Ask any staff member who would probably be most dedicated in the category of how gaming used to be and they'd probably shake their heads, point in my direction, and then get back to their game of Tekken 5 or something. Old-school thrills are always a kick to me, be them in the form of a shooter that appeals to my "twitch factor" or an endless brawler where no-name guys meet their fate at my very will. Games like Final Fight and Streets of Rage easily fall into this category, legendary games that made for a breezy afternoon of cracking skulls alone or with a bud. Leave it to Sega to finally nod their head to these good ol' days in modern times with the long-awaited US debut of Spikeout: Battle Street.

The game's plot is as flimsy as they come with an action product such as this. You control Spike Jr. as he makes a return to a city corrupt with crime from a nemesis gang known as Team Inferno. Since his father, the leader of the opposing Team Spike, has taken a powder, his mother implores him to fill the role and stop Inferno from ruling the streets. Along the way, Spike Jr. will come across many of his father's buddies, as well as some of his own friends who can be unlocked for use in later battles.

I forewarn you, if you don't really get into games that are teeth-gnashingly hard, you might want to hold off on this one. The thing I noticed most about Spikeout: Battle Street is its unbalanced AI. The bad guys aren't necessarily the hardest to fight in the world, but, man, are they cheap. And there's also the fact that they come in multiples, so if you get the jump on a couple, someone from behind is bound to throw a cheap shot at you and take away from your precious energy bar. Couple this with the fact that the bosses can be downright merciless in spots and the game lacks any kind of continue system (they can't even be earned), and you may find yourself staying out of this mode, at least solo.

Too bad, because I found the gameplay to be mostly a kick. You can set up different button functions for a number of attacks, like a sweep kick that knocks down enemies or a jump kick that launches them into the air for a cheap juggle. Customize as you wish, or get the basics in the game's helpful Training Mode to learn what moves would be best for you to use in the battle against Team Inferno. The only real problem I found with the gameplay was using items that are scattered throughout, from simple objects like basketballs and shovels to more complicated weaponry like guns and flame throwers. You have to perform a combination of joystick and buttons to pick these up, a real pain in the ass in the heat of battle. I wish Sega eased up on this somehow, letting you associate this function with just one simple button- or even the punch button, like Streets of Rage used to do.

The presentation isn't really that much. The graphics, while looking sharp with a steady frame rate, smooth animation, and good detail in each of the levels throughout the city, don't really show anything new, but the engine still functions well enough. The sound, on the other hand, needs work. The soundtrack's alright, but it's mostly underminded by the likes of bland sound effects and some really atrocious voicework. Take a listen to Spike Jr. and his mother in the opening sequence in itself- it's so bad that even some porn films have better scripting.

But it's always the simplest of things that make a game work, and here it's the ability to team up with friends Either through System Link, offline with a split-screen set-up, or with Xbox Live, you can team up with three other people from your team to beat up opponents. You can turn on or off Friendly Hits to heat up the action if you choose, and compete for the higher body count. It's surprisingly fun, and helps tone down that difficulty problem that plagues the story mode. Plus, with a ton of characters to unlock throughout the game (over 25!), the variety can really pick up.

Last week, I reviewed another Sega brawler, Iron Phoenix, which had the potential to be something superb but ended up falling into the subdued category of average. That's because it lacked the certain push to be something worthy in all areas. Spikeout: Battle Street comes closer to success, thanks to a livelier team-up system and a somewhat better presentation. If only the Story Mode had been a little more forgiving and the sound department more dedicated, we'd have the next great beat-em-up classic. As is, those worthy of a challenge should step up, and bring company. There's still plenty of good feasting here, even if it's a little tough to chew.