Street Fighter IV Set to Hurricane Kick PS3, 360 and PC in 2009

Few games excite fight fans more than the Street Fighter series. There’s just something oh-so-right about hurling mystical fireballs and pummeling opponents with gravity-defying uppercuts. When Capcom released an announcement trailer for Street Fighter IV in October (below), fans the world over screamed “Shoryuken!” in unison.

With the official site finally up and a tentative release date, the agonizing wait for its release stretches before us as long as Dhalsim’s supple limbs.

Street Fighter IV is a re-imagining of the franchise, featuring unique quasi-cel-shaded HD graphics, the return of classic characters as well as new world warriors, and recently confirmed online play.

The Street Fighter series has been a staple of the fighting genre for twenty years. The first game hit arcades in 1987. Of course, it was Street Fighter II that put the series on the map, presenting gamers with eight playable characters, four CPU-controlled bosses, and combat that unfolded with the depth of a Chess match, only with roundhouse kicks. The series has constantly evolved, honing its patented blend of martial arts combat and over-the-top special moves with each successive release. Since then, there have been a plethora of Street Fighter games, even one based on the ill-fated movie adaptation starring Jean-Claude Van Damme that somehow made the idea of CPR jumpsuits seem stupid (NASA stopped development of the concept soon after watching it).

The last main Street Fighter entry – Street Fighter III – was released over a decade ago. It spawned two sequels – Double Impact and Third Strike. Since then, fans have had to make due with anthologies and re-releases, gnashing their teeth, praying to the Gods at Capcom, and keeping their arcade sticks at the ready. In 2009, the wait will be over.