Super Street Fighter 2T HD beta up and running and initial impressions

To gain access to the Beta:

Step 1: Buy Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 for 800 MS Points (aka "render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar's")

Step 2: Select the “SFII HD Remix Beta” option on the main menu of Wolf

Step 3: You will be taken to a download blade where you can confirm your download (this will not be visible until the code is live on Arcade tomorrow)

Step 4: Once the Beta has finished downloading, head to the “Games” blade on your 360

Step 5: Fire up SSFIITHDR in the Demos section on the Games blade and enjoy the online multiplayer goodness!

This unique Beta version of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix will allow players to select from one of two Street Fighter characters, either Ryu or Ken, and battle online. This Beta test will help Capcom stress-test the network code underlying the incredible online features that power the multiplayer modes of the game. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Beta online modes include Player or “Quarter” Match, Ranked Match, and Tournament Mode, as well as offline, local two-player matches (but that’s much less fun, isn’t it?). The Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Beta will run for approximately eight weeks, ending around August 20 or whenever we decide that we’ve had enough people using cheap moves on us online.

You and like 20 other people got it. :)

Seriously, I looked at the beta leaderboard data today to see how extensive the leak was and there were almost NO players on the ranked leaderboards yet (less than 20). Either none of the people were playing ranked (which I find hard to believe) or it was up for like 5 minutes or less (which I do believe).

First off, it's Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo with an HD sheen. It's no more complicated an issue than that. Developer Backbone has tweaked rather than revolutionised the game, which is great, since SSF2T is what many consider to be the best SF2 game ever. The redrawn art, by Udon Entertainment (the guys behind the US comic series), has divided the series' vociferous fans. Inevitably your opinion on the game's 'look' will come down to personal preference. For us, the game looks great in motion, far better than in screen shots, especially if you have an HD television. Fireballs create a heat haze effect on the redrawn backgrounds (only Ryu's Japan stage is available in the beta) and the animations are to our eyes gorgeous. But the most important point is that the redrawn art hasn't impacted on the precision collision detection we know and love from the franchise. The game looks new, but it feels reassuringly old.

While only staple street fighters Ryu and Ken are playable in the beta (the final game will feature all 17 characters from the original game, including Akuma), full one on one offline and online play, including tournaments, ranked matches and player matches are available. One of the biggest question marks surrounding SSF2THDRemix was how the net code would stand up in the face of that online fighting game killer, lag. We're delighted to report that apart from some rare occasions all our matches have been silky smooth slug fests, which is great for a game that relies so heavily on timing and anticipation. Already it's a massive improvement on the disappointing quality of online play experienced in Street Fighter 2' Hyper Fighting. And, since this is a beta, things can only get better.