Virtua Fighter 4
 

Well, Gamespot has their review up. They gave it a 9.3. Who plans to get it? Or who already has it (imported)? After buying Rallisport, getting Virtua Fighter 4 might put me into a recession.

The game looks great and I'm really intrigued by the new character Lei Fei, a shaolin monk. I didn't get into VF3tb at all, but as most reviews say, Virtua Fighter 4 is more of a continuation of VF2 than 3tb.

Definitely looks like the best way to go for 3D fighting for a while. I need something like this after the disappointing Dead or Alive 3. How far away is Soul Calibur II?

EDIT: I just watched Gamespot's video review. Looks like they've talked me into it. That Greg Kasavin is a heckuva salesman.

I am definitely getting this game. I've been a VF fan all along, and this one looks to be the best (even better than VF2!?) and from early word seems to have a lot of things geared toward the home user/singer player. I'm glad to see Gamespot rate it that high, they have been really accurate with their reviews lately and that is very encouraging!

I like the whole fighting game genre, but the only one I have for my PS2 is Dead or Alive 2, which is neat, but doesn't really hold my interest. It just doesnt seem to have a lot of depth, and even to a fighting game novice like me, isnt terribly hard (I just hit buttons) and supposedly I set it to difficult. I think I also expected the "story" mode to have more of a story ;) As it is I can play through each characters "storyline" in about 15-20 minutes, or less.

VF4 does look awesome from what I've seen. I havent picked the issue up yet (for the demos) but OPM calls it the best fighting game ever.

Brian

IGN's scores are in. There is a pretty decent review in the new issue of Unplugged for Insiders. But you people really just want the numbers, right? Here they are:

Presentation 9.2
Graphics 9.0
Playability 9.5
Sound 8.0
Lasting Appeal 9.5
Overall 9.3

Why are all the reviews in early for this game? It isn't out yet, is it?

It ships next Tuesday. But there is a few weeks of production time where final review copies are available to the press. Also, the Japanese version has been out for a month, so they could have played that and then compared the changes to get an even quicker review out.

I just put Dead or Alive 2 up for sale on half.com so hopefully it'll sell soon and I can get VF4 :)

Brian

the cheapest i see it is at outpost for $40...

any better?

Already got this game (imported) 3 weeks ago and played it extensively.

Great Fighting Game. If you like this type of game. I thought the graphics were good but could of been better, but gameplay is more important. AI is decent.

I wonder how Tekken 4 will be.

PS2 game that i'm playing right now....Bomberman Kart (import) AWESOME 4-PLAYER MULTIPLAYER

How is outpost with delivering new video game releases?

who knows? i've ordered from outpost before and have had no problems but that was before they merged w/ frys...

but i gave in and ordered it anyway... :D

so is it out yet?
I looked for it today but did not find it.

Tomorrow (3/19) is the shipping date.

This game totally rules. It doesn't seem very original when you first turn it on.......but give it ten or fifteen minutes. I can't put the controller down. The depth of gameplay is unreal. Gimme a few weeks, and I think I'll like this even more than Soul Calibur.

Anyone know any good prices on this?

I was about to use the eToys $10 off coupon, but after sales tax/shipping it became $48... so forget that.

Anyone?

Bestbuy has $10 off if you buy the game and strategy guide. So 55 + tax for both which is not too bad. Since I have gift cards to burn, I'll probably be getting it there.

I'll grab the game as well at Best Buy, the best deal I've seen so far. If you've got EGM (APril edition) and I think some other magazines, they do have $5 off video game or accessories, so I'll see if I can mix this with the best buy deal.

The new OPM (w/ VF4 on the cover) has a Best Buy $5 off coupon. Use that if you want to save the more generic coupon (good for any title).

Be careful guys..Best Buy is trying to screw you out of $5 as the game guide is ringing up $19.99 for some reason. The guy before me in line didn't catch it but I certainly did. This was at the Hawthorne store. They also didn't have the $10 off deal coded in the computer and had to enter that manually as well. THis seems like a shady practice that Best Buy does all the time as this isn't the first time I've had a price ring up wrong and and also have to explain their own sale to the cashier.

Well shucks, I just picked this up at Best Buy and I didn't even notice the aforementioned coupon when I thumbed through my new Maxim issue. Oh well. I got to play the game a decent amount today. I'll be sure to get back to it more this weekend.

Wow, WORLD-RECORD FAST!!!! I ordered this game last night around 8 PM. Ordered it with ground shipping. Got the package before 11 AM today! I was shocked; I guess I'll get to play this weekend after all. Airborn Express rules.

3/22 ad for Fry's - $39.99 for Virtua Fighter 4!

The 3 reviewers from the new EGM mag rated it 10,10 and 9.5

Picked it up last night after selling DoA2 Hardcore on Half.com :)

Very cool game. There was just something about DoA2 that didnt really draw me in... I guess because I could just mash buttons like a madman and do well.

I put this on hard, and I dont get too far into the matches before I realize I better start learning some moves :) Tried the training mode a bit too... I discovered you have to hit the buttons REALLY fast to pull off a lot of the moves. If you have to think about it, you're too slow... so I've figured you pretty much have to commit all the moves to muscle memory to pull them off fast enough. HOpefully I can get good at this :)

Brian

I just bought it at Fry's yesterday! It was the last copy too. Fry's is awesome. $40 for a new release, wow!

I've never played any of the VFs (I'm a SF and Tekken guy), but this game looks awesome, not to mention the rave reviews it got from EGM. I'll be picking this one up ASAP.

Yeah, I'm definitely a Tekken guy. I recently became a Soul Calibur guy. I had Virtua Fighter 2 for Saturn, but I was no fanatic. I rented Virtua Fighter 3tb and it didn't hold my interest for even an hour. Virtua Fighter 4 has me hooked though. I can definitely understand all the analogies reviews have made to a chess match. Most of the fights that take place are incredible just to watch. When I get to higher levels of the kumite, the fights look like something out of a classic HK kung fu movie. I think I can say that this is better than Tekken Tag - although I'll miss Tekken Bowl. And Soul Calibur II and Tekken 4 are months and months away. So, for now, pick up VF4. Give it a whirl, you may become a VF fanboy. If not, you could dump this off when Soul Calibur II or Tekken 4 comes along. But I doubt you'll regret the time you put into this one in the meantime.

hmmm
 

I am not really heavy into the fighting genre. I have Tekken 3 for the PS1, have played MK in the arcades, but never considered myself into the genre heavily. I do love the original Bushido Blade for the PS1 though.

All that being said, I went and bought a copy of VF4 and am highly impressed.

The game mechanics are easy to learn. The gameplay is quite deep. Learning the techniques and timing is a challenge. Definitely not a button masher, at least if you want to get anywhere.

Fortunately the training mode is really comprehensive, it will show demos of each move for a selected character. In addition, it will show, in real time what buttons you are actually pushing and the timings of each. This is in addition to being able to set up your opponents behavior so you can learn different things. There is even a "goal" mode that will walk you through different sets of skills like throws, reversals, etc. Very, very nice.

The AI mode is horribly addictive. You create your own AI character and train it. You train it by beating it up with particular techniques in "sparring mode" or you can show it replays of matches you have fought (while telling it what is "good" and "bad"). You can even train it on the fly by throwing it into a fighting match and telling it "good" or "bad" at opportune moments during the match. After training you can throw it into fighting matches in "arcade" or "kumite" modes and train/coach it during the matches. It is awesome to watch your character evolve and get better with your coaching.

This is the first game I bought for myself that I got new and paid full retail price for. I think I got a really good deal. Lots o' gameplay and depth.

wow, this game is really killing my thumb!
The Kumite mode is really fun. I've only managed to get to 6th rank. My biggest problem is executing the throw (P+G), so what is the easiest way to throw? In order to hit both buttons, I have to lift up my fingers which leads me susceptible to being attacked.

You got some slow thumbs.... ;) You can always customize those hotkeys. I think by default, L1 is the hotkey for P+G. Maybe its R1 -- I'm not sure as I dont have the game in front of me right now. Don't trouble your poor thumbs, your lazy little index fingers have nothing better to do than press the triggers every now and then.

...
 

Cornfed is correct, L1 is the default for P+G.

That was driving me nuts trying to press more than one button at a time until I looked at the controller setup. All your combinations are mapped to the L1, L2, R1, R2 buttons.

I am glad that I have been too busy to play in the last day, my left thumb was going to get a nasty blister.

What characters are people playing?

I am playing/learning Aoi....mainly cause I love Aikijujutsu/Aikido stuff.

I just bought this game today. Played around a bit in Vs. mode against my cousin, so I've barely scratched the surface. I just know that I'm going to spend lots of time with this deep fighter, so I'm going to spend all of my free time tomorrow finishing up FFX and HSG3 so that I can get my feet wet with VF4. Isn't it great being a PS2 owner? :D

definitely a great fighting game, i really want to pick a quality arcade stick to play this game and upcoming SC2 and Tekken4...

Re: ...
 

Cool Thanks. The instructions didn't mention anything about mapping L1,L2 etc and I did not check the options menu.

I'm playing Jacky since I'm a Bruce Lee fan and like Jeet Kwon Do

Wow, this game is still holding my attention :) Slowly progressing with learning all of Kage's moves... I'm not really a fan of any specific martial arts style, but I like his ninja outfit ;) They just need a chick with a ninja outfit :D

Now I just need some friends that play videogames so I can beat them instead of the CPU ;)

Oh 2 questions... right now I'm 4th kyu in the Kumite mode. At what point do I start getting new clothing items?

Also, how do the rankings go 10-1st kyu, the 1st dan, 2nd dan, 3rd dan, ... ?

GREAT game. Hopefully it will achieve the financial success that it deserves. :up:

You probably have acquired a few clothing options by now. You'll know you've won something at the conclusion of a match because during your victory pose, a small treasure chest will show up in the lower left hand corner of the screen. Go into your Data Files-->Edit File, and from there, you can customize your character's look with any different colors/items you've won.

As far as the rankings go, that's my understanding. I think the only way to go higher than first dan is by beating another player at your same skill level, according to the manual. I don't know this to be the case, as I'm trying to rank up all the characters to at least that level before continuing to play on with my favorites.

Here's a ranking system FAQ at the game faqs page.

Once you hit 1st dan, it looks like you have to win 5 matches against 1st dan opponents or higher to advance.

I'm at 1st dan with Lei Fei. I thought I was doing good (24-3), and then I read the Lei Fei is kind of the easy button masher character. Oh well, I'm getting the hang of it with him, so I'll stick with him.

I have played a fair number of matches (30 or so!? and am up to
level kyu, and the only thing I have gotten are 1 new color and wrist bands with spikes. If there are over 400 items in the game to aquire with the various characters, how far do I need to get to start to see some of them?

I've actually gotten a few new colors with Kage, but I think that's it. Purple, green, now a dark red.

I think my record is like 40-30 or something like that... I'm not terribly good and some characters like Jeffry and Akira give me all sorts of trouble.

Brian