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Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution Review
article by: Abram Wintersmith
issue date: 9/2/03
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Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution

Genre: 3-D Fighter
Developer: Sega
# Of Players: 1-2, side bets optional
Platform: Playstation 2
ESRB Rating: Teen
Price: $19.99 - New, $17.99 - Typical Price Preowned

Ten years ago, Sega introduced the arcades to the world of fighting in the third dimension. For some of us who were in love with our 2-D cutouts of Ken, Ryu, or Chun Li we resisted quite fiercely. Then there were others who looked at the blocky animations and the simple, sparse fighting rings, cocked our heads and shrugged, sliding in our two quarters mumbling to ourselves, "Hey, how bad could it be??".

Several hundred million coins, tokens, and incarnations of Tekken, Bloody Roar, and Virtua Fighters later, nearly all of us have come to the conclusion that 3-D is GOOD, and it's earned its place among the more conventional paper cutout arenas of Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom, SNK vs. Capcom, and countless others. When the fighting games hit the home systems, a little something was lost, but as the years progressed they have been getting better.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner - Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution is THE FIGHTING GAME.

With 15 selectable characters, VF4E doesn't boast the broad cast of characters that other fighting games have, such as Tekken and Soul Calibur, but what characters the game does have are so diverse in their looks and styles that almost nobody will mind. Hell, with all the added moves in addition to the already-impressive list of ways to punish a foe, you'll spend more time than ever just mastering the tricks and quirks of a single fighter, much less all fifteen of them. So pick one of these bruisers and have at it.

I've got a confession to make, right in the middle of this review: I SUCK AT FIGHTING GAMES. More accurately, I suck at fighting other live opponents. Siryn and Jessie can both attest to this as they've handed my fat butt on a platter plenty of times in Guilty Gear XX and Bloody Roar respectively. (I still want my re-match, from both of you!) In fact, I think my dog could paw at the controller and stand a pretty darn good chance of schooling me. When it comes to the single player mode in most fighters, you're limited to the Arcade Mode. This means you beat your way through the string of other computer-controlled opponents, beat the boss dude, win, and then see the credits. YAY.

In Quest Mode, the single-player experience for a fighting game will be changed, hopefully forever. You pick a name for your character and start running around on a map from one Virtual Arcade to another, beating up other arcade players, also with original names like 'Woof Woof' and 'Crazylegs'? I just picked up Shun-Di, nicknamed him 'The Boozer' and had at it. I became thoroughly addicted to the concept of beating up other Arcade Players, participating in virtual tourneys, and earning money to buy any of the 1,500+ unlockable items, many of them which you can use directly on your character. Now The Boozer fights with purple eyes while wearing a blue lampshade on his head. Now he looks as drunk as he fights!

There are other modes available too, such as the Training Dojo, where you can practice all of your bone-mashing maneuvers to your heart's content. You can even change the wallpapers on the video game screen, depending on how many you have unlocked through the Quest Mode. Also included is the 10th Anniversary Edition of the ORIGINAL VirtuaFighter in all of its blocky, sparse goodness! As if this weren't enough, you get some slightly improved graphics (which were already drop-dead gorgeous to begin with) and better sound. This entire package of fighting game perfection is only TWENTY BUCKS.

This is one game which I will heartily recommend to any video game player, regardless of if they like fighting games or not. I wasn't much of a fan of the fighting genre, myself, but with VirtuaFighter 4: Evolution, I have become a digital beating addict. No if only I could figure out how to do all those Drunken Kung-Fu moves I see Shun Di pulling off in the Quest Mode.

THE TALE OF THE TAPE:

GAMEPLAY: 10 - The controls are tight and responsive, the menus are easily navigated and with all the customization involved, you can make the controls work for you in almost any situation. The only minor complaint I've got is the redundant saving, but it's quick to do anyway, so it's not an issue.

SIGHTS & SOUND: 10 - In VirtuaFighter 4 I could see the pockmarks in Shun Di's nose, and the irises of Aoi and the coarseness of Jeffrey Wylde's dreadlocks. Believe it or not, these look even better than before, the customization is pulled off without a feeling of 'Cut and Paste' like one would get in say, Fighter Maker 2 (It sucks, don't get it - unless you're a masochist!). The music is a combination of the original VF4 tunes and some new ones thrown in. There are arena-specific sounds, like the roar of the crowd, which actually respond to the fight! I don't think this feature was in the previous version. Sand and snow is shifted around as the fighters move, walls can break, and water splashes realistically. This would have to be one of the best-looking fighting games on the Playstation 2, if not one of the best-looking games, period.

BEING EMBARASSED BY YOUR FRIENDS FACTOR: 10 - This would be an excellent game to break out for a party, since most of the matches can be concluded in less than two minutes, which makes for a lot of controller passing to keep everyone involved. As far as competition is concerned, it really doesn't get all that much fiercer than frantically trying to pull off that one cool-looking move or knockout combination before your friend does. In any case, it really doesn't matter whether you win or lose, almost every fight is a good one in this one.

TOTAL SCORE: 30! - Yes, I read other game reviews; it's part of my job and helping out my customers. However, I won't give a simple rehash of what other people have said: I also spend time playing the titles I review. At 11:30pm I popped VirtuaFighter 4: Evolution into my game system to play a fight or two since I had to get up at seven in the morning. By three in the morning I was STILL playing, and it was just as fresh and exciting as when I popped it in three and a half hours ago. It takes a darn good title to get me to do that without realizing it, and it is that sort of game that will earn my highest regards. If you own a Playstation 2, you simply MUST buy this game! You won't find a better game for the price, and it's more than a match for even the full-priced titles out there. If I visit you, and you have a PS2, and you don't have this game, I'll drive you to the mall myself! Afterwards, the virtual beatings will commence, and I'll have my butt handed to my on a platter all over again. Siryn, Jessie, I still want that rematch!

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Images credits & copyright:
Game Zone Online (Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution Review).
(http://ps2.gamezone.com/gamesell/p22033.htm) - August, 2003

Electronics Boutique.
(http://www.ebgames.com/) - August, 2003

Resources:
Sega.
(http://www.sega.com/) - August, 2003

Virtual Fighter 4: Evolution, Official Site.
(http://www.sega-europe.com/vf4evo/index.htm) - August, 2003