Produced by: Sega
Genre: Sports
Players:
Soccer may not be the most popular sport in the US, but it's the world's game without a shadow of a doubt. The World Cup is the biggest single sporting event on the face of the planet. Therefore, soccer videogames equal big business. Sega entered the arcade soccer market with the original Virtua Striker a good few years back, and it went on to become a major earner for the company. Unsurprisingly, a follow up was released in the form of Virtua Striker 2. This was in turn improved upon by VS 98, which featured the World Cup teams from the tournament held in the same year. Finally, Sega released VS Version 2000.1 on the Naomi arcade board. It is this version that has been converted to the DC - but Sega just called it Virtua Striker 2 (after all, "version 2000.1" does sound rather silly). Because this is a straight port from the Naomi, the graphics are stunning. This is easily the best looking soccer game ever made. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that this is the most attractive sports game ever made - even eclipsing NFL Y2K. However, the flashy visuals hide a very simple game.
Anyone who has played VS in the arcades will know that it's not a complex game. It doesn't try to be - it's an arcade game at heart, and it knows it. So don't expect a huge amount of game options and play modes, or a vast array of statistics, like in EA's FIFA series. Also, don't expect a complicated control system which allows you to pull of hundreds of different moves - this game just doesn't work that way. There's a button for shoot, a button for pass and a button for lob. That's it. Pure and simple.
VS 2 is all about arcade gameplay - fast, flowing, action packed gameplay. You'll not spend hours sorting out tactics and gameplans - you just get stuck in. After all, this game was designed to be played in an arcade, where playtime is at a premium. However, those who are used to dribbling the ball the length of the pitch and scoring will be disappointed here - whoever has the ball only keeps it for a few seconds before they are tackled. This encourages passing play, and is very true to life - it's rare that you see someone take the ball around the eleven opposing players and score. In a real game of soccer, once you get the ball, you need to do something with it before a member of the opposition clatters you with a bone breaking challenge - and VS 2 replicates this well. However, many people will get annoyed by this system, because it does turn games into something resembling a ping-pong tournament at times. Also, the player AI is VERY suspect. Sometimes players just walk past the ball, and the lack of a player change button means you have to wait for the CPU to select your nearest player for you, which gets annoying at times, but you can just about live with it. The upside of not having a player change button is that you don't have to keep hammering the joypad everytime you want to select another team mate. The goalkeepers also suffer from bad AI - they will sometimes come sprinting out for no reason, and on crosses they don't even react - therefore headers almost always go in.
I mentioned options before - it's my belief that sports games NEED options. Options allow you to prolong the life of the game - you can add changes to how it plays and so on. VS 2 has very few options, and therefore you're pretty much stuck with what you have. In terms of game modes, there's the standard arcade game (which is the same knock-out tournament game you play on the arcade version), there's the World Cup mode, which apes the real life world cup tournament structure, the all-important two player "VS" mode and finally the "Ranking" mode, where you play several teams and are graded on how you perform. Not exactly a wealth of modes, then, but enough to keep most soccer fans happy. In terms of in-game options, the game suffers badly. At first I couldn't believe that it does not allow you make subsititions - a terrible omission. You can't alter your formation totally (you're given two options to choose from when the game kicks off) and this means you're stuck with what you're given - therefore some teams in the game are useless because they have bad preset formations. I said before that this game isn't about tactics, but a few options would have been nice, and although it doesn't bother me too much, those brought up on FIFA will be bewildered by the lack of control they have over the game.
As a one player game, VS 2 won't set the world alight. It's in two player that it really comes to life (as is the way with most sports titles). The fast, arcade style gameplay is suited to two player games, and you quickly look past the game's shortcomings when playing against a friend. The high goal quota means that games are kept action packed and eventful - I doubt you'll get many 0-0 draws.
If you're a soccer fan, and you need a soccer game for your DC, then VS 2 should be at the top of your list - just don't expect anything groundbreaking. If you want a decent two player sports title, then you should consider VS 2 - but only after you've bought NBA Y2K and NFL Y2K, that is. VS 2 is a rough gem - it has some flaws, but deep down, there's a fun game in there, and it's well worth sticking with. Just don't expect a FIFA-style tactical game, that's all. If you want a more rewarding and in-depth soccer game, wait for Konami's upcoming International SuperStar Soccer update for the DC.
3 1/2 out of 5
