Live-action Street Fighter Web series is a total kick
Wipe away the memories of that awful 1994 "Street Fighter" movie with a live-action Web series that punches and powers its way into your gaming heart.
The words "Street Fighter" have different meanings for different people. Retro gamers still revel in the original 1987 arcade game. Movie watchers still cringe at the ultra-cheesy 1994 movie version starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. We can now wash that lingering bad taste out of our mouths with a new live-action Web series called "Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist."
The prologue jumps right into a battle between Ryu and Ken, the series' brothers-from-another-mother. We see the two going at it, shooting energy balls and displaying their martial arts prowess. The fight is intense, but there's also a storyline here. How did these friends end up as enemies?
I won't throw any spoilers at you, but you can watch the entire series to find out. The series comes from Machinima, a gamer-focused video entertainment company, with the blessing of Capcom, Street Fighter's maker.
Machinima's site states that it is a "programming movement aimed at young males around the world," but don't let that make you feel left out. As a woman with a love of martial arts and video games, I'm happily binging my way through this Street Fighter series with abandon.
The production values are high. It has a very cinematic look to it. The fight sequences are well-constructed and you get super-excited when the energy balls start flying. There's plenty of back story to hold it all together. It may have taken way too many years to turn out a good live-action version of Street Fighter, but at last our long wait is over.