Virtual On Marz Preview
We check out the PlayStation 2 installment of Sega's Virtual On franchise.
Since its 1995 debut in arcades, the Virtual On series has slowly gathered a cult following that couldn't get enough of the robot-vs.-robot action. Interestingly, much of the game's popularity in the arcades stemmed from its unique control setup, which featured two massive sticks that controlled the robot's speed bursts, jumps, and a variety of other functions. These sticks eventually became such an important part of the Virtual On experience that Sega released replicas of the sticks for the Saturn incarnation of the original Virtual On and for the Japanese Dreamcast release of Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram. Unfortunately, the latest game in the Virtual On series, Virtual On Marz, won't have the benefit of a twin-stick peripheral, but Hitmaker has done its best to configure a number of setups for the PlayStation 2 controller, some of which even attempt to mimic the twin-stick setup of the arcade games via the two analog sticks.
While the control setup is certainly important for a game of this type, it's not Virtual On Marz's most distinguishing feature. What sets the game apart is its new mode. Instead of featuring a traditional arcade-style versus mode, Virtual On Marz offers a dramatic mode, in which you will have to complete a variety of different missions. Some of these missions require you to simply destroy any other virtualoids that enter into the arena, while others challenge you to destroy a special target while avoiding enemy fire.
For example, in one such mission you have to destroy a series of small hovertrains as they make their way across the landscape, while fighting off an onslaught of enemy virtualoids that will continually attack as you're attempting to destroy the trains. Conversely, one mission will force you to defend a small outpost against enemy attack until the time limit for that particular mission runs out. Even some of the versus battles in the dramatic mode are structured differently from typical Virtual On versus battles. Instead of being confined to a single arena, you'll have to move through the environment and engage the enemy at different locations, which is much stranger than it sounds, considering that such a thing has never been done in a Virtual On game.
While there's some variety to the missions in the dramatic mode, the most interesting aspect is that the course of a mission appears to change depending on certain circumstances. In a battle against three very powerful viper virtualoids, if you manage to stay alive for a certain period of time, the powerful cowboy-hat-wearing virtualoid (whom you have to rescue during one of the game's early boss battles) will come in and help you out, and thankfully, he'll become your teammate for several more missions. However, if these vipers successfully destroy your virtualoid within the first 30 seconds or so of that particular mission, you will have to take on the next few missions alone.
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