Check in, everybody!
Tried it at Club Sega Shinjuku West today, saw some fellow GAFfers making the rounds, getting their new cards and signing in.
Observations!
-Wow this looks lovely. The game is running in an HD widescreen mode. The screen they are using is completely awesome, looks like a HUGE, flat CRT.
-Character motion looks really smooth. The facial mocap looks heaps better than anything we've seen before in the VF series.
-Background are like woah. There was one in a canyon with Anasazi cave dwellings (or something) that was pretty amazing.
-Character models are really good; really insane facial details on some of them. It's like the guys have photorealistic skin with pores and shit while the girls are more DOA-style smooth (either that, or they all have really good skin). El Blaze's model is FUCKING PHOTOREALISTIC, it's totally creepy and I love it. Oh yeah, the girls are hotter, but Vanessa got her skin pigmentized (wtf?). Aoi got reconstructive surgery. Sarah does not look like a dumpster ho.
-Lau looks like he's about eighty years old and is about to die.
-Character voices are still extremely annoying. LION LET ME PUNCH YOU IN YOUR CROTCH. "You'd better take me seriously!" Argh.
-There's a new girl in the roster who uses some sort of Kung Fu. Snake or crane or something, I'm not going to pretend to know.
-El Blaze is a stone cold pimp but nobody is playing as him
-Yu Suzuki was in the bathroom and told me they are making a Mega Drive version first that will come with an "expansion cartridge that will put Virtua Racing's to shame." Just wanted to make sure you were reading there and not skimming.
-Character customization is rad. I saw Vanessa with a gas mask, Bald Jeffry (looks like Marduk!), Dredlocked Jeffry, Angel-wings Sarah.
-There was a "VF.TV" monitor attached. The system is amazing. This was a large plasma screen that displayed stuff like the current round (with running voiced commentary!); while the game runs in a window, you'll see a schedule in the bar to the left and other information to the bottom. During a VF.TV broadcast I saw:
-- The current matches (of course) with commentary
-- An interview with Kataoka
-- A list of recent players, showing their customized fighters making cool poses
-- Commercials for Ryu Ga Gotoku (oh yeah!)
-- Virtua Fighter News (I assume this will be updated daily)
Gameplay-wise, I'm not even going to go there. I used to be okay at VF3, but playing VF4 in the arcades in Japan was utter humiliation so I gave up on it and concentrated on mastering the Japanese art of drinking instead. I guess my final impression is "The graphics are awesome and VF.TV is awesomer."
Some of the folks there will be writing lengthy English impressions later on, so I trust it to them! Please add any English gameplay system comments if you have any!
Tried it at Club Sega Shinjuku West today, saw some fellow GAFfers making the rounds, getting their new cards and signing in.
Observations!
-Wow this looks lovely. The game is running in an HD widescreen mode. The screen they are using is completely awesome, looks like a HUGE, flat CRT.
-Character motion looks really smooth. The facial mocap looks heaps better than anything we've seen before in the VF series.
-Background are like woah. There was one in a canyon with Anasazi cave dwellings (or something) that was pretty amazing.
-Character models are really good; really insane facial details on some of them. It's like the guys have photorealistic skin with pores and shit while the girls are more DOA-style smooth (either that, or they all have really good skin). El Blaze's model is FUCKING PHOTOREALISTIC, it's totally creepy and I love it. Oh yeah, the girls are hotter, but Vanessa got her skin pigmentized (wtf?). Aoi got reconstructive surgery. Sarah does not look like a dumpster ho.
-Lau looks like he's about eighty years old and is about to die.
-Character voices are still extremely annoying. LION LET ME PUNCH YOU IN YOUR CROTCH. "You'd better take me seriously!" Argh.
-There's a new girl in the roster who uses some sort of Kung Fu. Snake or crane or something, I'm not going to pretend to know.
-El Blaze is a stone cold pimp but nobody is playing as him
-Yu Suzuki was in the bathroom and told me they are making a Mega Drive version first that will come with an "expansion cartridge that will put Virtua Racing's to shame." Just wanted to make sure you were reading there and not skimming.
-Character customization is rad. I saw Vanessa with a gas mask, Bald Jeffry (looks like Marduk!), Dredlocked Jeffry, Angel-wings Sarah.
-There was a "VF.TV" monitor attached. The system is amazing. This was a large plasma screen that displayed stuff like the current round (with running voiced commentary!); while the game runs in a window, you'll see a schedule in the bar to the left and other information to the bottom. During a VF.TV broadcast I saw:
-- The current matches (of course) with commentary
-- An interview with Kataoka
-- A list of recent players, showing their customized fighters making cool poses
-- Commercials for Ryu Ga Gotoku (oh yeah!)
-- Virtua Fighter News (I assume this will be updated daily)
Gameplay-wise, I'm not even going to go there. I used to be okay at VF3, but playing VF4 in the arcades in Japan was utter humiliation so I gave up on it and concentrated on mastering the Japanese art of drinking instead. I guess my final impression is "The graphics are awesome and VF.TV is awesomer."
Some of the folks there will be writing lengthy English impressions later on, so I trust it to them! Please add any English gameplay system comments if you have any!
