EGM's Evo Review

just got this yesterday, not that it really matters, but:

looks like rewiews editor Shane Bettenhausen has decided to champion VF4 during EGM's SC2 overload. that's nice of him.

They gave it 2/3rds of a page, with the remaining 1/3rd being an ad for "true crime". SC2's review is 6 1/2 pages long.

VF4 Evo

"natural selection at work" ?

Gold Award

Shane: here's a lesson in how to improve upon perfection: take the PS2's finest fighting game, add two creative new characters, program in scads of intensely challenging AI fighters (based on Tokyo's deadliest players), offer up mad unlockables, and spit-polish up the already amazing graphics. then proceed to sell the tricked out remake for only 20 bucks.

I simply can't recommend Evo enough- every conceivable facet gleams with quality. Control is fluid, instinctive, and easy to grasp, yet mastering each fighters individual complexities requires studious dedication. And you'll really want to improve beyond button mashing, as success in the excellent Quest mode nets spectacular prizes- crazy outfits, wild accessories, movie clips, classic stages, and more (although, regrettably, you can't import your personalized characters into a friend's game this time).

There's just so much clever, unique stuff to earn that replay value is nearly infinite, even if you're playing solo. And it's this customization that gives Evo the slight edge over it's nearest competitor, SC2. They're both brilliant fighters, but I guarantee that you'll have a more rewarding time with Evo in the long run.

Shawn: There's no disputing Evo's first rate status- it's as fleshed out, complicated, and utterly addictive as fighters come. And although deep mastery requires serious dedication, any player can attain formidable skills with Evo's comprehensive Training mode. Yet even with the enticing price tag, adding only two new characters seems a bit stingy. And if unlike Shane, collecting bric-a-brac ain't your bag, you won't bother fighting the computer for pink sweatbands (?).

Che Chou- like it's title suggests, Evo takes Sega's staggering masterpiece and fine tunes it to near perfection. Of course, if you've already played the hell out of VF4, you've seen most of this before. Even so, adding two new characters opens up entire new realms of strategic possibility while maintaining the original's delicate gameplay balance. But the real reason to plunk down 20 bucks for Evo is the superb Quest mode. Replay value abounds- pick it up today.

good: deepest fighting game ever


/versus/images/graemlins/cool.gif

bad: can't share customized fighters

cool freebie: VF 10th Anneversary, a remake of the original VF

Shane: 10 Shawn: 9 Che: 9.5

(SC2 gets 2 10s and a 9 from Shane).

Everyone seems to agree, in both reviews, that Quest mode crushes SC2's Weapon Master mode, which it looks like you can beat completely and unlock everything in just a few hours. I was looking forward to trying that actually, oh well.

Seems like almost all press is not noticing all the re-vamping made to the classic characters, (de-generification of knees, major overhauls for a lot of moves that have been the same since VF1 etc). Also, I guess none of them can find the replays, which I think most of us fans would pay 20 bucks for alone. And of course, none of them are talking about challenge mode.... heh, or how the Quests in Quest mode will actually force you to use things like E-TEG or playing without backdashes. As opposed to SC's "fight while poisoned! watch out for land mines!" etc.

Anyway, all in all a pretty gleaming review, but still hugely overshadowed by SC2. Why did SOA decide to release them the same month? Guess it's better than on the same day as FFX-2 ala japanese release.

Personally, with all this press behind the game, I think the problem lies more with the lack of proper promotion from SOA. Maybe it's not in their bugdet or something. But VF was re-awakened from the dead in the US with VF4, and the ball finally started rolling again, they should have tried a little harded to keep it going... I think all the mess with Sony over the release killed whatever wind was in the sails, on the corporate side. It's too bad.

Spotlite

ps I've noticed the people at EGM have an obsession with Ivy and Voldo. If you look at the magazine closely, they're everywhere together... guess those guys wanna be tied up, gagged, and have a whip cracked on their ass.

 

nice response... i remember back in my freelance days I tried to get them to let me do a write up about how Virtua Fighter revolutionized the fighting genre and how underrated it is...suffice to say they refused. I agree with spot that Sega was close with VF4. It finally got the U.S. gamers attention. Hopefully Evo will bring some more people into the mix, but damn they need spend some advertising and hype it up in a commercial or something Something along the lines as the most poular fighting game in japanese history blah blah blah...then at the end say its only $20... Also a link to virtuafighter.com would get more people interested. The SOA VF site is crap..Oh well maybe in Vf5 /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

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heh, or how the Quests in Quest mode will actually force you to use things like E-TEG or playing without backdashes.

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eh... I don't think that EGM (or most if not all American publications) played the game long enough to notice that, or even understand half of the concepts/techniques of VF. I wouldn't doubt if the reviewer didn't know what E-TEG was /versus/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
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They gave it 2/3rds of a page, with the remaining 1/3rd being an ad for "true crime". SC2's review is 6 1/2 pages long.

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You guys talked about Sega not doing a good job marketing VF4(Evo), but you also need to take into account that SCII gets basically free marketing from all the magazine/websites it is reveiewed in.

Like take any multiplatform publication (such as EGM), and they pretty much have to give a fairly good amount of attention to SCII, seeing as it is on 3 platforms, when VF is only on PS2.
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But yeah, Sega did a really terrible job with marketing VF in America....the only thing they have done is E3 and the website.

With SCII you can see posters, commercials, toys, and there are of course SCII arcade machines all over the place, so the general awareness of SC > than that of VF.
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They're both brilliant fighters, but I guarantee that you'll have a more rewarding time with Evo in the long run.

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And there's the problem, it is that most gamers are just not willing to stick it out "for the long run," where as in SCII, like Dre said, you can unlock most of the unlockables in hours.

So for SC, the sentence translates to: "In the short run, you will have more fun with SCII."
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Yet even with the enticing price tag, adding only two new characters seems a bit stingy. And if unlike Shane, collecting bric-a-brac ain't your bag, you won't bother fighting the computer for pink sweatbands

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Adding only two characters....WTF??!? /versus/images/graemlins/mad.gif

How about Quest, Stages/Music, 10th ann, Chars, edited movelists, etc......Sega should be pissed off...why the hell would he print that?

Instead of being a general idiot about VF character customization, why the hell doesn't he mention that NO OTHER FIGHTING GAME offers anything remotely close to this.......that line really is awful...

<edit> He forgets to mention that it also keeps track of win ratio, matches played, advice, for each character too. Another overlooked part of VF.
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Dre said: Seems like almost all press is not noticing all the re-vamping made to the classic characters

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They probably run through the bare minimum of Quest/Training with Brad and Goh, and then write the review. Sad.

 

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With SCII you can see posters, commercials, toys, and there are of course SCII arcade machines all over the place, so the general awareness of SC > than that of VF.

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The question is, even if Sega pushed the marketing of VF Evo would it do any better? Soul Calibur II is coming off the success of the original Soul Calibur so it's out there and everyone takes notice. VF4 isn't as popular as SC2, perhaps partly because of the average reviews that VF3 got in mainstream games publications, and I think the popularity didn't rise much when Evo came out, certainly not to the amount that SC2 has. SC2 has the advantage as far as public awareness goes and even if Evo was marketed more I don't think it would have made much difference.

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Instead of being a general idiot about VF character customization, why the hell doesn't he mention that NO OTHER FIGHTING GAME offers anything remotely close to this.......that line really is awful...

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Just because no other fighting game offers it doesn't make it grand. If a fighting game offers a complimentary warm piece of poo doesn't make it a good thing.

When you get down to it the reward for playing quest mode is the items, win poses, and other things that make your character unique. There are a few other things like movies and wallpapers but it's my belief that the items are the real reward and if you don't like playing dress-ups then there isn't much reward.

Anyway I'm not surprised about un-informed reviews for Evo but I think the main thing is that the reviews overall have been very positive. I think that is a good enough indication that they at least understand the magic of the game.

 

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DrunkenCat said:
The question is, even if Sega pushed the marketing of VF Evo would it do any better? Soul Calibur II is coming off the success of the original Soul Calibur so it's out there and everyone takes notice. VF4 isn't as popular as SC2, perhaps partly because of the average reviews that VF3 got in mainstream games publications

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I partly agree, in the sense that no matter what Sega did to boost the marketing of VF4 (and Evo), it would not have come close to being nearly as popular as SCII.

But you fail to recognize some of the anti-marketing that Sega has done:

-Releasing Evo in Japan, same day as FFX-2......which presold more copies than VF4 sold to this day........
-And now releasing Evo in the same month as SCII in America............a couple months before SCII would have been prime time, as people (fighting game fans) might have been incline to buy Evo, while waiting for SCII, and hey, they might like Evo (more than SCII). But for people who have been waiting for a new fighting game, SCII, they most likely are not going to get Evo to fulfill those two or so weeks from SCII's release.
-10th ann. mindgames........is it gonna be released mainstream, is it in Evo already, etc. etc. Sega leaves us out in the dark, and finally IGN (of all sources) gets the official confirmation, before Sega.....huh?
-If shops and stores put up posters saying stuff like, "VF4:Evo (and 10th ann.) summer 2003, only 19.99," anything along those lines would only help Evo.
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SC2 has the advantage as far as public awareness goes and even if Evo was marketed more I don't think it would have made much difference.

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Also, SCII is going to be marketed for three platforms, so there is no surprise that more people know about it, because Evo is PS2 exclusive.

Oh, and about VF3 low scores.......the awareness was probably even lower /versus/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

When I got VF4, I had friends who played VF2 on Saturn alot, who were shocked and asked me "when did the third come out."
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Maybe with SCII release, people will see firsthand that Evo is the better game........though Evo will still get outsold /versus/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
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What do you guys think that Sega could do to boost the popularity of VF in the states (and generally outside of Japan)?

 

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spotlite said:
Anyway, all in all a pretty gleaming review, but still hugely overshadowed by SC2. Why did SOA decide to release them the same month? Guess it's better than on the same day as FFX-2 ala japanese release.


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Don't forget the ever so popular John Madden Football with Micheal Vick on the box cover.

 

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EmpNovA said:
What do you guys think that Sega could do to boost the popularity of VF in the states (and generally outside of Japan)?


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Let Namco handle the marketing...maybe the storyline too, add particles to some of the blows like electricity, fire... Breast implants for all female characters, couple of skimpy outfits here and there. Oh and don't forget Spawn or maybe Wolverine. And mini games like VF golf or something. /versus/images/graemlins/grin.gif


In other words VF will have to ''sell out''. Do cameos with the likes of Justin Timberlake and Nelly, hang out with Carson Daly and get sponsored by Pepsi. But then you'll have the serious ''hardcore fans'' bitchin. It's a vicious cycle /versus/images/graemlins/grin.gif. I feel for Am2.

If I was them I would do like 50 cent and : ''switch the style up and watch the money pile up.''

 

Emp...fix your post there dogg (if you still can)...your response was to spotlite, not DRE...and don't think just saying "badass akira player said..." will cover it. They both are /versus/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Oh well. Word of mouth is the way we're gonna have to do this, huh? Speak the gibberish of this lovely game in public as much as possible and respond to the "what the fuck are you talking about?" question with gushing enthusiasm. Intimate the notion sex>evo>food as best you can. Kidnap. If everyone works together, we can do this.

 

Lol !!!
I'll try. /versus/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

Is there even going to be a commercial for VF4 Evo in North America? I remember their was one for VF4 when it was coming out. The original EGM review for VF4 and the commercial were a big part of why I tried VF4 out in the first place. I agree Sega could do a better job of marketing this game.

 

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ONISTOMPA said:
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EmpNovA said:
What do you guys think that Sega could do to boost the popularity of VF in the states (and generally outside of Japan)?

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".....VF will have to ''sell out''. Do cameos........get sponsored by Pepsi. But then you'll have the serious bitchin. It's a vicious cycle...."

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Yeah, but you'd be surprised by how much good marketing, even simple stuff like commercials and posters, can do for a game.

VF4 had advertisements in magazines, and even had posters printed in PSM (or was it IPSM?).

Imagine if Sega-AM2 had released Evo a month earlier in the states, and issued posters/banners out to retailers, that said sutff like "get Evo for $20, blah blah etc."

About AM2 selling out, we have already had the conversations about Evolution being much, much differnet than previous console incarnations of VF. Stuff like hyperbattle, and all that are not what VF'ers are typically accustomed to in VF games. But, these things only extend the longevity of the game, while not taking ANYTHING away from VF, I mean, you have a better Kumite mode, and with extras on top of that.

Even though Evo is a better game than most (all) other console fighting games, you gotta wonder why it gets shut down in sales....

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Lightning said:
Is there even going to be a commercial for VF4 Evo in North America? I remember their was one for VF4 when it was coming out. The original EGM review for VF4 and the commercial were a big part of why I tried VF4 out in the first place.

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Yup, the general awareness for VF4 was high, I remember Media Play and EB, having signs that said VF new release.....Media Play even had a little stand for it.

But Evo, is going to get slammed into the bargain bin right from Sega, with the deterent of sales sticking right out, the flashy red greatest hits banner....I know when I go looking at PS2 games, I certinaly don't look in the bargain bin first.......

In Japan there were a good amount of commercials for Evo (PS2), but it's not like they didn't know when it was coming out......

I think one commercial, would go such a long long way for VF4:Evo, take a look at MKA, crap game, average reviews, but fucking unbeleivably massive hype, which resulted in 2+million sales (across 4 platforms however).

Maybe if Sega did something for Americans to commemorate the 10th anniversary of VF.......(or maybe if people knew about it /versus/images/graemlins/wink.gif)
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PS: Thanks for pointing out the Dre/Spotlite name mix up........past 6 hours though /versus/images/graemlins/blush.gif, hehehe

 

I am going to have to agree with empnova here that Sega NEEDS to put up a tv commercial or at least do something to help vf gain some exposure... Hell, I see soul calibur getting reviewed in magazines like Maxim... Anyways, all they have to do is air the japanese vf commercial but dub it in english that would be good enough, or just slap the japanese cover art as posters or stand up displays around game stores... That's enough for most of the Americans to buy the game, as long as they convey the feeling of "hardcoreness" it's enough to sell the game...
/versus/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

I can't stand SC, or SC2. I played SC the other day at a friend's house, for the second time in my life. I picked up Mitsarugi or whatever his name is, because he looked cool, kinda reminded me of a Kurosawa samurai flick. He got Maxi, that guy who looks more homosexual than Lion ever could. Must be the whole Elvis thing he's got going. Now, he's owned the game for months, and is apparently fairly decent at it. I won 5 matches in a row, not knowing even so much as a single command past basic Streetfighter 2 stuff. How's that for game balance? Any fighter that can have that happen is worthless IMO. I don't even think SC2 looks that good, but of course everyone will buy it because "It's soo 1337 d00d and its got swords and and and SPAWN". Damn, that pisses me off. VF gives real satisfaction, because you feel like you're truly mastering something, but noone has the balls to go give it a try. That is the biggest hurdle it has. Sega's wonderful marketing tactics don't help much, though. These ARE the same guys who marketed the Genesis, 32x, and Saturn at the same time, I know that made me go "huh?" and I wasn't even that old.

Ah well, guess life just ain't fair. If it was, I'd have a fuggin harem that followed me around on my private 747, and VF would be the only fighting game that anyone played. There's my two cents.

 

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OffBrandNinja said:

I can't stand SC, or SC2. I played SC the other day at a friend's house, for the second time in my life. I picked up Mitsarugi or whatever his name is, because he looked cool, kinda reminded me of a Kurosawa samurai flick. He got Maxi, that guy who looks more homosexual than Lion ever could. Must be the whole Elvis thing he's got going.

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Hey my Friend why are you saying these things about MAKISHI .He is a nice character with his nunchaku. I must say that SOUL 2 is a sweat fighting game. And Evo is great!!! Both games are the paradise for a gamer!!! The only factor that makes me sad about EVO is the lack of characters!!
I think that AM2 is facing serious problems about creating new characters. /versus/images/graemlins/confused.gif /versus/images/graemlins/confused.gif /versus/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

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I am going to have to agree with empnova here that Sega NEEDS to put up a tv commercial or at least do something to help vf gain some exposure.


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Maybe it's their Japanese counterparts. They don't advertise VF in Japan at all. The *ONLY* thing I ever saw was a series of big-ass posters with about 6 of the characters (1 poster per character) above the Toyoko line.

The only reason I don't consider it a full-fledged ad is b/c those posters are *ALWYAYS* PS2, and were PSX before that. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony paid for them, b/c it's always the big game of the week up there. All the Final Fantasies have been there, VF4, doko demo issho, and the likes of those.

Other than that, nada.

I agree - they should though.

 

Game Informer just reviewed it. It scored a 9 and 8.5 or something. I couldn't be bothered with buying the magazine. Anyway it was a good review.

As for Ziff Davis, they are completely obsessed with Soul Calibur 2. I mean a 6 page review, what where they writing about? The mazes in Soul Edge mode...

"Then you go right and then you left and then it loads again and then you do it some more and then you do it over again. This game rulez!!" I can't wait to see OPM freak out over SC2.

It annoys me the better game gets no hype. Anyway I read in Game Informer that Sega is discontinuing Virtua Fighter 4, so don't trade it in. It will be hard to find, all there will be is Evo.

 

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GaijinPunch said:
They don't advertise VF in Japan at all.

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I am probably ommiting things, so feel free to add what I miss. I am trying to come up with all the advertising/promotion that Sega did for VF, in Europe:

-10th ann. Discs being released (but only a small amount /versus/images/graemlins/smirk.gif) to commemorate VF's 10th ann., and promote Evo.

-the website from SoE, had some sort of promotional T-shirt give away, did anyone here win one?

-The Evo website on SoE's site.

-anything else, posters, advertisements?

 

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OffBrandNinja said:
Now, he's owned the game for months, and is apparently fairly decent at it. I won 5 matches in a row, not knowing even so much as a single command past basic Streetfighter 2 stuff.

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You mean basic VF stuff.


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OffBrandNinja said:
How's that for game balance? Any fighter that can have that happen is worthless IMO.


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Maybe your friend just isn't that good or you're probably naturally good at SC since the strats are somewhat similar to VF. You didn't mash and get 5 wins in a row did you ?

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OffBrandNinja said:
I don't even think SC2 looks that good

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/versus/images/graemlins/shocked.gif You must be out of your damn mind !!!!!!!!!!??????

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OffBrandNinja said:
but of course everyone will buy it because "It's soo 1337 d00d and its got swords and and and SPAWN".

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Don't forget that it's a pretty good fighting game too. Better than Evo ? Maybe not but way better than DOA3 and MKDA and those games did pretty good so why shouldn't it ?

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OffBrandNinja said:
Damn, that pisses me off. VF gives real satisfaction, because you feel like you're truly mastering something, but noone has the balls to go give it a try.

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Well being released the same day as FFX2 and John Madden Football isn't going to help either.

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OffBrandNinja said:
That is the biggest hurdle it has. Sega's wonderful marketing tactics don't help much, though. These ARE the same guys who marketed the Genesis, 32x, and Saturn at the same time, I know that made me go "huh?" and I wasn't even that old.

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If VF4 would've been a launch title (or somewhere near that) I think it would've been a VERY popular game. That plus a couple of good reviews and ads here and there. The marketing and suspicious release dates is what really hurts the game. It's like as if someone at Sega is Sabotaging Am2's work.

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OffBrandNinja said:
Ah well, guess life just ain't fair. If it was, I'd have a fuggin harem that followed me around on my private 747, and VF would be the only fighting game that anyone played. There's my two cents.

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You my friend are now an offical HARDCORE Virtua Fighter fan lol. /versus/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

No offense, your friend sucks if you were able to murder him like that in SC2 or 1. While it definatly does not have the complete depth of VF, it has more than enough.

 

I enjoyed SC2 for a little bit, but once I got into VF it was all over... It's not void of depth but it's not THAT great. I just got bored of the scrubs and the problems with the game. In fact, I got over SC2 faster than Tekken 4, and the only reason I liked T4 was Lei Wu Long.

However, I believe the tiers have changed a lot in SC2, right? In tournaments who are the characters on top? Is Nightmare unstoppable? I heard that Astaroth can easily stuff him.

And as for EGM and other magazines, I don't really care. I would like VF EVO to get a lot of good marketing... because that would hopefully increase the fan base in the US. But SEGA is going to do what they're going to do... The 20 dollar thing will help a LOT more people buy the game than usual though...

Hopefully this VF Quest game that is being developed will take the fighting mechanics of VF and put them in an adventure setting with a well done story. I'd go nuts over this kind of game... really =)