Street Fighter V

It's hard to criticize something that seems like it was tailor-made for a wannabe competitive player like me, but I just can't ignore how little Street Fighter 5 does for the average fighting game player. It sports a wonderful, diverse cast of characters, places a clear emphasis on strong fundamental play, it gives competitive players a great online experience, and it does it all while looking gorgeous. Strictly in terms of mechanics and competitive features, Street Fighter 5 is just about peerless, but it has quite a ways to go before it stacks up against other fighting games - including its own predecessor - in terms of overall content.

Street Fighter 5 is missing essential elements, but its fighting engine is one of the best around.

Street Fighter 5's brilliant combat is let down by a barebones launch and server trouble.

So, so good for the genre-savvy, but beginners be warned: Street Fighter V does nothing to help you grow as a player.

Street Fighter V is the skeleton of a great fighting game

Street Fighter 5 is deep, endlessly fun, and immensely inviting, but local competitive play is currently the primary way to enjoy it.

Playing Street Fighter V is an outstanding experience, but the limited modes and infrastructure that binds them together stands on shaky ground

The greatest fighting game series of them all is back, but its return is half-cooked, with much of its advertised features yet to materialise

Hopefully, this botched launch doesn't put too many people off sticking around, because when Street Fighter is at its best – when you're learning, improving, competing and winning – there are very few games that even come close.

In many ways Street Fighter V is unfinished, but as a platform, it has strong legs. If Capcom sticks to its word, this could have just as long of a lifespan as IV, if not more.