When you first pop in Virtua Fighter 4, you may regard it as a mediocre fighter, nothing special. However, once you try out all the modes and realize the true depth and amount of moves, you will be amazed at this game. Once you get into the tenth hour or so, you’ll realize the true greatness of the game.
The game has many modes including all the basic ones we know from every other fighting game; Arcade, Vs., Kumite(Survival), etc. There are a few modes that are special in this game. One of those is Training mode, which consists of three modes in itself. Command: It gives you commands, you do them; Free: Fight to learn, set it up however you want and fight; Trial: Go through the various Training exercises designed to make you a better fighter. Overall Training Mode is a great mode to learn in.
The other new mode added in Virtua Fighter 4 is the A.I. System. This innovative new system allows you to be the manager of your fighter. There are two modes which help you do this, Sparring and Replay. Sparring is the system where you fight against your player to teach him different moves and improve his techniques on the moves he knows. Replay is the system where, once your fighter has fought in a battle, you can give advice from the replay and coach him to be better. Both of these modes combine to help you make a better fighter.
Gameplay is the basis for all games, especially fighting games. Virtua Fighter 4 doesn't disappoint in this part either. The moving of the characters and controlling of there movements is incredibly easy and easy to pick up. There are around one-hundred moves per character, but it feels like there could be more. Not to say that hurts the gameplay too bad or anything like that, its just that it feels like more moves could have been added, and it wouldn’t have hurt the gameplay.
The visuals, of course, are stunning to look at. An improvement over any fighting game to date, Virtua Fighter 4’s graphics are amazing to look at. In some fighting arenas the backgrounds are completely interactive, meaning: there’s snow on the ground, you can kick the snow; there’s water on the ground, you can splash in it. The only problems people will have with the graphics is if they have a particularly high definition connection. With an S-Video Cable or other high definition connections, a problem appears, the problem is anti-aliasing. Although it isn’t too glaring or anything like that, it still is a slight problem with the graphics.
Overall, the game will last a long time once you get into it, and the different multiplayer games are the best in any fighting game ever. the game itself is one of the greatest fighting games in a long time, and after you get used to the game, play all of the modes, and learn as much as you can you will realize how great this game is. I recommend you go get it now. If you rented it and didn’t like it, give it another chance, it takes a while to get used to.
9.5/10
-Rory
