User Rating: 6.3 | Virtua Fighter 4 PS2
I really want to like this game, I really do, but the controller kills it for me. I see a great game behind the controller. I like what I see. Sight is not enough. I did not grow up on fighting games, so I come to this game totally fresh. I didn't play a single fighter game ever. I grew up on RPG's, but this weekend I was bored out of my gourd and saw VF4 for $20. this was a totally new experience for me, so how coulkd I resist? I don't mind the graphics or sound. There are some fighter game conniseurs who can review these aspects better than me. I'm a pc gamer, so I expect console games to look less and sound less than pc games. However, I expect a game designed for a console to be controleabler by that console platform. so let's get to the meat of my criticism. VF4 was designed to be controlled in movement by 8 axis. That is just fine, program the game to be controlled by the joystick on the typical ps2 controller. Did they do this? No. they wanted 8 axis of control off the directional pad and ignored the joystick. Total stupidity. I quickly learned that fighting games are about executing quick sequences of player known key combinations. Many of these key combinations rely upon 8 axis of control. This means the game should be designed for 8 axis of control, especially if the platform is capeable of such control. Was VF4 coded to take advantage of the PS2 joystick? No! It was programed for the heavy handed 4 key directional pad. A player is expected to mash multiple D pad keys with a thumb instead of being able to use the fluid joystick. Can anyone explain this to me? A developer has numerous months to program for the joystick, but no, the developer would rather be lazy and rely on d pad code. To me this means a cop out and a weakness in the lead developers vision. I also want to believe the campaign mode of the game is meaningful. The game has a campaign mode called the kumetai. A player is supposed to earn ranking and items from this mode. I've played this mode for hours and I've not seen any of the features promised. I've fought dozens of opponents and won and I've never earned a new rank or any mystical item. Since all combatants fight hand to hand I'm not even sure what an item is. The game has tutorials to instruct players in how to control characters. The problem is that a player who goes thru the instructions does not know what exactly was done with key pad commands to commands in order to pass the tests. The tests feel like a player has only completed a set amount of time to complete a trainiong period. You mash the same set of keys combinations over and over thinking you are doing what is right, but get no where. Suddenly you are succesful. was it the amount of time you put in, or was it a precise key combination?? I really want to like this game and believe in it, but if you pay more than $10 for it, you're getting ripped off. 
