Street Fighter 2

STORY / GAMEPLAY
As in every fighting game out there, in Street Fighter 2 you have to fight your opponents in a one-on-one close-quarter martial arts combat. The objective in each round is to deplete the opponent's vitality before the time runs out. You either win or lose, depending on the way you play this game and how good you are in controlling the character (and his or her powers) you choose. In case both fighters simultaneously knock each other out, then you have a "double KO" and in case the time runs out with both fighters having equal vitality left, then you call it a "draw". When a "draw" occurs, you'll have to fight some additional rounds until one of the two fighters is down for good. Street Fighter II gives you the option (as opposed to its predecessor) to select a fighter among multiple characters from different countries and different distinct fighting styles and special moves. The game is credited for initiating the fighting games' "craze" that "hit| the video games market during the 90s!

GRAPHICS / SOUND
OK, the Sega Megardrive version features some good graphics quite close to the original arcade version. Note: I actually made a brief comparison to the PC Engine's SF2 and I must admit that the Sega's version offers inferior visuals. Note that the PC Engine is an 8 bits CPU system (with dual 16 bits GPUs!) while the Sega MD is a pure 16 bits machine. Comparisons aside, the Megadrive version is cool. The backgrounds and the characters' models are awesome and the animation and action are smooth, with no slowdowns at all (Atari ST anyone?). The game's sound features some nicely digitized sound FX and tunes taken directly from the arcade.