It's heartrending when a great fighter goes down without dignity. Tyson, despite his former domination of the pugilistic art, for example - one too many comebacks saw his reputation evaporate like water on hot coals. Muhammed Ali, again, despite an astonishing level of skill throughout his 61 fight career, should have stopped earlier - the theme is prevalent throughout the realm of combat sports, even filtering down to sports entertainment where wrestlers often die before they give up (the average age of a professional wrestler is, amazingly, 57). You can probably see where this is going, given that this is a review for Capcom Fighting Jam but I feel the point needs pushing - quit while you're ahead!

The last Capcom fighting rehash, Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition was an absolute stonker and apart from featuring four of the earliest (and best) Street Fighter II games, it included the animated movie (minus the Chun-Li shower scene unfortunately) and allowed you to pit any fighter from any game against any other fighter, allowing you to create some really strange bouts. This little treasure is a must have for any Street Fighter II fan and truly deserved a release, especially given the low price tag.

Unfortunately Capcom Fighting Jam moves away from Street Fighter 2 and includes Red Earth and Darkstalkers, as well as Street Fighters 2, 3 and Alpha. In all fairness there's no reason why titles like this shouldn't include characters from the less popular branches of the Capcom fighting tree but much like many other aspects of CFJ, it feels badly integrated and somewhat pointless.

With only four characters from each game and a measly three unlockable characters (Akuma, Ingrid and Pyron), there's very little to get your teeth into and, more importantly, the balance is all wrong. From the Street Fighter end of town Ryu, Guile, Bison, Chun-Li, Sakura, Rose, Guy, Karin, Zangief, Yun, Alex and Urien are available to select and Leo, Kenji, Hydron and Hauzer turn up from the Red Earth picnic whilst the Darkstalkers' line-up consists of Demitri, Felicia, Jedah and Anarkaris. Featuring every character from every game would have made the whole thing worthwhile, but as it is this line-up leaves you selecting Ryu and Demitri for the most part.

There's nothing new here and even the most retro-oriented titles should add something extra to the mix, otherwise they become the sole territory of hardcore enthusiasts. The two-fighter mechanic has been included, allowing you to switch fighters between bouts, but even that's getting a bit tired now. Apart from a lousy music gallery, there's no hidden extras - not even an artwork or bio mode. Bolstering the retro feel of the package are the load times which, given the aged titles on show, are a fraction too long to overlook.

Which leads me to another point - the presentation. I know it's not supposed to look or sound cutting-edge, but playing CFJ in comparison to Anniversary Edition highlights the apparent lack of effort. The menus are cheap looking, the tunes tinny and the endings don't reward you in the way they should, being short and small. The whole thing has the feel of a title scrambled together at the whim of a marketing director keen to make a fast buck on the back of a wave of retro popularity. The fighting itself is as frenetic as ever and whilst the remainder of the game sucks in a major fashion, you can't argue with the visceral joy of Street Fighter 2's classic gameplay.

Maybe I've got it all wrong and Capcom Fighting Jam is the most perfect dollop of gaming conserve ever created, as it has the feel of a no frills fighter through and through. I can't quite see it though, as the balance is wrong, the appearance cheap and the choice of characters limited - there's nothing past the nostalgic thrill of an old school 2D fighter to keep you playing. For the hardcore, there are a plethora of Capcom rehashes around, so it really has no place whatsoever. So my advice to Capcom remains "Don't make a comeback unless you really mean to win". Meanwhile of course, we can all look forward to Hulk Hogan's fifty seventh birthday…

Reviewed by Tom LeClerc for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).