Virtua Fighter 5 - Waste of time.

[Stewart]

So with the most expensive console in history coming out soon, and me foolishly getting one, I've been making a list of launch titles to get. Plenty to choose from (despite the constant Sony bashing from 360 owning peeps) and VF5 was on my list.

I read a few previews and watched a few videos and it looks good, but I just assumed it would be online - DoA4 is, and that’s the game it most closely resembles on the 360, the game it will be compared to.

It’s not online - not even a bit online. What’s the point of it then?

It could look better than DoA, play better than DoA, but all you can do is play through against the CPU, like a game from the olden days! Seriously, there is no point to this game if you can't go online.

Sony need to offer an alternative to the 360, they need to match it blow for blow. If you are into fighting games, no matter how good VF5 turns out to be, with DoA offering online play (and really good online play at that, with a nice lobby system, rankings for everything, even a shop to buy things for your avatar and stuff) and VF5 having nothing, DoA wins hands down.

How long will VF5 last you once you've clocked it with the characters and unlocked stuff? I was playing DoA online months after I'd finished the game.

Sony has to offer everything the 360 offers, and be seen to do it better. Burnout: Revenge for example - class game, mostly because of how much fun it is on Live; Sony come along with MotorStorm, which looks better, seems a ton of fun to play, and (not in the Japanese version but will be ready for the Yank \ Euro release) has all the online stuff covered.

This is good, its offering a genuine alternative to the 360, with all the same bells and whistles, and if the gameplay is there as well, its ticked all the boxes, Sony can’t afford to have basic features missing from games like this, making it look like a rush job compared to its Xbox evil twin.

So yeah - waste of a game, 1 point to Microsoft. Online stuff for games like this should be nailed on, it should be the main selling point. With a price tag of £400+ just for the console, I don't expect to have to make do with what is there, I expect everything that’s there on the rival system, done just as well if not better.

*Crosses VF5 off the list*

[menthel]

I think that this is the PS3's main problem at the moment. It doesn't have a co-ordinated online game plan. I believe that xbox live is one of the crowning glories on the 360 and that sony do need to match it. Their current plan of leaving online gaming up to the separate companies will not compete with the 360. I think it will be much of a muchness betweent the two consoles, but at the moment because of live, the 360 is ahead for me! Which is a shame because most of my friends are sony fiends and I won't buy a PS3 until I know I could play online with them as easily as I could on the 360 (because I will buy a ps3, oh yes!).

[Stewart]

Also - 'According to a Finnish website, the PS3 version of Virtua Tennis 3 will not feature an online mode. Apparently, Producer Mie Kumagai from Sega said that Sony has not delivered the necessary information about their online network to make coding the online mode possible. Rumour mill for now, but since this exactly scenario happened with Tony Hawk's Project 8 as well, we believe it.'

I've done a bit of reading and it seems to be true - is it online on the 360... of course it is.

I wonder if Sony would like to punch me in the face when I hand over my £425 for it in March, while a Microsoft representative hands out free packets of Cadburys Mini Eggs to those buying a 360?

Madness.

[mcmiller]

i suspect that sony are planning on releasing patches that will allow online play later on in the future otherwise ppl arent goin to interested

[menthel]

Anyways all we can hope is sony patch the ps3 like microsoft patched the 360. The 360 has certainly matured over the past year. The only console that I am now not interested in is the wii. It now looks like a novelty to me.

[sawyen]

well, i guess i'll be the only person not complaining.. Never really needed VF or Tekken series to be online as I already have a pretty big bunch of guys playing together. Also, even when online, I still feel that it lacks the *kick* of playing your opponent face to face and rubbing your vicotry over their frustration..

Tekken 5 never had online, and it did very well as a VS game. That goes for VF4 and all. I think VS games, for me at least, should be played with a bunch of guys in the same room. That way, when someone is about to get trashed, they wont just decide to leave. Even if the stats will record it, its always nice to see and exercise the rights of a victor... this is the sorta thing thats lacking in online VS mode IMHO..

Alternatively, DOA and all the LIVE! gameplay never really got to me. Maybe its just the fact that DOA is a little too shallow for me.. no pun intended for DOA fans around..

[Steven W]

For me personally, it's all about the online play and based on the negativity surrounding PS3 online I wouldn't purchase the console. If it's sorted over the next 12 months, I'd think about buying it.

The fact that VF5 isn't online won't be an issue to those people who've never used the likes of Xbox live, but I think if Sony want to compete with Microsoft this type of game must have online compatibility. Very poor indeed.

[kempez]

I agree for sony's PS3 to compete it has got to get at least close to the Live experience. Now having fiddled with the PS3's online functionality it doesn't match it...but I think if Sony were to try to step this up then they could.

The trouble is they need to give a bit more support to the developers (rumour mill, but leads me to believe it's true) and MAKE them use the online functionality...like support them through it so much they can't not include it in the game.

Look at Halo 2 - people still buying it now if they can find it to get on Live..and Gears...hugely popular online. Sony have to pull it out a bit and make their games match the 360's stride for stride in every department and beat it in those it can.

I have to say that Microsoft made a very clever move charging for the Online stuff, perhaps Sony should think about going down that route to get some more development money/focus?

[bigblue]

I can appreciate the frustration of those people who are now used to online gaming. It does indeed sound like a major oversight as I think the buying market is taking these sort of features for granted now.

However VF5 is far from a waste of time for me anyway just because it's not online. I've played many a beat-em-up over the years and have really enjoyed most of them although I've only ever played precisely one online.

I enjoy the technical side of the VF series, so there's plenty for me to get my teeth into in single player. Most often when my mates are round it'll be a fighting game we put on so that does me for multi player.

I can't say I'm ever sitting there wishing I had an opponent to compete against but I guess maybe I'm in the minority. I appreciate I'm probably not as active on Xbox live as most on here, so maybe I don't know what I'm missing.

All I do know is that I can't wait for VF5

[Steven W]

However VF5 is far from a waste of time for me anyway just because it's not online. I've played many a beat-em-up over the years and have really enjoyed most of them although I've only ever played precisely one online.

I agree with you, I think many will still enjoy the game. But, for those who've got a choice between steak or a burger, steak wins hands down.

[bigblue]

I agree with you, I think many will still enjoy the game. But, for those who've got a choice between steak or a burger, steak wins hands down.

Oh yeah, it'd definitely be better for all concerned, especially the big S, if it had online play. I just felt it was a wee bitty harsh to write it off. Maybe I just need to get on Live more !

And I'm just a commoner, Angus Burger FTW ! (did I just use ftw ? Oh god, it's getting to me... )

[node]

Sega AM-2 have made no secret of their lack of online throughout the series - it's a serious hardcore fighter and they don't believe it's possible to have fair fights online given the precision timing in this game. I really don't see how this ruins the game though - yes, it's easier to find players online than get mates round, but that's about it.

[Stewart]

Not so much ruins the game, just seems like a big chunk of it is missing. The 360 has proven that everything is better if its online. So knowing you can't go online sort of makes this a bit less interesting.

I played DoA against the CPU, with mates round, and online. Now with VF you go back to CPU and 2 player only. Step backwards really, and with Sony pushing the PS3 as a super-ninja cutting edge console, its not good.

And the Tennis thing is just annoying and makes the 360 version much more fun you'd have thought.

The one thing I don't think Sony can match Microsoft on is online, and the big thing for consoles now (as well as HD) is online. Thats bad and everything, even if the game not online is a serious hardcore fighter.

[Parm]

I'm trying not to go completely off topic here, bit more of a tangent I'd say...

Although the Playstation Network is lacking at present compared to Xbox Live it is of course possible that with upgrades and development it may one day make the gap between the two much smaller. However, despite its online deficiencies, will it be that big of a problem for Sony? I personally don't think so. The PS2 had a largely inferior online platform compared to the Xbox but that didn't have much impact on its success.

I have a few friends who have pre-ordered the PS3 and to be frank, they wouldn't touch Xbox with a barge pole hehehe. They love the PS2 and it's completely natural for the PS3 to be the next step. Although I love Xbox Live I personally don't think my friends would miss it at all, why? Well, because they've never experienced it and don't know what it offers. Unless you've owned an Xbox 360 and have been a Gold member, will you really think you're missing out on anything?

In my estimation, the majority of PS3 owners are likely to be upgrading from the PS2. For them, the Playstation Network is going to be a huge improvement and leaps and bounds better than the online experience they've had previously.

Going back on topic, it is a shame that games like Virtua Fighter and Virtua Tennis won't have online capabilities but I personally don't think the majority of Playstation owners will be concerned, unless they're previous/current Xbox Live users. When I buy a game for the 360, one of the key factors in my decision is online play. I recently pre-ordered Crackdown as a friend of mine has done the same and we know we'll really enjoy playing it co-op. When Playstation owners go out to buy a game, is online play one of the key factors in their decision? I'm not so sure.

A similar point could be made of the Nintendo Wii, that has literally no online component whatsoever right now. Is it a concern? Well, with me being an Xbox Live user, online gaming is a must. It was therefore a huge concern and I decided the system wasn't for me at this stage (see my review). But many Wii users may not be aware of online gaming and it's just so much fun to play with friends and family, they're not aware that they could be missing out on anything.

[Stewart]

When Playstation owners go out to buy a game, is online play one of the key factors in their decision? I'm not so sure.

Yes, unless its Grand Theft Auto or Metal Gear Solid. It is in the post-Xbox Live world. Sony must be seen to match the 360, the PS3 is the most powerfulestest console in the world remember. It costs so much you might be able to get a loan to buy it, and it does everything the 360 can do but for cool kids.

Sony can't market it as the console people buy if they might not notice that the 360 is online with almost every game and its good.

That wouldn't work.

[Steven W]

Hang on a second, I'm sure the Xbox 360 version isn't online anyway. If that's the case, I take everything back.