Gamespy.com Feature - VF4 Evo vs SC2

Here are some details about the new feature that Gamespy have just lauched:

Over the next week or so they will be discussing VF4 Evo and comparing it to SC2 in a bid to settle on the Ultimate Fighter!!

Here is the agenda for the feature:

Today: Review: Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution (PS2)
Today: The History of Virtua Fighter
Thursday: The History of Soul Calibur
Friday: The History of 3D Fighters: Part 1
Saturday: The History of 3D Fighters: Part 2
Sunday: The Characters of VF4 Evolution
Monday: The Characters of Soul Calibur II
Tuesday: Soul Calibur II and Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution: Head to Head
Tuesday: Review: Soul Calibur II (PS2, Xbox, GameCube)
Tuesday: Pile On: Soul Calibur II

Just thought I'd share this with the VFDC community. Simply go to www.gamespy.com - the article is currently the lead article on the front page /versus/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Cheers & enjoy.

 

Nice post...hopefully they can do justice to explain the complex fighting mechanism of vf evo and not just " duck out " and say it has a tough learning curve.I can't wait to see what they have to say about evo chars as well.

 

I think that on Tues. that we will see VF4 win. If they know their salts they will not be able to deny it.

 

They're not going to say... such and such wins... probably anyway...

Dude... we're talking about Gamespy. I don't think there are too many hardcore gamespy people who play VF, otherwise they'd be over here saying hi ...

Also, Soul Calibur 2 is just simpler to get into, and gives quicker satisfaction.

Considering that they aren't going to play each game for 3 months, probably only 3 days at most, I'm pretty sure that VF is going to get the short end of the stick. They'll say something cliche like 'deep and rewarding gameplay but not as accessable'. Then they'll tell everyone to go buy SC2.

I hope they at least say something about the amount of people in Japan that play SC2... compared to VFEvo.. at least =)

 

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KTallguy said:Considering that they aren't going to play each game for 3 months, probably only 3 days at most, I'm pretty sure that VF is going to get the short end of the stick. They'll say something cliche like 'deep and rewarding gameplay but not as accessable'.

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Actually they have probably been playing both for a few months (since the jp release). If they are still playing it I can tell you that they will give it a better review. But your right they will say something to the efect of:

"If you not willing to spend actual time with a game then save your money (relitivly) and gut SCII. Take the easy way out, I promise youll have funn mashing buttons in mere seconds."

ehhh /versus/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

I'm .... a little doubtful that they've been playing the imports for months and months. Furthermore, they play lots of games. It's pure speculation to what they play in their 'spare' time.

Here's hoping for a good review ...!

 

Actually, I think Gamespy will probably give the game a fair shake. I have a feeling this whole feature came from sentiments in the office that VF4E might be lost in the SC2 hype.

Here's some personal commentary from an editor:

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also played a truckload of virtua fighter 4 evolution. it's so goddamn good. trying to figure out how to review it with soul calibur II around. it's going to be a total fucking disaster. they're two different games that are probably about equally good for different reasons. gah. your average gamer will prefer SCII but VF4E is ridiculously deep, challenging, and tons of fun.

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(Christian, if you ever read this, I'm sorry from mooching text from your blog without asking, but I thought it was of interest to this forum, so...)

 

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Unfortunately, these don't come often enough to make it a fun incentive, and the other stuff you can get, wallpaper and emblems (basically just small icons) aren't that exciting. The quest mode doesn't offer many truly significant unlockables, so in that sense it's less than compelling, but it's still debatably the most robust single-player mode in a fighting game yet thanks to the strength of the game's A.I.

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Right. So they mean to tell me that VF doesn't offer just about the most unlockables of any fighting game out there? Sure. Like KTallguy mentioned, almost every review of VF Evo is riddled with things like this, "deep and rewarding, but (insert subtle line to take away from the shine)". It's enough to make me want to go into Crusader/Missionary mode. I'm going to convert every single SC player out there, every single one. Yea, I know that I'm taking their subtle lines too harshly considering the amount of good they say about the game, but I've just read the same crap too many times. Damn it, I'm gonna go take out my aggression on a Jacky training dummy.

 

OBN: You should really calm yourself. The people who would appreciate this game can usually read between the lines. I got the game. Based on a EGM review(amoungst other things). I have never bought a game off of an EGM review. The right people will get this game.

 

The only thing that bugs me is that it seems like reviewers didn't really check out all VF has to offer. Nobody mentions the replays on the disc or the training mode or the ability to see control inputs for great players.

But who cares its selling people like it, I don't buy games based on reviews.

 

In Portugal it's exactly the opposite: VF4-EVO Is the Best Beat'em Up in the World (taken from the PS2 OM). And guess what, no one buys it! Everyone buys Tekken, and no one buys VF.. and one more thing, some of our VIPs have a PS2, and in their PS2 OM interviews they all say that their favorite game is VF, which makes me smile =)

 

Sadly, "the right people" do not guarantee a financial success.

I want right people, wrong people, and all people in-between to buy Evo and guarantee its success. Sadly, that's just not going to happen.

 

Me too. At first, I never even thought of buying these type of fighters, in fact, I HATD THEM for their endless amount of moves and combos!!!!! I recieved virtua fighter 2, and disliked it. But that was when i was like 7, now that i'm 16, I bought evo cause i thought that i should try it and it was 20$ so i got it the day it came out,and love it to death, i play it non stop, and have become a good player with a lot of people. if me, a n00b to fighters liked this game over all the other stuff, than so can those other 2 million people.*besides, evo sold like 400,000 copies already, which is like another greatist hit again

 

I'm thinking the opposite - that Evo will end up on top of SC2 simply because SC2's gameplay is so similar to SC. But then, SC was the best fighting game ever made (until VF4, depending on who you ask), so they might reward it simply because it's still fantastic.

Meh. Honestly, I really don't like these head-to-head comparisons. Both games are phenomenal, and are the best of their genre. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, and sitting around analyzing them takes away from playtime. People should just buy both and enjoy the hell out of them, which is what I'm doing. I'm a die-hard SC fanatic, as well as a recent VF addict (bought Evo the day it came out and I'm loving every minute of it).

 

I've been playing VF since the third one on the dreamcast.I've practiced to death and became a pretty good Kage player.When I bought Evo I became a fanatic.I play so much I don't think it's even healthy.But,as for the two going head to head,Evo is better by miles.Button mashing games are not my style,and when a game comes out that has only one deep charecter in it(In my opinion,it's Ivy)i get pissed off cause it will probably sell more...Oh,and one moree thing,reviews are just a bunch o biased junk to me and I pay no attention to them...

 

Thus far I've been really liking this feature. The writers seem to be quite well-informed, and it's an enjoyable read overall. Looking forward to seeing the final conclusions.

By the way, there's a VF vs. SC GameSpy Grudge going on. If you're into online polling contests, you can vote here:

http://www.gamespy.com/grudge/2003.08/2003.08.25_vote.shtml

There's some other amusing Gamespy Grudges as well. I like these two in particular.

 

In the end SC2 beat out VF4E by a score of 8-7. They said that VF4E was a superior game, but basically SC2 was prettier and easier to play. The final scoring was pretty damn useless and shallow. The other information they gave was of moderate usage. <shrug>

 

I was kind of expecting this, as I felt the editors were being just a little too nice to VF during the week's coverage, almost like they were setting it up for the second place prize.

Still, it does all but confirm a theory that in the West, deeper does not mean better - and frankly, I agree (now, the theory that Namco can continue to make broken games and be rewarded for it, is one I'll never understand). I did think that saying SC2's single player experience was more rewarding than Evo's was a bit of a stretch, though.

I can't say this type of thing is all bad, as it has kept evo in the news, which can only help improve consumer awareness.

 

The whole 8v7 thing was BS. Stupid contests like the "Little Brother Mashing" section totally discredits this whole thing. Basically SC2 beat VFEvo because it's easier to pick up and it's a 'party game'. Oh well. I'm overall pretty happy with how VF is catching on just a little.

 

hi.. i just thought i'd jump in here, for a second, because zero-chan pointed out this thread to me. i find the responses kind of funny.

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The whole 8v7 thing was BS. Stupid contests like the "Little Brother Mashing" section totally discredits this whole thing.

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it's called a joke -- nobody on this thread seems to have much of a sense of humor. did people take the 'todd mcfarlane factor' thing seriously, too? besides, the mashing section went to VF -- i've seen people in this very thread complaining that SC is too mashy.

there was no winner or loser in that feature. it was just meant to be informative (so people could make their own decisions about which game to buy) and fun (so that people are entertained).

i don't think people here like fun, and they already have all of the information, apparently. =)

i did recommend that people should pick up both games.

did nobody notice that VF4E got a 97 and the highest rated version of SCII (xbox) got a 96?

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Right. So they mean to tell me that VF doesn't offer just about the most unlockables of any fighting game out there? Sure.

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most? possibly. most interesting? certainly not. did i miss something?

anyway, you guys certainly have a tremendous capacity for skepticism and pessimism. i stand by the review of VF4E -- it seems like it's impossible to make the hardcore fans of anything happy, unfortunately, even when you're heaping praise on something.

i doubt this post is going to make anybody happier, but i just wanted to say hi.

- christian