You won't see fancy pyrotechnics or bloodbath type moves in this game. The engine really soars in the believability factor, and that can only be seen as a good thing. Hit a guy with a cowboy hat in the head with a hard kick, and the cowboy hat falls off just like it would in real life. The controls are pretty easy to learn, even for beginners. There are jump, kick, evade, and guard buttons, and they all behave as expected.
Throws are present in the game, usually by a button press in conjunction with guard.
Of course, the real challenge lies in learning combinations and strings and that's where you will find the division between old school players and newbies. There are several fighting styles represented in the game. Taka-Arashi is a Sumo wrestler and his hands are as quick as his legs are powerful. We've got you a surfer. A skater, a China doll, and even a drunk old man await for your beating pleasure.