Virtua Fighter 4

Virtua Fighter 4 is the complete brawler?s package with topnotch graphics, thundering sounds, and savvy gameplay?in the arcades. Can the PlayStation 2 handle it all?

I?ve always had a love and respect for Virtua Fighter, but it wasn?t until this latest home incarnation that I fully understood and mastered it. Many years back, I used to go to the arcades almost daily with my friend, Sopan. Although we split our time between many games, the main attraction was Virtua Fighter 2 and, to a much lesser extent, the karaoke setup nearby with a rendition of the Right Said Fred hit ?I?m Too Sexy? sung at least once per visit (by people other than ourselves, of course). VF2 had cutting-edge graphics and was pretty easy to pick up, making it stand out among the crowd. While we both played it a lot, Sopan took it to the next level and turned into a zealot for months on end until no one could even come close to beating him. Even at the brink of defeat, he could call out what move his opponent was about to unleash and counter it. He explained the fighting system of VF2 and its insanely deep and steep learning curve where once you get really good at it, it?s almost like becoming a martial arts expert in real life. He tried to teach me the ways, but I just didn?t have the time or money to dedicate to such an endeavor. Virtua Fighter 4 on the PlayStation 2 brings it full circle with its own electronic Sopan teaching you the ways of the game.

VF4?s tutorial mode is the most well thought-out and executed feature a home fighting game has ever had. The basics walk you through each character?s set of moves and standard fighting techniques. It then goes on to train you with not only interactive lessons but also visual demonstrations of fighting theory. If the lesson that has played out is still not getting through, additional help dialogue options can be pulled up. The next level begins when you start to go through Kumite mode. This is an endless series of fights (you can quit out at anytime or just opt to not continue when defeated) that improves your ranking and unlocks goodies like alternate uniform colors, accessories, extra stages, and the original blocky character models ? la the original Virtua Fighter. For the average player, getting to the equivalent of a Black Belt (1st Dan) will be a moderate challenge, but things get tense and serious for higher honors. Each of the computer opponents you face have a name, rank, and specific playing style. Memorizing the tougher characters? play styles is crucial to anticipating tendencies and patterns. It almost feels like anonymous online matches where you recognize the player?s sig and adjust your attack and defense accordingly.

Once you get comfortable enough with how the game works, you can create an A.I. character. The computer will take control of the fighter and fight according to your training instructions. This is a great training method for those with keen insight into the game, but not necessarily the quick reflexes to show off against other A.I. foes. These A.I. characters are saved onto memory cards and can be taken to friends? houses for some virtual cock fighting. It?s more intense than you?d think because the fighter?s performance isn?t based on random factors like hit points, spell effects or card properties. It?s all about what crazy things you thought up and programmed into you?re A.I. character, almost making it even more personal than fighting yourself.

Virtua Fighter 4 returns to the series? trademark three-button Block, Punch, and Kick control scheme and eliminates the experimental Evade button found in part three. Dodging is handled by eight-way directional pad movement made popular by Soul Calibur and countless brawlers since. This mechanism translates perfectly to the PS2?s pad, and arcade purists can use a joystick to match the feel they?re used to.

Every new generation of software for the PlayStation 2 ups the ante for graphics, and Virtua Fighter 4 has set a high standard for 2002. Some jagged edges aside, the graphics are near perfect to the fantastic-looking arcade version?s. Only with a thorough side-by-side comparison can you pick out small differences here and there. Character models are beefy and animate with a fluid, realistic grace that makes seeing them get bounced against walls and pounded to the ground seem all the more painful. The stages take place in lush locales that rival those in Dead or Alive 3 on the Xbox, although the combat itself takes place in the basic square ring the series has always stuck to. Developer AM2 makes the most of the limited combat area by throwing in jaw-dropping effects like reactive pools of water and snow that can be jostled around until melted. The user interface hasn?t been left out in the cold, either. As you select various play modes, a soothing voice announces the highlighted text and the cursor sends shimmering ripples through a sheet of water covering whatever background image you have selected. Along with the interface, every action has some sort of sound or musical cue that is delivered with an understated elegance. When the actual fight begins, head-nodding tunes matching the mood of the stage blare out and sound terrific. Punches and kicks have satisfying thuds that are different depending on if a blow has landed squarely or if it has been blocked. The sounds complete the game?s virtual dojo theme and resemble a mini-version of the Holodeck from Star Trek.

The world can be such a topsy-turvy place sometimes. Virtua Fighter was once the most arcane game to fully comprehend and was the champ of bare-bones menu of arcade-to-home ports. Virtua Fighter 4 on the PlayStation 2 has decoded its secret language for those not blessed with the dedication of Sopan and features an interface that is too sexy for its shirt. So sexy it hurts.

There is no question that fighting fans must enroll as soon as possible, but even casual fans owe it to themselves to see what the fuss is about.

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