My Day of VF5 PR

<span style='font-size: 14pt'>Where were you when you played VF5 for the first time?</span>
The first time I played VF5 I was sitting in the seat of a Gran Turismo driving simulator, in the offices of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) in Sydney Australia, arranged by a PR guy in Melbourne, who found out about me from a PR guy in London.

This strange but true tale which concluded down under all began in London, in the offices of Sega of Europe. I had been in contact with SoE PR regarding the upcoming release of VF5, and in general, exploring ways to help promote the game. Through them, I was introduced to THQ in Australia. THQ are the local distributors for all Sega products in the country. So after a few email exchanges with the THQ's Sega PR guy, Drew Taylor, a day was arranged where I would get to play VF5, maybe sit through a couple of interviews, and meet a few people in the gaming media industry.

Drew flew up from Melbourne to meet me in Sydney. Straight from the airport, I hopped into his cab and our first stop was the SCE office. They had a special room dedicated for the occasion, but the room wasn't quite ready yet, so we had to wait for while. As the wait had grown longer than anticipated, they asked if I'd like to have a go at their Gran Turismo simulator. I was all "why not?" Playing GT HD on the PS3 was a very nice way to pass some time!

Around 10 minutes had passed, and since the room was still not ready, they thought that I might like to play VF5 right there and then, in the driving sim! As odd as it sounded, I was all for it since I was dying to play. So out popped the GT disc, and in went VF5. Before I knew it, there I was, reclined in a drivers seat, feet resting lightly against the pedals, steering wheel within arms reach but holding a joypad on my lap, playing VF5! I just jumped right into Quest mode with Jacky and was just breezing through the first arcade, as you do. Just as I'm really digging the game, messing around with combos and OM, they inform me that the room is ready. Crap, I had to stop playing for a few minutes!

Eventually we relocate to what looks like a common/meeting room at SCE. A whopping huge Bravia TV against one wall, surround sound setup, and a comfy sofa. The setup was sweet to say the least.

<span style='font-size: 14pt'>Game Impressions</span>

I'll be honest and admit that before seeing the game with my own eyes, running in all it's 60fps HD glory, I had this unsettling feeling that I was going to be underwhelmed by the graphics. This is mainly due my desensitisation through VF5 movies. I remember the initial wow factor when I saw things like character and strage intros for the first time online, first via bootleg video footage, and later by direct VF.TV feeds. But after seeing them so many times, the novelty eventually wore thin, especially through 400x240 encoded media, and I was a little saddened that I'd never be impressed again.

Fortunately, I surprised myself, and was thoroughly WOW'ed! What really stood out for me in particular were the lighting effects. Some of the stages, particular the backgrounds, were so picturesque I'd often want to stop fighting and just relish the scenery.

What I've always loved about the VF series, particularly with the graphics are the subtleties, and the powerfully understated attention to detail. For me, the graphical leap in 5 was in the HD resolution coupled with the obligatory upped poly count in the models. Oh, and the fucking lighting!

I can't comment too much on the BGM, as I don't think I have anything to add to what's already out there. Music is always going to be subjective, so you'll either love it or hate it. Personally, I have a couple of favourites. But again, thanks to the countless movies I've digested in the past, all the BGMs were already familiar. But when you're playing this game for the very first time, as I was on this day, then the background music is exactly that -- in the background.

One thing I will comment on though is the sound effects. I think I mentioned this a long time ago, when VF5 first hit Japanese arcades, but I appreciate all the added in-game vocals, the grunts, the yells, etc. It adds more life to the fight, and IMO makes matches from past VF games sound like a silent movie by comparison. In addition to the vocals, they've really accentuated the different types of hitting sound effects. Whether you're punching with a fist, stabbing with the fingers, clubbing with both hands, you get a different sound effect. Similarly with kicking attacks. I love this attention to detail.

On the gameplay front, well, I can't do this justice right now given that I've barely clocked up 2 hours playing the AI. All the theory and online reading can't really prepare you for your first experience. You literally have to jump in, find your feet, then learn how to walk before you can run. Don't you love these cliches? Anyway, within my limited exposure to the game, I was loving every second of every single round. I feel like there's so much to explore with this new engine. The reworked nitaku system, OMs, 0f throws, side crumples, new combos, new characters! I was quickly overcome with all this information in my head, and "things to try", that I often just resorted to simply blocking it all out and enjoying the game. I'd often pause and relish in what felt like my real "beginning" with 5, with visions of my local VF scene getting together in the not too distant future, engaging in many memorable battles. Was that a little too dramatic?

<span style='font-size: 14pt'>VF5 PR</span>

So, play time was over before I knew it, and it was time to attend to other matters for the day. After a quick lunch down at the local pub, the proceedings kicked off with an interview on an Australian TV game show called Good Game. I'm not sure when the episode airs, but I'll let you all know once it does. Episodes can also be downloaded from their site. I think I reaalllly goofed up something in this interview, but I won't say what it was. I'd prefer to wait and see how many people pick it, and I'd be very surprised, and in some cases disappointed, if a lot of you don't!

The next bout was an interview with IGN Australia, with Patches. This interview, appropriately titled Virtua Fighter 5: Passionately Addicted is already online.

In this IGN interview, you'll see that I had a favorable opinion of the AI in the game. I should let you know that my quick impression was formed after only four games against the hardest arcade on hard mode. My thinking was that if I could breeze past the AI, then I'd be extremely disappointed. The result was that I lost every game (OK, I was playing on a pad too!) so the conclusion I drew was that it was certainly a challenge. I had assumed that it would not be any worse than Evo's. But, obviously, after some of you guys have had a chance to play it more thoroughly, we've come to learn more about the quality, or lack of, in the AI, especially compared to Evo. That's all I'll say on this matter for now.

It was at this point where we (Drew and I) left SCE and headed over to the offices of Official Playstation Magazine, Australia. I met up with the editor, Narayan, for another interview. I later found out that Narayan and I had a mutual friend. Small world! The next OPM issue will have a large VF5 feature, equal to the largest game feature in their publication, in which the interview can be found. I'm looking forward to how that feature turns out, and of course, all the online backlash I'll inevitably receive, if past OPM features are anything to go by! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

<span style='font-size: 14pt'>So What Now?</span>

Some people are surprised when they hear that I've yet to import a PS3, VF5 and joystick. The main reason why I haven't is that while the games are region free, blu ray DVDs are region locked, so I decided to wait for the local PS3 release on March 23rd. But, there have been times where I've been extremely tempted to import. I've literally been one click away from orders on play-asia, or bids on ebay, only to pull out at the last minute.

As tough as it has been since February 8th, it doesn't compare to how tough it has been since that day I played. March 23rd couldn't come soon enough!

 

It's hard to recall what I exactly said, but of course I meant scenes outside of Japan. I honestly don't know what the scene in Korea is like these days, so I won't assume anything. I neglected to mention places like HK, Singapore, UK and Europe too, but what can ya do? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif