fighting

It's finally here in the states. After Sega refused to bring the sequel to Virtual On out in the stateside arcades, the American public is ready to see the wonder that is Juro Watari's Virtual On Oratori Tangram.

Beautiful lush graphics, and some of the most interesting mecha design are all but a fraction of what you're getting. One on one 3-D fighting just can't get any better.

The game is NOT arcade perfect as they seem to want you to believe, but it's just picky little things like shadows, and toned down weapons. The gameplay remains unchanged, and that's what counts. It's minor differences that only the super hard core arcade gamers will complain about, or notice. (the biggest being transperancy)

The only catch, to this is the game was originally meant to be played with two joysticks, with two buttons on each one. Trying to take that configuration and assign it to a control pad can make for some frustrating experience. The learning curve, is like any other fighter. It's pretty steep, and not only takes a lot of practice, but is something completely different than playing Street Fighter, or Tekken. If you can sit down and learn all the game has to offer though, it won't be time wasted.

I didn't see any VGA adaptor compatability on the back of the box, but unless Activision took it out, I advise that you play it on a VGA monitor if possible. I really does look that much better.

The only thing keeping it from five stars is the fact that Activision took out the Network option, and isn't planning on releasing a Vs. cable box to link two Dreamcasts together and play, or the sticks. (They're passing the buck to some third-party company who is willing to look into it.) Activision is suppose to have a good track record of adding stuff to games as they come out here. A very disapointing effort on their part.

But the important part is that they can't butcher the game itself. 60fps, wonderful animation, and deep game play make this one of the best Dreamcast titles yet. It's not for everyone, but sure is fun.

If you're a fan of big robot anime and fighting games, don't even bother reading the rest of the review - just go buy the game.

Still here? Okay, let me get my main complaint about the game out of the way first. The game was designed to be played in the arcade with a pair of joysticks referred to as twinsticks. The twinsticks are somewhat like dual sticks used to control a tank and without them, the game suffers. Supposedly some third party companies are looking into making them, but until they do, the control in Virtual On can be a little unwieldly.

On the plus side, however, it is a flashy and impressively deep robot combat game with bright graphics and a constant barrage of action in one-on-one duels. Fans of Gundam Wing and Robotech will certainly get their kicks here.

That's really what it boils down to. Fans of big robot anime will love this game unequivocably; fans of action games will love it and overlook its faults; easily frustrated gamers should rent first.

Virtual On rocks!! The controls take some getting used to and the Dreamcast holds up pretty well to this end. The graphics are AWESOME, the action is FAST and the game is TIGHT! If you have finished beating Soul Calibur for the millionth time and you're ready for a real 3D challenge then pick this up. This game is a gem from the far east, don't let it slip by.

Did I mention that the animation is silky smooth, the graphics are some of best that the Dreamcast can produce and action is fast and furious. The frame rate never drops below the standard 60 and this makes for some great action. The time and effort taken to produce each Mech is seen in the level of detail for each character. The character backround stages are also exceptional which makes for some serious eye candy. This game looks GOOD!

If you had second thoughts then sweep them away and get this, you won't regret it!