For a genre that has been proclaimed dead more that once, fighting games are alive and roundhouse kicking. Maybe the promise of high speed online play has injected new life into these games. With Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and so many other high profile releases, 2008 is shaping up to be the year of the fighting game.

Pink Godzilla finally got a chance to try its hand at Street Fighter IV beta test at the Hey Arcade in Akihabara last weekend. To be honest, PG was pretty skeptical going in. The big colorful sprites associated with the Street Fighter series were gone to be recreated in 3D. Of course, most of the artists who lovingly hand rendered all of those sprites have long since left Capcom and it only seemed inevitable that that 3D is the only way we're going to get a new SF game.

After getting over the '3D shock', the gameplay feels surprisingly familiar. SF IV essentially played like SF III without parrying. Others said it was more like Super SF II with additional combat systems. Still others felt it was an entirely new experience, but all seemed to agree that the game still 'feels' like a Street Fighter game. The developers have obviously gone to great lengths to preserve the SF essence despite all of the changes.

As with every new SF title there are new combo systems and counters to learn. This will certainly give the game plenty of depth and replay value. Although we couldn't experiment too deeply with the new systems because of long lines and the competitive level of play at the beta test, but that's something to look forward to after the July release. Tokyo's arcade scene boasts a famously high level of of play. Our 100 yen coin was usually good for nothing more than a quick trip back to the end of the line. There was no shortage of dedicated fans willing to wait up to 30 minutes for a single game.

The Japanese arcade cabinets feature a card reader that allows you to keep track of your matches and stats. You can collect 'prize money' from your wins to spend on custom costume colors. There is also a LAN mode for head to head battles with players on other cabinets. Another new feature is downloadable updates. We can expect Capcom to continue their tradition of responding to fan feedback and refining game balance after the initial release. Raise your hand if you also cannot wait to play Super Turbo Hyper Street Fighter 4 Champion Edition.

The whole experience was so intense that PG had to go home and play some Street Fighter 3 Third Strike on the Dreamcast to clear our heads. Despite being 10 years old, SF III still stands the test of time well. We can look forward to new 3D SF games that will build on but not replace the classics.

For those who are still hungry for more info about SF IV, Capcom has promised to make some major announcements this Friday including a new boss character. As always before a big announcement, rumors have been flying around like crazy. The '7 new characters' rumor was quickly debunked, but others seem more credible. Screenshots and scans of the new boss and some returning characters seem to be floating around the net, although we can't really be sure of anything until Friday. Until then we'll have to content ourselves with staring at the announcement countdown timer on Capcom's homepage.