Virtua Striker 2002

"Flawed but addictive arcade action....thank you Sega!"

The beautiful game...

The smell of freshly cut grass, the cheer of a crowd as the ball hits the net, and the strange ''thwack'' sound of a slide tackle...

Some things never change, some things just get an overhaul. Cue Amusement Vision's Gamecube home conversion Virtua Striker 3.

When Sega decided to outsource the previous Dreamcast version, many (myself included) got worried. All of our concerns seemed to be unfounded as we eagerly downloaded clip after clip of the game in action. Of course, the truth very soon hit home (quite literally). The conversion had suffered badly, controlling the players with the stiff D-Pad was a problem, in fact even getting control of a player near the ball was often a task in futility.

It seems AV decided not to take the same risk again - and have produce the game in-house. In the main VS has benefited.

The very first thing you notice when booting up is that the game is less import friendly than before (more on that later).

However, once you are in the game proper everything will seem familiar. The DC version was exceptionally good looking and Sega's attempts at getting to grips with Nintendo's little box seem to have been straightforward. The players are well modelled and as ever, the stadiums, crowd and all extraneous detail are handled with care. In fact, the crows in particular are a real treat. Lighting in the game is beautiful and whether kicking off at Noon or early evening the whole atmosphere is well handled and the ''arcade'' feel remains intact.

Of course, the arcade tilt to this game should never be forgotten. The game has always been simple and while the franchise has been refined and polished over the years, the essence has remained the same. As a result, we are left with the addition of Analogue stick control (for the first time) and simple long pass, short pass and shoot options. The near-goal cross remains too. One-two passes can be pulled off (to a degree). Through-balls can too (by passing forward where no player is present and hoping your attack can run on to it before the opponents defence reach it). And, as usual a few special shots are included (including chip/lob) and an all new low-shot (pulled off by filling the shoot bar then tapping shoot again) if successful the ball will fly inches above the ground and hit the back of the net with a satisfying speed.

The game is perhaps simpler than previous efforts. This of course could be due to the improved control and AI. Somehow, you just feel you have a split second longer on the ball than previous versions. The opponents will still pull off the occasional long ball that will have you wondering ''what if'' but overall the feeling is that you are nearer to choosing when you want to attempt actions than in the previous versions where fighting for control of your own players was like an unwanted min-game all of its own.

There still isn't quite enough space for you ever to feel calm and while this is a constant reminder of the games arcade leanings, you will often wonder how much the game may improve if only the ping-pong feel was toned down a little.

All new to version three is the Road to World Cup mode. This is where the real time could be spent. However, as previously mentioned English text has been dropped and many Western gamers will find the bewildering array of menus too off-putting. Trial and error is not much of an option here.

Luckily all the usual import friendly modes are also included (though no straight Arcade mode) among them are Ranking mode along with various Cup and League modes, training exercises and playing with a friend is an option (with no visible slow-down to hamper the frantic play).

All in all VS3 is a real step up the ladder for the franchise. Certainly, this is a big improvement of the last home version and arguably the greatest update to the game since its creation. There are still flaws but I can accept them. Accept them, but not totally overlook them. One day Sega will totally get on top of this game, and then I may as well throw away all my credit cards, my gaming life will be complete. But for now, I can just deal with the flaws not because this is an arcade game (they should be able to be flawless too) but because the thrill of playing is greater than the downside of the games weaknesses. I know that I will go back to this game next week, next month, even next year. In fact until the next iteration…

Overall:

You still can't switch player control manually, you can't sprint boost and you still have little chance of avoiding tackle yo-yo with your opponents during cluttered mid-field encounters. But still I never tire of trying to attain a goal ranked above 700 (is it possible?), still I marvel at the graphical beauty of the game (and yes graphics do count in a game like this), still smile when I complete a perfectly timed bicycle kick, wince as I wait nervously for the referees verdict after a particularly late tackle, but most often (and above all) I still thank Sega for a flawed but addictive slice of Arcade action.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/03/02, Updated 04/03/02