New PS2 Virtua Fighter Info

Just saw a news story at IGN concerning the upcoming VF4 port on Playstation. While most of it is old hat, there some new surprises. I'll just let y'all read the news clip...

==============
The Japanese rumor mill has coughed up what we believe to be a reliable list of the game modes found in the PlayStation 2 version of Virtua Fighter 4, Sega's latest major arcade fighter. It looks as if the home version of the game is to be substantially expanded, even if this news is to be ingested with the appropriate grain of salt. This is the list as received presently:

Arcade Mode
Arcade mode replicates the arcade game exactly, with the default settings as found in the arcades.

Versus Mode
Head-to-head fights are available in the usual fashion, with options for life meter size, time limits, rounds, and so on.

Replay Mode
As per usual, replays follow each fight, but VF4 makes it possible to display a film of an entire fight (not just the finish) and control its display -- fast forward, slow motion, freeze-frame, and so on.

Training Mode
The training mode includes three different options for the structure of practice. Free Training is simple sparring with a CPU opponent, where you can set variables for damage and the like and access move displays to track your performance. Command Training guides you through the basic techniques of each character, with a greater degree of guidance. Finally, the Trial mode presents a series of fighting challenges, like chess problems.

It's also possible to develop and customize a character in the same way as you can in the arcades, except that you can just save it to a memory card rather than using the VF.NET system employed in the arcades. Characters can be developed in versus play or in a special tournament/survival mode, wherein appear more than 200 different special "celebrity" characters. These are apparently variants of the regular characters with the names and custom accessories of famous people or famous VF4 players.

We'll try and bring you confirmation of all this news and any more information on PS2 VF4 that we can dig up in the near future. One way or the other, we'll know plenty soon enough -- the game is due to hit Japan on January 31.
========

On another note, the Coremagazine.com has the covers for some upcoming PS2 releases in Japan, including VF4. Looks damn cool, let's hope the American version looks like this.