Live-action Street Fighter Web series is a total kick

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.