Features
- Based on arcade Virtua Striker 3 with tweaked controls
- Super enhanced graphics resembles real-life sport
- 64 playable country teams
- Each team has 22 registered players for more than 1,400 selectable athletes
- Features 13 different play stadiums
- National Soccer Team of Japan license
- Adidas Japan license for use of real balls and spiked shoes
- Multiple modes of play including Road to World Cup, Tournament and Versus Match
- One and two-player support
Gameplay
Virtua Striker is based on someone's idea that there are gamers in this world who are not interested in having full control over the players on the screen. Virtua Striker 2002, an upgraded version to Virtua Striker 3 that was released to the arcades in Japan last year, is sadly still cornered by this philosophy. Gameplay is best described as CPU-aided, and best suited for quick matches at the arcade. So, it's no wonder it all started there. Before we delve into our qualms with the controls, let's talk about all the great things that Virtua Striker 2002 does offer.
You'll be able to choose from four main modes of play including Road to International Cup (Virtua Striker 2002 doesn't carry any league licenses), Variation, Match Play, and Training. Variation brings another four mode types to the table: Internation Cup, League, Tournament, and Ranking. Basically these let you play several different season-type setups so if you're looking to get ranked, or play in a 16 team tournament you don't have to go the very deep Road to International Cup mode. Match play could otherwise be called exhibition or the multiplayer mode. It lets you choose from a straight up versus match or a dedicated penalty kick competition. This is the only area multiple players can participate, and the disappointing part is that it only supports team-on-team match ups. You and a friend cannot play on the same team, nor can more than two players get in on the action. It would have been nice to see the four player options as seen in something like EA's FIFA.
The last of the bunch, Training mode, is actually pretty cool. It lets you brush up on your offensive and defensive skills, facing off against various levels of the CPU teams using different strategies. For instance, if you want to practice defense it will pit you on the opposite side of the field. As soon as you return it across the center line it repeats, but of course different situations develop thanks to some modest AI. There are four different levels of challenge, and each puts you in different situations to help you hone in on your skills.
Virtua Striker 2002's biggest asset, though, is without a doubt its Road to International Cup. It's basically the franchise mode without any true licenses. The only certified stuff in Virtua Striker 2002 is some of the equipment and wear, such as Adidas shoes and the like. Despite that, though, this mode is rich and quite expansive with options. You can go in and edit one of the 64 country teams, changing faces, numbers, wear, and skills -- basically creating your own team if that's what you're out to do. The players are totally fictional with the lack of a license, so there's plenty of freedom to alter things. With that comes a completely fictional four-year quest for the International Cup. You customize your team, home stadium, and even coach's name before you get started. From there out you get to see behind the scenes of what it's like to schedule matches, travel overseas, and coach. It's all based on points that you have to budget to get to training camp, exhibition games, and such. You receive points on the first month of the year and, occasionally, by winning matches. Overall the Road to International Cup is really impressive in terms of options and presentation. It really tosses you into an almost story-driven setting, where you feel like you're part of a team -- for four years.
What hurts Virtua Striker 2002 is its counter-intuitive control. For being a game that proclaims to be arcade friendly and easy to pick up and play, it really isn't. In fact, it can be downright frustrating. Yes, we can hear the Virtua Striker fans out there yelling at this very moment, coming to its defense, but the simple fact is that it just isn't as smooth as Electronic Arts' FIFA franchise, which features fully analog turning. Virtua Striker is eight-way directional and, additionally, unresponsive. It tries to make up for it with fantastic play animations and a sense of momentum, but your players are half-controlled by AI. There is no manual player switching, it selects the player closest to the ball (this can be baffling at times), and it often feels like you're fighting for control of your player. It's frustrating, and feels completely different from other soccer games out there. In that regard Virtua Striker is in a league of its own -- the wrong league in our opinion. This is what will make Virtua Striker so unplayable for most. It really is an acquired taste, and one that not many seem to have. Admittedly, if you give it a little play time your initial turn-offs will fade a little, but fans of a more responsive sports games from the likes of EA, Midway, or Konami will be left wanting more.
It's a shame too, because Virtua Striker has some very good things going for it, like the training mode, team editing, and extensive Road to International Cup. It's a very fast-moving game, too. Other soccer titles will feel sluggish in comparison, which again is a matter of taste. In the end, we believe that if Virtua Striker threw out its unresponsive control and replaced it with analog directional turning it would be exponentially better. While the team is at it, why not jump ship and conform to the standard of having a turbo button and stamina for each player? The Y-button is used for nothing in Virtua Striker 2002. It's the perfect spot for a turbo.
Graphics
Amusement Vision's efforts to create a visually impressive soccer title were not in vain. Player models are excellent, well-animated, sporting moving hair and other subtle motions. In fact, animations are superb when players are reacting in-game. When they slide, change directions, and get knocked over it looks very realistic. Where animations suffer, oddly, is during replays and in instances where players argue with the refs. Textures are equally solid, though somewhat redundant in design. Part of this can be attributed to monotonous lighting and, of course, the stadium's inherently consistent designs. Some wear and tear on the field, changing weather patterns and night games would have greatly aided the visual presentation.
It is a sharp-looking game, though. Those with high-definition TV sets can benefit from progressive scan support and a true 16:9 widescreen mode. Or, even if you don't have a widescreen TV you can play in a letterbox mode for the same effect. All the action takes place at a silky smooth framerate with some chugs here and there, but it's not too often and certainly forgiveable.
Sound
From top to bottom the sound in Virtua Striker 2002 is under-whelming. Perhaps its because the original design was intended for an arcade cabinet, placed in a loud environment where it couldn't be appreciated anyhow. At home, gamers demand more. Amusement Vision took advantage of using Dolby Surround, but failed to really bring it to life. Stadiums sounds are dull and repetitive, and there's simply no commentary. Only the occasional "kick off" and "goal" sound bytes. There's also a lot of awkward looping with some of the effects -- they're very short and you can clearly hear them repeating.
Sound is absolutely one area that has some glaring flaws from its original arcade-centric design.