Taking fighting games to the third dimension, Virtua Fighter was a revelation when it was first released in 1994. After three iterations on Sega's underachieving Saturn and Dreamcast (five if you count Virtua Fighter Remix and Kids), Virtua Fighter 4 is the series' first release on a top-selling console. While the first three releases were all respectable conversions, VF4 is head and shoulders above them all, packed with extras and a few features gamers can only hope will make their way to other games.

Virtua Fighter 4 offers the latest refinement to the series' fighting engine. Gone is the escape button, and in its place, dodging and 3D movements are handled through intuitive joystick motions. The characters each have their share of new moves, and the game has seen a significant speed increase. Taka-Arashi has been axed from the game, and while he probably hasn't been replaced pound-for-pound, two new combatants have entered the fray. Lei-Fei, a Shaolin monk, and Vanessa Lewis, a Vale Tudo-fighting security guard. The pair fit well into the mix, and unlike the beefy sumo fighter who from most reports had only limited appeal, gamers should find these two fighters a good deal more attractive. Unfortunately, the neat uneven surfaces from VF3 have been removed, although to be truthful, they're not a significant loss, other than in technological coolness.

The Virtua Fighter engine has always been excellent. The game features fairly simple controls, but the wide variety of character moves and the overall effectiveness of each character's repertoire makes for a game where a wide variety of styles and strategies can be utilized successfully. Beyond the typical arcade mode, Virtua Fighter 4 features an excellent training mode. Not content to create a training mode that just teaches players all the moves for a character, AM2 has created a mode that teaches players the intricacies of the fighting engine. It's a great place to start, for both newcomers and series veterans who think they know all there is to know about Virtua Fighter. After getting to know the game through the training mode and a few trips through the arcade mode, it's probably time to create a user profile and get into the Kumite mode, which should keep you coming back to VF4 for a long, long time. In this mode, you face a series of AI fighters and work your way through a series of rankings. Along the way, you pick up extras, such as new outfits and items like sunglasses and freaky masks. These are all nice, but what really shines in Kumite is the caliber of the AI opposition. Not only do these fighters embody a variety of different styles, they can also get quite difficult. The variety of AI players also helps highlight where your skills might need brushing up. It's truly the next best thing to having a string of different human opponents.

Virtua Fighter 4 features some excellent looking stages, and the new character models are far more detailed than anything seen previous in the series. Bright, colorful and moving at a rock-solid frame rate, these graphics are great. Added effects, such as leaves that blow around on a stage, or snow and sand you can kick up and leave impressions are excellent new touches. Clothing and hair flow realistically, making for a very genuine experience. And while some gamers have complained of "jaggies," the models and levels are great and if you're not looking for them, you probably won't notice them. This is one of the PlayStation 2's nicest looking games, period. With its great animation and solid collision detection, watching saved replays can be almost as rewarding as fighting the fights themselves.

The music and sound, on the other hand, are simply above average. Many of the tracks are the generic guitar rock-style tracks fans of the series will have come to know. The sound effects are very familiar (such as the trademark "swoosh" that accompanies spinning attacks), but they come through with real impact. Series veterans will know that in previous home versions, the sounds were often muted compared to the arcade versions. No such problems here.

For fans of the Virtua Fighter series, buying this game should be a no-brainer. To gamers who are new to the series, this is an excellent starting point, thanks to the excellent training mode. And while fighting games have endless replay value as two-player games, Kumite mode will likely keep you coming back long after your friends have gone home or just tired of the consistent beatings you lay on them. No other fighting game rewards the refining of strategies in a one-player mode as much as Virtua Fighter 4. AM2 has outdone itself and its competition here; despite a lack of extras such as CG endings and so on, the selection of relevant modes and fun extras really helps this game keep on giving.

9.5

9.5

10

10