After months of delays, Capcom finally launched its online beta for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix on Wednesday morning. Xbox Live owners who purchased Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 have instant access, with a main menu option to download the beta.

Like Capcom's previous Xbox Live release, Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, this early version of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix has connectivity problems. The beta includes access to Tournament, Player Match, Quarter Match and Ranked Match options, but half the time we ran into problems trying to start up a round. Either a match couldn't be found or the game froze, forcing us to restart our Xbox 360 and return to the main menu. Developer Backbone Entertainment is supposedly working on a solution to this problem, but no timetable has been given as to when it'll get fixed. If it's not anytime soon, it's going to be a long eight weeks to the beta's August 20th deadline.

Ken and Ryu duke it out. Click to see more images from the game...

Once a match finally gets underway, however, the controls are typical Street Fighter, with three buttons assigned to punches (jab, strong and fierce) and kicks (short, forward and roundhouse). Having the stronger functions assigned to the Xbox 360 pad's left and right bumper buttons was a little uncomfortable at first, but we got the hang of it in the heat of combat. The analog stick functions alright, although trickier moves such as the Dragon Punch (forward, down, down-forward, forward and a punch button) require practice. You can use the d-pad as well, if you're into old school controls.

Only Ken and Ryu are available for this beta, and both of them play identically. A Dragon Punch launches them into a fierce uppercut, enabling them to knock an enemy backwards. A fireball lets them throw a flaming projectile across the screen. The hurricane kick enables them to swoop around in a spinning motion, hitting anything in their path. "Super moves" are also available, enabling you to pull off a finishing attack if you build up enough energy. The moves work just as well as in the original Street Fighter, although the new "juggling" feature, where you can keep a foe in the air with multiple hits before they land, might be too much of an advantage for those who are into cheap tactics.

So far, the game captures the classic Street Fighter appearance. The highly detailed characters look excellent, although they could use slight touch-ups with animations, especially their victory and defeat stances. Ryu's classic background setting in Japan looks outstanding, complete with multi-layered floors and a well-detailed art. The music is good, too, blasting the classic Ryu theme. The intro music and animation are impressive as well, with fighters facing off in fireball-throwing stances and the classic Street Fighter theme blaring.

In the end, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix has a long way to go in its development cycle. The online matching and freezing bugs are hard to overlook and Backbone should also consider an option to turn off the cheap juggling. However, presentation is impressive and the gameplay is intact. Look for more coverage in the weeks ahead as the game nears its eventual release.

Related Links

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Game Guide

Capcom