Normally, when it’s my turn to write “What Are You Playing This Week?”, I’ve got plenty of games lined up.  I’ll usually split my time between several titles, often of differing genres, and sometimes on multiple consoles spanning several generations.  Not this week.  This week’s all about Kung-Fu fighting.

Since I purchased Super Street Fighter IV, I have, admittedly, popped in a few other games in between marathon sessions.  I even played Fable 2 for a little while, now that Microsoft has finally patched the problem my game had; freezing every 20 minutes.  This week, though, my Xbox 360 will be the only system I turn on this week, and Super Street Fighter IV will be the only disc in the tray.

I’m currently working on the Challenge section of the game, attempting to learn the timing for some of my favorite characters’ combos.  Cammy, Fei Long, and Adon, specifically, are getting a heavy workout in the dojo this week.  Challenge mode is extremely difficult, especially the last few tests for each character, but with enough time, patience, and willpower (to prevent myself from snapping my controller in half), I’m confident I can clear all 24 challenges for at least a few characters.

Online, I’m not quite as confident.  In the time between me trading in my copy of Street Fighter IV and the release of Super, the community has upped their game significantly.  Pretty much everyone who’s playing this game online is an expert level player or better, and keeping a record over .500 is a daunting task.  Its not just the cheap Sagat and Ken players, either; I’ve come up against extremely skilled players who use Sakura, M. Bison, Blanka, Fei Long, T. Hawk, and Guile.  Getting up to speed with the better online players will be no easy feat, but I hope to at least sneak a few wins in this week.

Arcade mode doesn’t offer quite the thrills that online play does, but trying to beat the game on the hardest level is certainly no joke.  My goal is to get through it without continuing, but honestly, I’m doubtful that I’ll be able to do so this week.  Maybe I’ll get lucky, but odds are this is a task I’ll be trying to accomplish for quite a while. 

So what are you playing this week?