iOS Streets of Rage 2 hits the App Store as Sega battles 8-year Streets of Rage fan remake

Sega's Streets of Rage 2 has just hit the New Zealand App Store, meaning it'll be available in the UK at around midnight.

It follows the 2009 iOS release Streets of Rage, which has amassed a respectable four stars on iTunes.

Streets of Rage 2 introduces unique special attacks and two new characters – Max and Skate. There's a plot – Adam from the original game has been kidnapped and Mr X has infested the city with goons again – but the gist is the same: you beat people up.

There's Bluetooth multiplayer if you fancy teaming up with a friend, and Sega also reveals in the App Store description that you can get access to the the original Japanese version, Bare Knuckle II, by changing your device’s language in the settings.

It costs $4.19 in New Zealand, which means it's likely to cost £1.79 in the UK and $2.99 in the US.

Meanwhile in the world of PC (and GP2X Wiz) gaming, Sega has made headlines by setting its law hounds on a Streets of Rage fan remake that hit download and torrent sites earlier this month.

Streets of Rage Remake is a free download, using entirely original code, that pays “tribute to the entire saga of the Sega”, according to developer Link on the game's development blog.

Link, who spent eight years putting his Streets of Rage tribute together, implies Sega was aware of it prior to release: “This game is an unofficial remake and is not affiliated with Sega (who know of it’s existence through a formal letter).”

Sega has explained its unpopular move in a statement released to Wired: "we need to protect our intellectual property rights and this may result in us requesting that our fans remove online imagery, videos or games in some instances."