Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo is, as of now, the most renowned Street Fighter ever produced. Times are changing, it seems, as Capcom released Super Street Fighter 2 HD Remix for Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. We have a new king in town...at least until we can see the upcoming Street Fighter IV.

However, the question arises: why bother to buy this new version when you've already purchased Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting on either console? The graphics, design, updates...what could possibly warrant another $15 purchase of a game, albeit one of the most famous and popular games ever released, that you may already have?

Several reasons. First, everything's been reworked. SSF2HDR was essentially made from scratch by a crack team of artists, programmers, and championed gamers well versed in the ways of Street Fighter. Everything looks and feels new, not because it's been polished, but because it is new. 

With everything hand-drawn in full high-def glory, every hit is worth watching over and over again.		No matter what format you play the game in, it's the best damn Street Fighter we've played...so far.

That's not to say it isn't the same game, because it is. SSF2HDR is the quintessential Street Fighter 2, with all the characters we care to see, all the moves we remember, and all the crap taken out. No more glitches or cheap tricks, no more useless special attacks, and no more 8-bit wonky design. This is the real deal, and we're loving every second of it.

However, Hyper Fighting is also a well made game, even if it still contains many of the issues that the original had. There is one thing SSF2HDR has over it and every other console Street Fighter game or port: online play works tremendously well. Before, jumping on a game might have left players in lag-filled rooms with what seems like rampant cheating, but in fact is just poor online play. No more, as Remix plays online excellently, perhaps even better than full fledged 360 and PS3 titles.

With the exception of infrequent frame-rate drops, Super Street Fighter 2 HD Remix is the best Street Fighter we've ever played thus far. And we'll keep playing it because yes, it is that good, and yes, it is absolutely worth it.