Super Street Fighter IV

But perhaps his most interesting feature is his four-hit target combo, which in the corner can combo into his Bushin Hasoken Super for good damage. Guy players can also choose between a standard battering Ultra - which combos nicely in the corner with his Ninja Sickle command move - or opt for a more tactical command grab.

While Guy dabbles with target combos, it's in the Third Strike house where the mash-happy system is used most. Ibuki in particular, who seems to have 50 per cent of the moves in the game, has a total of nine targets combos in her command list - three of which can be done mid-air. Add this to her eight special moves - all of which return from SFIII and include her Kunai air projectile, Kazegiri dragon punch and Raida command grab - and you have a ninja who, just like her Third Strike incarnation, makes a 10-hit combo look like nothing. Fortunately she takes damage badly.

If jumping across the screen like a hyperactive maniac isn't your thing, SSFIV also offers up Dudley. This gentleman boxer is perhaps our favourite SFIII addition as his moveset is quickly understood and easy to implement, featuring the hard-hitting Machinegun and Short Swing Blow. Dudley also has a wealth of command moves and target combos that rival Ibuki in terms of diversity, and when combined with his defensive Cross Counter and Duck, he has an adaptive play-style that's effective at close-to-mid range.

In a tight squeeze Dudley can combo effortlessly off his Jet Upper dragon punch into either his Rocket Upper Super or his Corkscrew Cross Ultra - with no focus or Super cancel required. But if you're looking for pure rushdown thrills then look no further than tomboy Makoto and her chosen style of Rindoukan karate. I was never a massive fan of Makoto in Third Strike, mostly due to her risky play-style, but for SSFIV Capcom has subtly toned her down while maintaining her strong offence.

Makoto keeps all five of her Third Strike specials, including her Fukiage anti-air, Tsurugi kick and Oroshi karate chop, but now her attacks combo together in different ways. That said, her most impressive new trick allows her to Super-cancel out of a dash punch into her Tanden Renki - which ups her damage output and turns her skin red - but the kicker is that she still has enough time to combo into her first Ultra. Do this with a full Ultra meter and it will do nearly a third of full damage. Not bad, but it'll take some serious skill to set up.

But if you're a Street Fighter diehard who's after something completely untried, your only option is try one of two genuinely new additions. Juri was the first SSFIV exclusive that Capcom announced and as an evil Korean Taekwondo master she has a fittingly offensive play-style.

Her specials include the Senpusha wheel kick and the Shikusen triple air kick - whose follow-up hits are amusingly titled 2nd Impact and 3rd Strike. She also has the Fuhajin kick, which requires a fireball motion, plus if you keep the kick button held down she can store up to three projectiles that can be used mid-combo.

Ultra-wise, Juri has the Feng Shui Engine and the Kaisen Dankairaku. The former allows all her normal attacks to chain upwards in target combo style for a limited time, effectively giving her a custom combo, but the latter will likely prove more popular as it does good damage and combos flawlessly off her EX Shikusen. The timing isn't even that tight.