kamari-ice
Jul 12th, 2002, 02:00 PM
Virtua Fighter 4
The best fighting game of playstation history, it is quoted.From its original version that came from the arcade, and to the sega saturn.Now it is in great graphics of the ps2, and nothing is holding this game back.
The Review....
Fans of martial arts (the real stuff, not this video-game malarkey) will be thrilled at the degree of freedom and realism that the game offers. Every character has an impressively thorough knowledge of their particular style of fighting, and each has a move list that will take an absolute age to master. As with all truly great fighting games, what this offers is opportunity for players to develop their own unique style of fighting within the confines of what each character offers. Some will choose to be pensive, defensive and thoughtful, while others will pile in with relentless attacks. Different strengths and weaknesses of each character allow you to experiment with different rhythms to your attacks, and the resulting dance-like fights are always exciting, always challenging, and always a joy to watch.
The game's most obvious strengths are in the visuals. This is a breathtaking game that we really can't do justice to with mere screenshots. The grace of the animation and the detail in the costumes, the movements and the facial expressions are all so effortless that you'd be forgiven for not noticing much of it when you first start to play. Watching someone else play the game is the best way to enjoy the visual spectacle. When you see the sand kicking up on the beach, characters' hair and clothing blowing in the wind, water rippling convincingly, or snow being trodden under foot, you really begin to appreciate just how hard this game pushes the PS2.
Many fighting games are damaged by overly complex or unduly sophisticated control systems, but that's not the case here. Using a simple three-button system that offers just punch, kick and guard, the game is instantly playable by a novice, while the learning curve of discovering the more elaborate moves is intuitive and certainly not too crazy. Experimenting with button and direction combinations, or more helpfully by working through the extremely thorough training mode is an intuitive and gradual process that never seems to stop being rewarding. Moves range from simple attacks to spectacular throws, combos and reversals which always manage to provide a satisfying, chest- thumping bravado when you learn how to pull them off intentionally. Button mashers will enjoy some success, as with pretty much any fighting game, but the real satisfaction comes from knowingly pulling off exactly the right moves at exactly the right times.
The best fighting game of playstation history, it is quoted.From its original version that came from the arcade, and to the sega saturn.Now it is in great graphics of the ps2, and nothing is holding this game back.
The Review....
Fans of martial arts (the real stuff, not this video-game malarkey) will be thrilled at the degree of freedom and realism that the game offers. Every character has an impressively thorough knowledge of their particular style of fighting, and each has a move list that will take an absolute age to master. As with all truly great fighting games, what this offers is opportunity for players to develop their own unique style of fighting within the confines of what each character offers. Some will choose to be pensive, defensive and thoughtful, while others will pile in with relentless attacks. Different strengths and weaknesses of each character allow you to experiment with different rhythms to your attacks, and the resulting dance-like fights are always exciting, always challenging, and always a joy to watch.
The game's most obvious strengths are in the visuals. This is a breathtaking game that we really can't do justice to with mere screenshots. The grace of the animation and the detail in the costumes, the movements and the facial expressions are all so effortless that you'd be forgiven for not noticing much of it when you first start to play. Watching someone else play the game is the best way to enjoy the visual spectacle. When you see the sand kicking up on the beach, characters' hair and clothing blowing in the wind, water rippling convincingly, or snow being trodden under foot, you really begin to appreciate just how hard this game pushes the PS2.
Many fighting games are damaged by overly complex or unduly sophisticated control systems, but that's not the case here. Using a simple three-button system that offers just punch, kick and guard, the game is instantly playable by a novice, while the learning curve of discovering the more elaborate moves is intuitive and certainly not too crazy. Experimenting with button and direction combinations, or more helpfully by working through the extremely thorough training mode is an intuitive and gradual process that never seems to stop being rewarding. Moves range from simple attacks to spectacular throws, combos and reversals which always manage to provide a satisfying, chest- thumping bravado when you learn how to pull them off intentionally. Button mashers will enjoy some success, as with pretty much any fighting game, but the real satisfaction comes from knowingly pulling off exactly the right moves at exactly the right times.