Virtual On Marz Impressions

Sega has a 70-percent-complete version of Virtual On Marz at its booth. The game is somewhat different from previous Virtual On games in that it offers a variety of different single-player modes other than typical arcade mode. For example, the first mission in the mission mode pits you against another virtualoid, but in subsequent missions, you'll have to defeat a greater number of virtualoids in order to progress. Another mode in Virtual On Marz, called the challenge mode, teams you with a computer-controlled player in a series of missions where you'll have to fight against either one or two other virtualoids at the same time. In the demo on the show floor, once you get past a certain number of missions, you have to take on an enormous boss character that can dish out plenty of damage if you're not careful. It's worth noting that you can select from one of several different virtualoids before starting either mode, and like in the previous games, each virtualoid has different strengths and weaknesses, such as strong attacks and slow movements or weak attacks and quicker movements.

Thankfully Sega has decided to make use of the dual analog capabilities of the PlayStation 2 controller by implementing a control scheme that is similar to the one found in the arcades. Basically, you can make your virtualoid jump in the air by pressing out on both analog sticks at the same time, and you can also cancel the jump or make it shorter by pressing back in on the sticks. It takes a little while to get used to, since you still have to stretch a little for the face buttons, but it does a fairly adequate job of re-creating the arcade dual stick setup.

We'll have more on Virtual On Marz soon.