Gaming Target - GameCube: Virtua Striker 2002

Written by Jonathan Nicklas on July 02, 2001

First Impressions: :::Insert kicking balls joke here:::

In addition to Super Monkey Ball, a GameCube incarnation of Virtua Striker is in the works, courtesy of Sega's subsidiary, Amusement Vision. Announced in the midst of the E3 Exposition, for the uninitiated, Virtua Striker is Sega's diverse arcade soccer series and best known overseas. The initial version of the series began on the Model2 board in 1995 and was the first 3D computer graphics soccer game.

Subsequently, Amusement Vision's track record featured spin-offs of Virtua Striker 2 on the Model3 board and finally a Naomi-based rendition. Virtua Striker 3 is, however, based off of the beefed-up Naomi2 arcade board.

Visually, the game is splendid, and Amusement Vision's meticulous attention to detail is evident. Amusement Vision implemented motion blur in addition to advertisements of real companies, country flags, and extra intricacies. In addition, the color of the sky changes from dusk to dawn, and the quantity of attendees in a stadium increase as a team advances. Presumably, Virtua Striker 3 is running at 60 fps with high-resolution textures. The port of the game to Nintendo GameCube was allegedly completed in a month, с la Phantasy Star Online.

The title's gameplay is fast. High-scoring games are aplenty, a trademark of simulations. The control setup features short passes, long passes, and shooting, and obviously the GameCube's controller is optimized. Additionally, the height and strength of shooting is also variable. In the arcades, you will be able to play as Sonic Adventure characters. Sonic, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Dr. Eggman and a bunch of Chaos are available from the get-go, and can face the countries.

Apparently, Virtua Striker 3 features 32 countries, in-depth statistics, formations, attributes, and 10+ stadiums in addition to integral modes including УInternational CupФ, tournaments, and four-player modes. Extra depth by enabling offsides, cards, and court changes is a welcome addition, and quite possibly an announcer. Despite Virtua Striker 3's sub-par Sega Dreamcast predecessor, Sega to some extent assures the simulation should be polished by the 2002 release.