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Back when men were men and arcades were smoke-filled dives that your parents warned you about, Street Fighter 2 was the best game ever. You could fritter away an entire afternoon for the cost of three Wham Bars, grown men cried at Guile's ending and knowing Ken's five-fierce dizzy combo practically guaranteed you lady-privileges. It was brilliant. And now it's back.

For obvious reasons, Hyper Street Fighter 2: 15th Anniversary Edition caused a few nostalgic sniffs in the OPS2 office. It's a completist's dream, stuffing all five variations of SF2 (World Warrior, Champion Edition, Turbo, New Challengers and Super X) into one package, with the superb anime movie (not the Van Damme clunker) to sweeten the deal. The genius aspect, though, is the setup - rather than independent games, the selection screen lets you select any version of any character. In versus mode, it's an argument settler of nerd-baiting comprehensiveness - does sir prefer Turbo Chun Li with the Dhalsim-style fireball, or Super Chunners with the faster, weaker version? What about the huge damage and invincible Dragon Punch of World Warrior Ryu up against the Shinkuu Hadoken of the Super X version? Whatever - the important thing is for good Ryu/Guile players this kind of thing can suck away entire evenings. And if your flatmates are rubbish... well, you can always choose Balrog.

To be incredibly picky, though, it isn't perfect. The biggest single failing is that arcade mode is always set on Hyper X - for anyone who's after the original World Warrior experience (shorn of maraca-shaking kickboxers and anorexic Brit girls) the PSone SF Collection pack's still the only option. It's also a shame that there aren't more rewards for solo play - SF2's a game with a vast back catalogue of interesting character art and to not even include a decent 'theatre' mode just seems sloppy. And, to be insanely spoddish, Ken's infamous 'wanking man' tugboat backdrop was miles better than the 'improved' yacht version here.

Long story short then. If you've got mates to fight against, you need this game. For the Tekken generation, though, it's a trickier decision. SF2 hasn't got the 3D of Soul Calibur II or the pyrotechnics of Guilty Gear X, and a lack of flashy specials can make it feel a bit basic at times. That said, at 20 quid with a quality film in the bundle, it's superb value for money. After all, this is gaming history - and you can finally play it without the big kids nicking your 30ps off the machine.

Graphics 50%
Flawlessly translated, but undeniably dated.

Sound 90%
Brilliant FX and the music's fantastic.

Gameplay 80%
The beat-'em-up template, rarely bettered.

Lifespan
70%
Perfect late-night feud-settling stuff.

Overall 80%
Essential if you're a fanboy and have mates as obsessed as you, but insanely hard for newbies and the 2D styling will confuse some.