
• Dan

• Ken vs. Blanka

• Blanka vs. Abel

• Sagat vs. Ken

• Ryu vs. Zangief

• Chun Li vs. Ryu

• Ken vs. M. Bison

• Sagat vs. Abel

• Blanka vs. Guile

• Sagat vs. M. Bison

• Chun Li vs. Zangief