pay attention, yoshinori ono.
Last week, I went into Best Buy with the intention of purchasing Dragon Ball Z season 4 on DVD. Instead, I passed by a 50% off bin for games. I sifted through, figuring that there would be nothing but crap, but I found two amazing gems: John Woo's Stranglehold for only 20 bucks, and Virtua Fighter 5 for 30.
I hated the VF series from 1-3. It was simply too difficult a game to get into, which was odd, since it only used three buttons. All of this changed with VF 4, because they added simply the best training option for a fighting game ever seen before or since. You could, of course, go through your moves list one by one, and have the computer demonstrate the move if you were having trouble. But there was also a mode that literally taught you the game, from the basics to advanced techniques. It was amazing. I found myself going from a complete VF novice to a pretty decent player. The main thing with this series is that you pretty much need to pick one character and stick with him or her, because VF is very much about "learning" a fighting style and perfecting it. A game like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat has basic moves and strategies that carry over from character to character, but playing as Kage Maru is a totally different experience than using Akira.
Virtua Fighter 5 doesn't have the deep training mode that 4 did, but it brings back the Quest Mode from that game, and takes it to the next level. It's actually quite amazing. Basically, you go from arcade to arcade in Japan, playing against real VF players. They had all these players of different skill levels play the game and recorded their playstyles, and programmed the AI of the arcade players accordingly. In addition to this, you start out as 10th Kyu, and work your way up the martial arts ranks, getting to 1st Kyu, then 1st Dan, all the way to 10th Dan, and then you gain a "Master" rank that is based on your win/loss percentage. As you play and defeat people at the arcades, you win items to pimp out your character, emblems that appear next to your name, and "Dragon Orbs" (read: Dragon Balls). Collect 7 orbs and you get an Orb Item, a very cool and rare thing. This Quest Mode is pure game design genius. It is the perfect application of the "carrot on the stick" mentality. It's so easy to get into an addicted "one more match" mood. You'll be playing, and, oh! The next match is an Item Battle. Cool! Then, the next match is for a rank promotion. Well, I certainly want to get a promotion. And after that match, an official SEGA tournament starts, with a special item as the prize, as well as an Live Achievement if I place in the top three. It's the most absorbed I have been in a fighting game's one player mode since the original Soul Blade on PSX. I don't play on Live, and it's only me at home, so I generally don't buy fighting games anymore. But VF 5 has kept me away from Final Fantasy XI, and almost made me late for a movie, as well as kept me up later than I intended.
the reason for this post is because this year, Street Fighter IV is coming out. As you can imagine, it is pretty much at the top of my "most wanted" list for the year. Not only does it look to be a true fusion of the classic SF with new, fresh gameplay ideas, but for the first time, I will be able to battle David into the wee hours of the morning, like we used to do all those years ago, thanks to Live. But one thing that SFIV needs is a compelling one player mode, preferably one that carries over into the online component, just like VF5 does. I think having a martial arts ranking mode is a great idea, but you need more than that to keep people playing. Yoshinori Ono has already said he doesn't want to have customizable outfits, because he doesn't want to mess with the "iconic" look of the World Warriors. Well, for starters, they need an update to their look anyway, as it is now 2008, and Street Fighter came out in 1991. And besides, why not let players deck out their favorite fighters in character-appropriate accessories? My version of Lion in VF5 sports silver shaggy hair, ice blue shades, and a sweet white and blue ensemble. He still looks like Lion, just way cooler than the default version. I'd love to get online with my version of Ken wearing his t-shirt and blue jeans, or perhaps a really nice suit for going out to the clubs. He is rich, after all. Or have Ryu with shaggy long hair and a bit of a 5 o'clock shadow...you know, the way he should look if all he does is walk around fighting people. Having something like this in the single player mode of SFIV will make the online mode that much more fun. I hope that Ono sees this...
Tonight is GTA IV. I debated getting it tonight, because I start my vacation on Monday. But no, I want to be there picking mine up with the other hardcore people. Partially because I love the game. Partially because I want to support a developer's right to make games, media vultures and Jack Thompson be damned.
I hated the VF series from 1-3. It was simply too difficult a game to get into, which was odd, since it only used three buttons. All of this changed with VF 4, because they added simply the best training option for a fighting game ever seen before or since. You could, of course, go through your moves list one by one, and have the computer demonstrate the move if you were having trouble. But there was also a mode that literally taught you the game, from the basics to advanced techniques. It was amazing. I found myself going from a complete VF novice to a pretty decent player. The main thing with this series is that you pretty much need to pick one character and stick with him or her, because VF is very much about "learning" a fighting style and perfecting it. A game like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat has basic moves and strategies that carry over from character to character, but playing as Kage Maru is a totally different experience than using Akira.
Virtua Fighter 5 doesn't have the deep training mode that 4 did, but it brings back the Quest Mode from that game, and takes it to the next level. It's actually quite amazing. Basically, you go from arcade to arcade in Japan, playing against real VF players. They had all these players of different skill levels play the game and recorded their playstyles, and programmed the AI of the arcade players accordingly. In addition to this, you start out as 10th Kyu, and work your way up the martial arts ranks, getting to 1st Kyu, then 1st Dan, all the way to 10th Dan, and then you gain a "Master" rank that is based on your win/loss percentage. As you play and defeat people at the arcades, you win items to pimp out your character, emblems that appear next to your name, and "Dragon Orbs" (read: Dragon Balls). Collect 7 orbs and you get an Orb Item, a very cool and rare thing. This Quest Mode is pure game design genius. It is the perfect application of the "carrot on the stick" mentality. It's so easy to get into an addicted "one more match" mood. You'll be playing, and, oh! The next match is an Item Battle. Cool! Then, the next match is for a rank promotion. Well, I certainly want to get a promotion. And after that match, an official SEGA tournament starts, with a special item as the prize, as well as an Live Achievement if I place in the top three. It's the most absorbed I have been in a fighting game's one player mode since the original Soul Blade on PSX. I don't play on Live, and it's only me at home, so I generally don't buy fighting games anymore. But VF 5 has kept me away from Final Fantasy XI, and almost made me late for a movie, as well as kept me up later than I intended.
the reason for this post is because this year, Street Fighter IV is coming out. As you can imagine, it is pretty much at the top of my "most wanted" list for the year. Not only does it look to be a true fusion of the classic SF with new, fresh gameplay ideas, but for the first time, I will be able to battle David into the wee hours of the morning, like we used to do all those years ago, thanks to Live. But one thing that SFIV needs is a compelling one player mode, preferably one that carries over into the online component, just like VF5 does. I think having a martial arts ranking mode is a great idea, but you need more than that to keep people playing. Yoshinori Ono has already said he doesn't want to have customizable outfits, because he doesn't want to mess with the "iconic" look of the World Warriors. Well, for starters, they need an update to their look anyway, as it is now 2008, and Street Fighter came out in 1991. And besides, why not let players deck out their favorite fighters in character-appropriate accessories? My version of Lion in VF5 sports silver shaggy hair, ice blue shades, and a sweet white and blue ensemble. He still looks like Lion, just way cooler than the default version. I'd love to get online with my version of Ken wearing his t-shirt and blue jeans, or perhaps a really nice suit for going out to the clubs. He is rich, after all. Or have Ryu with shaggy long hair and a bit of a 5 o'clock shadow...you know, the way he should look if all he does is walk around fighting people. Having something like this in the single player mode of SFIV will make the online mode that much more fun. I hope that Ono sees this...
Tonight is GTA IV. I debated getting it tonight, because I start my vacation on Monday. But no, I want to be there picking mine up with the other hardcore people. Partially because I love the game. Partially because I want to support a developer's right to make games, media vultures and Jack Thompson be damned.