Virtua Fighter 2 Review

Being able to unleash an unholy amount pain and humiliation to an opponent in a fighting game has always been enjoyable from my point of view. Throwing fists and chucking elbows with an enemy for hours on end is a past time that many enjoy.

A game first released in 1994 (when I was 4) is not very high on the list of fighting games I wanted to play. The game in question is Virtua Fighter 2.So, let me talk to you about Virtua Fighter 2. The 1v1 beat ‘em up title from Sega, originally released on the Sega Saturn in 1995 has been given a shot on the XBLA. Initially a game you would find in an arcade, VF2 was put onto the Saturn a year later. It was hailed a fantastic game with exciting and innovative gameplay.

The question here is: Has it aged well? And is it worth your hard earned money?

When playing fighting games from twenty years ago, it is important to remember to try and not to compare the quality of it to modern day releases. The game is easy to navigate and it only takes a few button presses to be thrown into a match up. There is the main story is somewhat confusing, mainly because there isn’t one. Regardless of the character you select, you are placed into battle with one other character, and this never changes, despite how many times you play it.

The order of bouts past this also never changes. This can lead to the game to feel stale and boring. The key to avoiding this is making sure that you have a go at using every character. Each of the 10 brawlers (and the 11^th secret fighter) has their own individual combat style. Some are slow but monstrously strong. Others are feeble but lightening quick. And some are just good all-rounder’s. So in that area the game is pretty balanced.

With many recent fighting games, if you’re just starting off and slowly picking up the controls, being able to mash all of the buttons as quickly as possible will normally earn you the win, even if it is a cheap victory.I found myself doing this at the start. What can I say? I like to win. But after a while you would think that you would be able to knock out some complex combos. You’d be wrong.

The button configurations are difficult to comprehend because there is no clear key indicating which button does what. This can leave you expecting to about to land a fatal blow, when you hit the wrong attack and leave yourself wide open to be pummelled. The lesson to be learnt here is to take some time to familiarise yourself with the move sets and the buttons you need to tap in order to make them work.

As a kid, you probably spent (many parents said wasted) your pocket money on going to the arcade in an attempt to make it onto the leader board of your favourite game. This almost always ended in failure. Well, think of the graphics of Time Crisis 2 and you pretty much have the look and style of the visuals. Lots of bright colours, sharp, curve less body shapes and character looks that define the perceptions of “normal”. But the basic look only adds to the overall package.

In terms of multiplayer opportunities, there are some. The offline two-player mode is simple. You get a friend, pick your character and let the game begin. It’s quick and easy to set up and gives you hours of fun. Most coming from stumbling through the scraps when you don’t know what your doing. Laughing as you hopelessly fail and rejoicing as you wing a win. There is also an online element to the fun; you can pit your swash bucketing mixture of skill with blind luck against a faceless adversary. Who, lets face it, is probably going to be as bewildered as you when trying to figure out if the controller is actually influencing the gameplay.

For all of its flaws it is again important to remember that, this game was made before the generation of gamers that are used to slick, well balanced and smooth beat ‘em up titles like Soul Calibur and Tekken. If you look it solely as a game from the mid-nineties, it is actually good value for money. Its simplicity makes it easy to enjoy and the fast paced action is good enough to hold the attention of even the most impatient of people. From playing this for an extended length of time, I now have a newfound respect for gamers in the 1990’s. And so will anyone else who plays Virtura Fighter 2. Its low-tech appearance was the best there was in those times, and they still enjoyed it.

So please, do give this a fighting chance; the entertainment value is very high for what it is – and that is 400Microsoft Points.

Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.