One of the most amazing and deepFighting games you'll ever play...
User Rating: 9.5 | Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution PS2
Fighting games are truely a genre that has evolved over time. Street Fighter 2 introduced special moves and multi-button combos, plus had a great selection of characters. Then Virtua Fighter came along, and the fighting world changed again. You see, VF was meant to be a game for the hardcore fighting fans, the ones that wanted a game with lots of depth, with lots and lots of moves to pull off, ways to counter all of them. Also, it was the first ever fighter with 3D graphics. Unlike Tekken (VFs counterpart), VF isn't something to be taken lightly. While it lacks the interesting characters and stories that Tekken has, it comes out with a lot of depth. And unlike fourth iteration of the Tekken series, VF actually succeded better. So now, Sega and AM2 (the division behind some of the greatest arcade games in history), have decided to release a remixed version of VF4, including some very welcome additions. Firstly, there are two new characters exclusive to Evolution, who each use Muay Thai (Kickboxing) and Judo fighting styles. The game has a revised single-player mode renamed Quest (covered in a moment), a customisation feature (very welcome) and the ability to play a version of the game with the graphics featured in the original Virtua Fighter. The Quest mode is one of the biggest new additions to VF4. What it is basically, is a fight to become the number one arcade player in Japan. One really cool touch that was added is not only you can customise your character (using money won from fights), but the opponents you face are based on data of real-life Virtua Fighter players, who have lots of expierence. What you do essentially is complete specifc instructions in order to gain access to a tournament, which, after beating, gives you access to the next arcade, and so forth until the quest is cleared for that character. Sega also added "Quest Orders" which are tasks that you complete mid-fight. These can range from easy (knock your opponent down) to very tough (Win with Two Excellents- the games equivalent of a Perfect). Completing these is essential to earn more money and items. While this is all good, some of the tasks can be very annoying to beat (especially the excellent one), and you need to have some skill in the VF games, because the AI can be pretty hard sometimes. But above all, it's a great addition to the game. The rest of the game is just as good. With a good amount of characters (15 to be precise), and easily the greatest training mode to grace any fighting game, means that you're gonna be pretty deep in the amount of moves you can pull off in one match alone. Unlike most games, there are preset paths for the arcade mode, and you can choose which path you can go on. All this does is add easier or harder characters to fight, and not really essential. The arcade mode also includes some of the Quest Orders from the Quest mode, completing them earns only a little bit of money though, not as much as you'd win in the Quest. Like the other VF games, there are no endings, but if you really want to have a story, Tekken is the fighter of choice. VF is here for nothing but fighting. Sadly though, even with a game of this magnitude, there are some flaws. Firstly, one of the best features in the form of the 10th Anniversary Mode (which allows you to play the original VF using VF4:Evo characters and moves) is absent from all versions except the US, which I think is stupid decision. Secondly, as I said earlier, the game is not geared towards newbies, you will seriously need some expierence, because this game is pretty damn tough, and will test your skill to the utmost limits. Thirdly and finally, the games customisation aspects, while it's all good, and a great feature, doesn't have a great deal of parts to use, but if you're willing to let that slide, you're gonna love this game. The games graphics are pretty good. The characters look really great, but their designs are pretty limited, if you want to compare it with Tekken or Street Fighter. The backgrounds are well-designed, and some of them are destructible, which adds some nice detail. Above all, pretty good... The sound is pretty...well, lacking. Nearly every song is a guitar heavy piece, and while I've got nothing at all against rock music, having nearly every tune playing during a fight very guitar laden is pretty lame. Some of the tunes are good, but Sega could've expierimented with different styles of music. The game features voice-acting, but this also limited. While the acting itself is good, Sega at least could've put subtitles so we English users can hear what exactly the Asian characters are saying. Also, some of the lines are actually really bad, in the sense that they make no sense whatsoever. But thats a pretty funny aspect of it. So what do I make of it? Well, it's easily the most deep fighting game that I've ever come across, and it's a fun expierence, albeit flawed. If you're into the genre, and you haven't given VF a go, nows the best time to...
