Along with the always awesome DTOIDNY crew, i ventured into Brooklyn this weekend for Capcom's Fight Club event. Where we got our grubby little mits on the console builds of street fighter 4 (both ps3 and 360) as well as what was looking like a very close to final build of HD Remix.

Upon entering the charming bodega that was setup to host the fights, we were greeted by 2 360's running the HD remix. Each console equipped with Hori goodness as not to take away from the amazing. The game looks stunning. You've seen the stills, and the animation is just silky smooth. The pacing and controls stay true to the formula, and i think many street fighter fans are gonna be in heaven. I only played one match, and used balrog, but observed quite a few others, and all the characters are looking smooth. if you have had high hopes for this game, you will not be disappointed. we didn't get to experience the online play, but as with all fighting games, i think its safe to assume it'll be lousy, but who cares? fighters are meant to be enjoyed next to the sad sack you are pummeling.

onto street fighter 4. the basement of the bodega was illuminated by the lights of about 15 samsung LCD's cranking out the goodness. A good spread of 360's and ps3's lined the walls with various control options, so that you could get a feel for how the game's gonna play when you finally get it into your house. i only played the 360 versions (not intentionally, they just had the shortest lines). first with the dpad, which was kinda lousy, but i managed to take down a couple fights using akuma. there was no slowdown, and everything looked great. it was my first SF4 experience, and it was very natural. no real learning curve. the game handled like street fighter, the pacing and distance of the attacks will be familiar to any fighting vets. after that, i tried the game out with the Hori sticks, and it was much better. unfortunately, so was Devon Riley, who handed me my ass using Balrog. its ok, delicious cookies make the pain go away. i think capcom had the cookies b/c they knew there would be a lot of people crying in the corner. i watched a few rounds on the ps3, and i couldn't tell the difference, both builds were running with no slowdown, and all the gamers were satiated.

to me, i think the best thing about the whole experience was just being in a room with so many fighting game fans. it took me back to the days of going to video fantasy and waiting to get my rounds in. people discussing combos and focus moves, sharing tips, cheering on the fighters, talking trash, it rekindled a feeling that i had long forgotten. online gaming is no substitute for being in the presence of other entusiastic gamers.

i walked away itching for more. i can't wait to have this game in my home. capcom knows how to make a fighter, and they definitely didn't drop the ball on this one.