On April 27th 2010, a collective pulse of electricity will surge through the veins of Street Fighter fans everywhere. As we fire up Super Street Fighter IV, grin at the lack of an "Indestructible" opening movie, and get goosebumps from head to toe... we will all be stepping onto an new field of competition. New characters are going to challenge us in unique ways. New abilities for our favorite returning characters are going to allow us to grow and improvise in all new ways. Our chance to tap into something back there in our minds, our chance to display our personalities through our styles, and our chance to perhaps become a legendary contender in the Street Fighter realm will be refreshed.

I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that gaming should be about creative expression. I'm not talking about the creative expression of the developers, but the creative expression of the gamer. There are only a select few games in the history of gaming that allow us to use our own styles, our own personalities, our own fears, and our love for the deep mechanics and strategies of the game to be expressive. We keep coming back after suffering defeat at the hands of a stranger. We are fueled by the fact that we know there's always a way to win, it just has to be discovered. We are always questing after that state of mind where we react without deliberation--that state of mind where we are precisely aware of things going on that the naked eye cannot spot and untrained mind cannot fully fathom.

While the world will be playing new MW2 maps and people will be mindlessly purchasing the next big blockbuster without question, I will be proudly joining in with the Street Fighter community here on Destructoid and--in spirit--with the Street Fighter community as a whole, for what will surely be an era to remember in fighting game history. I missed out on getting in with the Destructoid community with SFIV, but once I learned about SSFIV I knew it would be my opportunity to jump into something memorable and amazing. I can't wait to fire up SSFIV and just dig into it with all of you that are feeling the same.

Over the years, I've been lucky enough to share many a fight with my brother, Danmartigan. Street Fighter has always been something we could talk about, laugh about, study, and still after all of these years--continue to learn more about it and improve our skills constantly. I'm not really sure I can say that about many other games I've played in my life--save for the Skate series (which I find to be an equally unique way to express myself through gaming). I fell off the Street Fighter wagon for most of SFIV's lifespan. I've had many other things in life that took precedence over practicing and jumping online for some matches. I tried to get into many other games just because they were the games everyone was playing at the time. Lately, I've just realized that there are only a few games I need on my shelf to be happy. To me, gaming isn't about the latest, greatest innovation or the newest, flashiest big budget release. It can be hard to see through all of that fluff sometimes and realize why we're into games. Everyone has their own personal reason for gaming. After years of playing every game I could get my hands on, I realized that I always come back to the same few for one reason. I enjoy expressing myself in ways that are unique to my style. Not every game allows you to do that, but the few that do are truly amazing.

What I'm getting at, is if you haven't experienced Street Fighter for yourself, give it a try. There is a community of people out there that encourage each other to improve and challenge each other to reach deep within for that next round. If you have experienced Street Fighter and you love it like I do, you know of what I speak. You know that feeling you get when you connect to another player and pick your character. You know that after the VS loading screen is over, all bets are off. You know that rush you get at that precise moment when both fighters are let loose on each other--there's nothing else like it.

Well, that's enough of my sappy love for them Street Fightans. I just wanted to stoke the fires a bit for anyone who used to love Street Fighter and has sort of fallen away from it recently. I also just wanted to invite anyone and everyone to pick up Super Street Fighter IV when it comes out, to support Capcom for being so awesome to their fans. This is going to be a game that will be remembered, years from now, as fondly as Street Fighter II is today. Take the time to be a part of it so someday you can tell your kids that you were there when shit got real crazy. You were there when Steel Squirrel beat Daigo Umehara and saved the world from his evil tyranny!

P.S. - I can't wait for this shit to hit on April 27th and fight you guys!!!

P.S.S. - Your pink T. Hawk is going down, Tactix!