The most impressive thing you can say about is that every update is surprising. The more we learn about it, the less it seems like a slothful rehash of Street Fighter 4. The grimy on-disc DLC fiasco is now nothing but a distant memory, replaced with an update policy that makes every other fighting game look grasping and mercenary like a coin-diving Scrooge McDuck.

More than this, characters we’ve known (and in Vega’s case, hated) for ages now feel exhilaratingly fresh, like sticking your head out of a fast-moving car. Let’s take a look at how Vega has changed, what’s frightening about Necalli and why Ken is suddenly our new favourite character...

Not in the sense that he’s no longer a preening, self-obsessed bellend; more that the charge character you once knew and probably-despised is long gone, replaced with a preening, self obsessed bellend with command attacks, new stances and the ability to sidestep moves like a matador. That’s right: a character custom built for sneering annoyance now takes his fighting cues from people who murder bulls for a reason that isn’t beef. Let’s not get into that here. Short version: he’s different, but still a prick.

As with many of the other changes, Capcom has cunningly made him feel familiar even though things are quite different. For example, his rolling crystal flash now ends with a thumping overhead kick, rather than a claw strike. And that’s just the beginning.

The biggest change is that he can take his claw on and off, dramatically altering his style of play. With it, things are similar, if not identical. Without it, he adds flashy command throws to his moveset, but sacrifices range. The real skill will be learning to switch stances depending on the situation - something I comprehensively failed to grasp, because why wouldn’t I want to fight using a massive claw?

Vega’s changes are bad news if you’re relying on muscle memory from Street Fighter 2 Turbo, but great news if you’re a Gen player who wants to try another techie character with varied stances. There are defensive changes, too; if you knock off Vega’s claw he won’t be able to pick it back up, making an already satisfying event even more delicious. If only there was a way to kick off his stupid mask, smug grin and bottom jaw, too...

Vega’s V-Skill lets you dodge incoming attacks, and you also have the option to counterattack with a blow that knocks your opponent down. If you’ve ever played at Raphael in Soulcalibur - or, more annoyingly, played against him - this move will feel immediately familiar. The timing is tight, but the rewards are worth it. Street Fighter 5 is all about hitting these V-Skills in the flow of battle to swiftly build your meter, and much like Ryu’s parry, Vega’s sidestep gives us clear insight into how delicately balanced all of Street Fighter 5 is.

One his bar is full, Vega can unleash the Bloody Kiss - a V-Trigger move that has Vega throwing a rose at you. A rose. If it connects - and in my limited experience on the receiving end, it almost always did - he charges forward and chops you up like a greedy boy cutting bacon with scissors. Annoying, and very, very Vega.

It’s an ancient, often-asked Street Fighter question: why the crap would you play as Ken - a man who looks like a melted He-Man figure wrapped in a red sock - when you could play a Ryu, who punches waterfalls and stands moodily in the wind, thinking about fireballs? Thanks to Street Fighter 5, that question finally has an answer. The answer is 'running'.

That’s right. Running. As well as looking ever-so-slightly different, Ken’s V-Skill is a game changer, contrasting deliciously with Ryu’s defensive parry. It’s called the Quick Step and it’s marvellous statement of intent - a bit of internal signposting, as vivid and informative as any piece of overt character design. Ken is running at you with the express and ignoble purpose of fucking your shit up and sending it, boxed and wrapped, back to sit-down town.

Why is it so important? There’s the super-obvious fact that it closes gaps quickly, and the more you use it the quicker your V-gauge will build. But it’s far deeper than that. Ken has a delicious, meaty kick he adds to the end of the run. It’s perfect for nudging enemies backwards, but the real use is far more tactical.

By leading with a quick, pokey attack like a medium punch, then chaining it immediately into the run, Ken becomes incredibly tricky. It’s best used with a throw on the end, meaning three totally disparate moves occur in swift succession. Experienced players will soon spot this, but it’s an indication of how deep Street Fighter 5 will be. The run isn’t just for running: it’s for punching, throwing and kicking, too.

We spent a few desperate days at GamesRadar+ trying to work out who Necalli was when we first saw a flash of him at the end of Ken’s reveal trailer. Genuine suggestions included Zombie E Honda, Angry Fat Urien and Abigail from Final Fight. We were, and continue to be, complete and utter dolts. Necalli is Necalli, and there’s nobody else like him.

He’s so unrefined he makes Blanka feel like a pinze-nez wearing Victorian milquetoast. Fighting him is like being brutalized up by unpasteurised cheddar. He’s rougher than a camel poo rolled in fish hooks. All his moves feels savage and stampy, and that’s before you reach his empowered V-Trigger state. In contrast to Vega’s smooth, flowing style, Necalli fights like a wardrobe falling down stairs; and God help you if you get in the way.

Necalli’s V-Skill perfectly summarises his style. It’s called Culminated Power, but what it should be called is ‘smashy-smashy rock bosh’. Necalli whacks the ground, causing shockwaves to appear in the location of his choice: you hold away for a close one, towards for long range. In isolation, it’s pretty useless: there’s an obvious tell, and savvy fighters will leap towards you and start kicking off your dreadlocks. As anyone who’s ever summoned the power of rocks will no doubt know, it belongs at the end of a combo.

It’s fiddly, but by chaining it to the end of Necalli’s target combo you can smash enemies as they land on the ground. Hit medium kick, fierce kick then time your V-Skill correctly and it’s a cheap, effective way of knocking about your opponent while building up your gauge.

Fighting as Necalli is all about rushing to his V-Trigger, Torrent of Power. As the name suggests, it’s a fearsome buff that increases his attack power, unlocks new combos and changes his Critical Art. There’s no time limit, and once activated you can’t turn it off. The only downside is that Necalli loses the ability to use V-Reversals, and his floaty magic hair probably keeps getting in his mouth.

On a more tactical level, it also changes his frame data, so you’ll have to familiarise yourself with both versions if you’re going to defend effectively. Unlike some the other V-Triggers, turtling up in a corner won’t be enough to save you. Our advice? Knock him on his ass before he gets there.

Mix all these things together into a delicious burgoo of fists, fireballs and Super Saiyan transformations, and Street fighter 5 becomes even more impressive. It shouldn’t work, but it does. Brave variation between characters feels like the next logical step in Street Fighter’s immaculate design, and the new V-Skills tell us more about each character than any wiki bio could (Chun-Li’s favorite food is crepes, apparently - we have so much in common).

When Cammy was revealed at the first hands-on session, there was a ripple of indifference from the audience, but it was only because people didn’t understand how different Street Fighter 5 is. Now, the reveal of every new character will be met with whoops, cheers and feverish examination. Hell, I'm even excited to see if Dhalsim turns up. What a time to be alive.

There have been too many dreadful movies based on videos games. From Super Mario Bros. to BloodRayne to the recent Pixels, these films almost always trade on brand recognition alone rather than - you know - being well-made entertainment. They don't ask you to think or feel anything; all you have to do is sit quietly and receive a series of images that sort of remind you of a game you might have played once. They're a $13 dollar lobotomy-via-cinema, complete with a side of popcorn.

Thankfully, they're not all terrible. From AAA blockbusters all the way down to independent ventures, there are some video games movies that show a modicum of respect for their source material. On the Hollywood side, there's Wreck-It Ralph, the first Silent Hill movie, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. And on the independant side there's a bevy of fan-made passion projects that really demonstrate the creator's love of the game. Imagine that: art from passion. Here are some of our favorites...

Our Take: This one's worth it for the costume designs alone. Seeing the Zelda cast reimagined as gunfighters from the Old West is a treat, and their outfits - especially Zelda's - are expertly crafted. I mean, come on, Zelda even has Triforce-embroidered gun holsters! The film is shot slowly and deliberty. There are several closeups on eyes and hands slowly reaching for guns - this is a gunfighting movie after all - punctuated by flashbacks that give context to the action while maintaining the tension. It's enough to make you pine for another Red Dead Redemption.

The Premise: After lighting GLaDOS up and escaping from Aperture Science, things still aren't great for Chell as she tries to deal with the traumatizing memories of her time in the facility that keep coming back to haunt her. But in , she does find ways to cope, namely by taking comfort in simple pleasures like, say, baking a cake.

Our Take: Portal has its fair share of fan films given the game's wild popularity, but they rarely capture both its darker aspects and ridiculous sense of humor. Outside Aperture dodges that problem as gracefully as Chell dodges turret death lasers, showing how her experiences have affected her while not taking itself too seriously. You get a real sense of her personality from watching her break a TV with the portal gun and waiting in front of the oven for her cake to bake. It's not all smiles, but it's not drowning in ennui either, which captures the spirit of Portal in a way that feels truly in touch with the source material. I wouldn't be surprised if some fans preferred this version of events over Portal 2.

The Premise: Set before the fall of Rapture and the events of BioShock, follows siblings Charles and Arthur as they explore the possibilities of life in a world without moral boundaries. Gradually, their passion for sculpture and the arts spirals out of control as the underwater paradise of Rapture collapses around them.

Our Take: The Brothers Rapture succeeds at putting a human face on the many faceless Splicers you mow down in BioShock. Even with all the tape recorders and graffiti scattered throughout that game, it's easy to forget these monsters were once people searching for a better life under the sea. Actors Nicolas Taggart and Charles Alexander both give excellent performances as Charles and Arthur, conveying genuine affection amid the growing chaos surrounding them. Supported by some surprisingly top-grade special effects, The Brothers Rapture is one of the best in this lineup.

The Premise: Some fan films may get a nice shout-out from the team behind the source material if they're particularly good, but few are so well-received that they end up getting worked into the original game. That's what happened with , a Team Fortress 2 fan creation that sees the Red team trying to derail a warhead-bearing train before it destroys their compound. The film adheres to the goofy but action-fueled nature of TF2 so well that Valve eventually integrated it into the game's December 2014 update with custom cosmetics and weapons, so now some fans think it's an official video. That's some high praise.

Our Take: You can't swing a dead cat around YouTube without hitting something made in Source Filmmaker - Valve's video capture and editing suite - and it's pretty easy to tell the enthusiast work from Valve's professional releases. But the team behind End of the Line clearly knew what they were doing, building dynamic and detailed action scenes and never once flinching on the quality of the animation. Plus, even without any dialogue the film features some stellar visual humor that's just as impressive as the action. I hope I never laugh that hard at a kitten orphanage again.

The Premise: Street Fighter mainstay Ryu has long struggled with the Satsui no Hadou; basically this universe's version of the Dark Side. But when he hears a demonic voice rumbling in his mind, he realizes a new evil influence has revealed itself: the Devil Gene. Then Tekken's Kazuya Mishima shows up and Ken gets thrown into the mix and everyone is punching everyone and it's glorious.

Our Take: If "glorious" wasn't high enough praise, consider this: how many times have you seen a Street Fighter movie did not fall into this trap. Hadokens, Shoryukens, and even Ken's Shinryuken all make an appearance and look surprisingly not terrible. This high standard carries over to the fight choreography, which is every bit as kinetic and exaggerated as its video game counterpart. And if you like what you see, the same production company has a ton of other nerd-worthy fight videos.

The Premise: Calling a fan film is a bit of an understatement - it's two fan films, a two-season web miniseries, and an upcoming spin-off series all rolled into one. Following a barely competent gang of raiders made up of a former slave, a ghoul, a soda-addicted ex-vault dweller, and a Courier who follows close on their heels, Nuka Break shows just what the life of a Fallout raider is like. It mostly involves getting shot at and drinking irradiated water, but over the series' three-hour run, they get up to other hijinks too.

Our Take: Putting this much effort into a fan creation isn't just admirable - it's damn impressive given the film's production quality. Each part of the series has its upsides. The first film is a rough cut full of on-point humor. The second is incredibly atmospheric (if a bit on the slow side). And the miniseries brings unique character designs and a clever premise together to create an enthralling Fallout experience. The fact that its fan-creators were able to successfully Kickstart a third season (starring the near-silent Courier) isn't surprising, given how great the series is. Plus, you know, it's Fallout.

The Premise: ZombiU (sans U) is can give you a rundown of how things work… in a way. Focusing on an hour in the life of a random survivor while he goes on a perilous quest to scavenge toilet paper from the local corner store, the film calls back to its inspiration by putting the Wii U gamepad and up-front menus into the film itself. It's hard to take a man seriously when he's walking around waving a Nintendo peripheral around, but that might be the point.

Our Take: The Real ZombieU could have easily ended up looking like a generic "[video game X] in real life" video, especially if it was just ten minutes of a guy hiding from zombies. But the fact that the creators skillfully work the gamepad and the game's upfront UI into the film's environment, know where to inject just the right amount of humor, and understand the meaning of quality cinematography, all work to set it apart from the crowd.

Our Take: Mega Man has some major highs and some major lows. It's wonderfully flawed, delightfully campy, and filled with Mega Man love; but often stumbles in the execution of its craft. At its best, Mega Man focuses on character: Rock's desire to find meaning in his existence is set against Roll's carefree attitude; Dr. Wily's jealousy is set against Light's altruism. These are interesting ideological conflicts that we can relate with. At its worst, Mega Man focuses too much on awkward action scenes. This plagues the latter half of the movie as we slog through the robot masters; a problem compounded by some unconvincing VFX. Even so, I'd take a double feature of this and the by the group over Pixels any day.