PS2 VF4 imprashunz from gamespot...

Sega finally unveiled the first playable version of Virtua Fighter 4 for the PlayStation 2. We were able to check out the game and came away impressed with what we saw. While not final, the build of the game we saw showcased slick visuals that were nearly arcade-perfect. Best of all, and most importantly for a fighting game, the PS2 version of the game featured rock-solid gameplay.

For those who haven't found it in their local arcade, Virtua Fighter 4 is the latest installment in Sega's flagship fighting series. Since its arcade debut in 1993, the Virtua Fighter series has driven the development of arcade technology and the evolution of the 3D fighting genre. Given the ambitious technology used for the arcade games, home conversions of the series have had to find creative solutions for re-creating the games at home.

Not surprisingly, one of the biggest challenges in bringing Virtua Fighter 4 to the PS2 lies in re-creating the game's graphics. The arcade version of Virtua Fighter 4 was developed on Sega's Naomi 2 arcade board and features beautifully detailed, polygon intensive graphics and a hefty dose of lighting. The texture work--not something the PS2 has been known for to date--is varied and has a great deal of fine detail. In addition, the game features a great deal of geometry on display in the island stage's deformable sand, the castle stage's snow, and the temple stage's breakable floor tiles. Despite the PlayStation 2's considerable graphical prowess, there was concern as to whether or not it was up to the task of replicating the arcade game's visuals.

While the past year has seen the phrase "the power of the PlayStation 2" thrown around quite a bit, Virtua Fighter 4 on PS2 actually makes a compelling case for the console's muscle, even in its early state. Despite the fact that the game has only been in development for a short time, developer AM2 has managed to coax impressive performance out of the PS2 hardware for its first project. The game already comes incredibly close to the arcade version's graphics, and it definitely makes the most of the PS2 hardware.

We did a double take when we first saw the game running. At first glance, it bears an uncanny resemblance to its arcade counterpart. In fact, even after we started noticing the little details that gave away the fact it was running on a PS2, the game looked very impressive. Before we begin to wax poetic on the game's graphics, we should point out the spots we've seen so far that keep the graphics from being 100-percent arcade-perfect. There are some aliasing issues, resulting in jagginess, shimmer, and moirÂÂEweirdness in places. There's nothing on the level of the Japanese versions of Tekken Tag or DOA at the PS2's launch, but it's noticeable if you're looking for it. The lighting in the game has been reworked to accommodate the PS2 hardware and isn't quite as dramatic as it is in the arcade version. The aforementioned sand and snow have both been scaled back and don't deform as much as they do in the arcade. Finally, some of the background elements off in the distance have been swapped out with 2D bitmaps.

While you'll have to scrutinize the game to find the graphical quirks we've mentioned, the game's strengths are far more apparent. The game manages to retain the high level of detail that the arcade version boasts. The stages and characters are modeled with an extremely generous amount of polygons and feature some of the cleanest, most detailed textures seen on the PS2. The game's 13 fighters--11 returning characters from Virtua Fighter 3 and two new characters--are all beautifully rendered, featuring moving hair, animated clothing, eye tracking, and lip synching. The cast is showcased via dramatic camera angles during certain throws in the gameplay and close-ups during their poses after you've won a match.

The stages in the game are also highly detailed, offering incredibly detailed vistas that are shown in the game's dynamic fly-through of a stage before a fight begins. In the actual fighting ring, you'll find a basic square area to duke it out in. In some cases, you'll find deformable objects such as the breakable floor tiles in new character Lei Fei's temple stage, the sand in Jeffrey's island stage, or the snow in Lion's castle stage. On top of that, you'll find that many stages use a variety of lighting effects that add to the atmosphere of the area you'll fight in. The bright sunlight that causes lens flare while fighting on the temple stage is contrasted by the diffuse lighting that filters down to the ocean-floor aquarium stage. What looks to be a new stage in the versus mode has you fighting in a ring filled with calf-high water, and it sported some well-done water effects. Finally, a bit of intentional fog has been inserted in places to add a bit more visual variety. In spite of the processor-intensive graphics, Virtua Fighter 4 manages to keep all the action going onscreen at a smooth 60 frames per second.

As nice as the graphics are, the gameplay surpasses them in terms of quality thanks to very tight control and a deep gameplay system. While we're unsure exactly which version of Virtua Fighter 4 the PS2 game is based on at the moment--since the arcade game first debuted earlier this year in Japan it's already received an update and there's rumors of a third--we expect that it's likely to be the latest one, version B, given how some of the characters are balanced. In terms of control, Virtua Fighter 4 handles like a dream once you accustom yourself to the game's timing and button configuration. The timing in the early build we played seemed to be off by a hair, which required us to adjust our play style in order to be effective. The fact that it was so easy to adjust to gives us hope that the final version of the game will feel just right. As far as the button layout goes, the default setup in which you block with the square button, punch with triangle, and kick with circle took a bit of getting used to, depending on the button presses for your player's moves. Fortunately, you'll be able to map the buttons any way you like on the PS2 controller in the options menu. Moving your character in the ring with the D-pad and circling your opponent in 3D by double-tapping and then holding up or down were easier to pick up. With a bit of practice, the game will be old hat to fighting vets.

You'll find five gameplay modes to test your skills in: arcade, versus, kumite, AI system, and training. The arcade, versus, and kumite modes are on tap to offer some hefty challenges, and the training and AI system modes are on hand to allow you to brush up on your fighting skills and customize your character. While specific details are a bit thin at the moment, it looks as though the game will also employ a variation on the magnetic card system incorporated into the Japanese arcade versions of Virtua Fighter 4. The cards are inserted into a slot in the arcade unit and let you save your character and ranking. The system allows the two players to see how skilled they both are by displaying their win-loss records. However, the biggest appeal of the magnetic card system, besides bragging rights, is that by winning fights in succession, you are able to unlock new items for use in the game. You can customize your character's appearance with a wide variety of items ranging from blue rabbits to clothing accessories. A plainly attired fighter taking on an opponent decked out like a Mardi Gras float would just be asking for trouble. While we couldn't get details out of Sega as to exactly how the card system will be implemented in the PS2 version of the game, we suspect that the game will use a PS2 memory card as a substitute for the cards used in Japanese arcades and allow players to open secrets in the game. We're fairly certain the feature will be included in some fashion, as the special items are definitely in the game--we played a few matches against Lion in the kumite mode, and he was wearing a glossy motorcycle helmet, which is one of his unlockable items.

So far, Virtua Fighter 4 for the PS2 is coming along incredibly well. Even though the early build we played had a few quirks, the game already looks and plays extremely well. With the game expected to release in the latter end of this quarter in the US, AM2 should have ample time to polish and tune the game. Barring some massive calamity, the game looks to be the finest home conversion of a Virtua Fighter game yet. Look for a more in-depth preview of the game in the coming weeks.

By Ricardo Torres, GameSpot VG [POSTED: 01/10/02]



I knew the lighting would take a hit! But was surprised to read that particle effects of snow, sand, etc. were scaled back. I always thought that ps2 was capable of generating great particle effects.... Also, whats the deal with certain background elements being replaced with bitmaps?! That truly is sukky sukky...

But at least gameplay would be great, right? Oh hellz yeah my dizzogs!

 

Well Adam there goes youre theory that the PS2 is a polygon monster that would have no problem with crunching more of em then the Naomi2 .

 

I really believed that it would have no problem poly wise. Maybe they sacrificed certain background elements poly wise to make sure that textures were at least up to par with arcade? I dont know... But TTT character models are as good as vf4 arcade character models - if not better. They were rendered flawlessly. But then again, the backgrounds weren't exactly that complex, so they could afford to allocate resources to character models.

 

TTT character models are as good as vf4 arcade character models - if not better. They were rendered flawlessly.

No way bruh, I gotta disagree with you there. VF4 character models KILL Tag character models...

 

"""But TTT character models are as good as vf4 arcade character models - if not better. """"

Brutha plzzzz....don't make me disagree with u
BTW...what have u been up to???

 

As nice as the graphics are, the gameplay surpasses them in terms of quality thanks to very tight control and a deep gameplay system. While we're unsure exactly which version of Virtua Fighter 4 the PS2 game is based on at the moment--since the arcade game first debuted earlier this year in Japan it's already received an update and there's rumors of a third--we expect that it's likely to be the latest one, version B, given how some of the characters are balanced. In terms of control, Virtua Fighter 4 handles like a dream once you accustom yourself to the game's timing and button configuration. The timing in the early build we played seemed to be off by a hair, which required us to adjust our play style in order to be effective.

LOL. I just have to laugh at this paragraph. The *Gamespot* editors know that it's ver.B given how some of the characters are balanced? Timing in the early build seemed to be off, but once they adjusted their playing they were effective? Hahahaha. I can only hope there's a launch party that SoA or Gamespot will open to the public here in SF, then Jason Cha, Howard and I can bring our import VF4 joysticks and show these dolts what's effective. /versus/images/icons/smile.gif

Other than that... a nice read. (Thanks for posting the text!) It *does* seem like there will be some magnetic card system even for the PS2 (at least in Japan)... wondering whether I can get my hands on that. Otherwise it would be a pain to have to stick memory cards in and out of the system every match.

 

hmmm....i think vf4 character models are still "rough around the edges" - so to speak. Joints are still crappy in many instances (pai's winning poses, Jeffry's underarms, etc.) whereas I really could not find any real noticeable breakup in the character models of TTT - nowhere near the extent of vf4s anyway. It just seems more polished to me i guess. These screens show what im talking about...just so very POLISHED





Notice how the lighting is cast on Law and Jin's torsos. For it to look like that, they had to throw around crazy polys. Sure Wolf and Akira boast beefy, well-rendered torsos as well, but i don't think Sega spent as much time on polishing shit up as Namco did...

 

Hey Adam, I think the reason why Tag models look so good is because of the aliasing...but in terms of like the number of polygons, there's no way. Just look at the detail in Akira's face, his gi. And the other thing is how the clothes on the characters animate...in Tag, there's very little of it but in VF4 it's just incredible.

Just check these out!









Although I must agree with you on the limb thing...I just don't know why AM2 hasn't gotten that down yet.

 

I don't know the average polys per character for vf4, but TTT was made up of 10,000 polys per character! That is simply rediculous! Even Namco stated that they went overboard with the polys on characters. They used texturing more in T4 and i think it shows, as the quality of models took a bit of a dive. Take a look at the sumo in TTT, despite the difficulty in rendering such a character (you need massive amount of polys), Namco had it running with nary a glitch. Same thing goes with the stupid bear characters - they ended up looking extremely smooth given their mass/size. That is where having huge number of polys at your disposal comes in handy.

I agree with you about the faces though - Sega renders the faces beautifully. The clothing movement in vf4 does beat TTT, but still does not match clothing movement in vf3 arcade. (Aoi's and Lei Fei's sleeves are too stiff). I wish I knew the average number of polys per character for vf4, as that would end the debate. But i feel it is a bit less than 10,000.

 

Marty Chinn's impressions from ps2 vf4 unveiling..

Here is what Marty Chinn posted about ps2 version of vf4. I'd say he is reliable when it comes to commenting on how the graphics compare to the arcade (i.e very nitpicky - just like me!!).


Character models look to be exactly like the arcade both in poly count and textures. Graphically the game is at least 95% accurate to the arcade if not closer. It's certainly a better port than VF3tb was, but it's not perfect either.

Wolf's stage looks pretty nice. For the most part, textures are pretty good, but in some cases you can see them being lowered in quality. You do have tons of people in the background in the crowd, but I wasn't able to tell if there was a reduction or not. I don't think so, but it's possible. The floor in that stage that was lowered a bit in texture quality though. Although it could have been Sega's crappy TV and video cables. Their setups were less than ideal.

The lighting is different. I can't tell if they just made it less dominant or if there is less of it. It's definitely less prevalent compared to the arcade. I know on at least one stage, some of the light sources were taken out.

I think the only part that really disappointed me was the sync issues. Hopefully they can clean that up before release, but I don't expect them to. It is entirely possible for them to tweak that. Otherwise the rest is about what I expected, but I also had fairly high expectations.

It's not as clean as the arcade, but it's nowhere near as bad as some PS2 or DOA2 on DC can be. It's also likely the TV and the connection had something to do with it too and it could look significantly better on a better tv.

Yes, it has a bit more aliasing than the arcade version. The stage looks pretty good except some of the lighting has been removed. The moving spotlights and helicopter are still there though.


Where's Andy when you need him?! Told you so mutha fukka!! ;-> Perfect character models, but sacrifice in lighting & some textures....

 

Re: Marty Chinn's impressions from ps2 vf4 unveiling..

There was no way that the PS2 could reproduce the game 100% as I previously thought. What I can speculate about are the reduction in particle effects and in generaly the backgrounds.

Probably the reason for the reduction in particles and in polygons in the background happend because of the lighting. Basically SEGA used as much power as possible to make the lighting as similar to the arcade as possible but since the N2 is more powerful in lighting calculations they had to sacrifice some poly detail to retain a decent quality lighting.
Texture detail is also reduced in places. What I have noticed is that almost all the reduced quality textures where highres textures in the arcade and so probably due to the lack of memory in the PS2 version they were swapped with lower res versions.

All in all it is still an amazing showcase of gameplay and gfx. This fabulous combo will make this game the best showcase for the PS2 this year.

CIN

 

<font color=red>Wazzup diizzzzog!!!</font color=red>

*ahem* sorry, got a little carried away there...

Anyway, I remember this part of the discussion from a few months ago. I don't know if this fully answers your question about the polygon number of the characters, but I dug it up anyway.

<a target="_blank" href=http://virtuafighter.com/versuscity/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=versus&Number=12395&page=&view=&sb=&o=>http://virtuafighter.com/versuscity/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=versus&Number=12395&page=&view=&sb=&o=</a>

Later, Adam...

 

Do you know when the PS2 VF4 is going to hit the UK. I just can't wait

 

Adam how about posting pics of TTT that are NOT touched up or are from the actual game ( unlike the top pic wich was a mock up used when TTT for PS2 was anounced ) .