Street Fighter

Long before Gears of War, Halo or Fight Night emerged on the scene, another game of combat ruled the video game landscape. The year was 1987, when "Lethal Weapon" and "Dirty Dancing" were box office hits and Bon Jovi and George Michael dominated the charts. That was the year that Street Fighter -- the first game of the hugely successful franchise -- debuted, becoming an instant arcade hit and inspiring an avid (and some might say cult-like) devotion that continues to this day.

The premise is quite simple: a classic David-and-Goliath story of the young upstart karate masters -- Ryu and Ken -- who travel from the back alleys of the United States to the secret battlegrounds of Thailand in a quest to become the greatest street fighters on Earth. Utilizing an arsenal of various kicks, punches and weapons -- including the "Rising Dragon" punch and the "Hurricane" kick, as well as the dreaded "Fireball" -- Ryu and Ken put their skills to the test against 10 of the world's greatest martial artists in the ultimate battle for street fighting supremacy.

Although it lacks the graphic realism of today's next-gen games -- you'll get no slo-mo, blood splattered shots of fist hitting face here -- the decidedly old-school Street Fighter harkens back to a simpler time, a time when a fight was just a fight, and all you had to do was take the best of three rounds to move on. It's exactly this simplicity that gives Street Fighter much of its unique appeal.

So, come on, don't you think it's about time you released your inner Street Fighter? You know you want to, and with GameTap, it's easy. It won't be long before you're throwing "Rising Dragon" punches and "Hurricane" kicks like the true karate master you dream of being. Let your quest for Street Fighter supremacy begin today.