Skip to main content

Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Street Fighter 360 details

It's got a Quarter Match mode.

Following Uncle Bill's announcement that Street Fighter II is coming to Xbox Live, Capcom has released the first details of what we can expect.

The big news is that the game will feature a new "Quarter Match" mode, designed specifically for the Live version. It uses a "spectator-based system" in what's billed as a tribute to the game's arcade roots, and allows players "to use a 'virtual quarter' to 'buy into' heated two-player matches."

In other words, it's a bit like putting a coin on the arcade machine to stake your claim for the next match. You can also select other players' quarters to check out their gamer tag data and add them as friends.

Before you enter the game lobby you'll have two options, competitive (stats are tracked) or casual (no they're not). Once in, you can watch brawls as you wait to take on the winner, and use voice chat to discuss the proceedings and cuss other players.

There are various options for setting up battles - Quick Match lets you jump straight into the action, while Create Game lets you invite friends, adjust game settings and host matches. Optimatch uses filters to set up the best possible match based on things like number of rounds, turbo speed, chat and friends only options.

There will be four different leaderboards in total. "Overall" showcases the best players from around the world, as determined by a points system. "Monthly" uses the same system to work out who the top fighters of the past 30 days are, and "Best Character" shows rankings according to who is best at playing as each fighter. And finally, "Consecutive Wins" displays who's won the most matches in a row.

Whilst offline, you can select the Arcade Mode for a single-player Street Fighter experience that ends up with you facing off against the final boss. There's also a Vs. Mode, Training Mode and CPU Battle option, and you can adjust the control system to your liking.

You'll be able to download a free demo version of the game which will feature two playable characters for one match. The full version will let you choose from eight original characters along with four bosses, each with their own special endings and home levels.

Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting is slated for an early 2006 release.